New tyre for pivots
Alliance, a part of Yokohama Off-Highway Tyres, has introduced a new tyre, especially designed for pivot irrigation systems.
Cameron's operation at Camindy Ridges covers 500ha on the western side of Mid Dome Mountain 80km south of Queenstown.
The property carries 8000 stock units of beef cattle and sheep which graze over elevations ranging from flat, through rolling to very steep.
As well as feeding stock and fieldwork, the fleet of four MF tractors also transport other equipment 116km south to their dairy farm, east of Invercargill.
Kerr was impressed by the look of the Vredestein tyres, so he ordered a set for his Massey Ferguson 6480. "I thought they looked aggressive and give you traction on the side of the hills," he says.
He says he was sometimes nervous when asking staff to load tractors and feed stock on the steepest of the farm's hills; safety is the first rule on the property. He recalls the first time he drove the MF 6480 on one of the steep paddocks.
"I immediately felt really safe. Even if it was beginning to slide downwards, I maintained total control of the vehicle and could manoeuvre and turn – even in the thick and greasy mud. The tread on the tyres even seemed to be self-cleaning as it ploughed through like a bulldozer."
With long travel between the two farms, Kerr was further impressed with the smooth running of the Vredestein tyres on all types of surfaces.
"It was a soft ride on both the farm tracks and the sealed roads".
