Last September Hawke bought a Massey Ferguson DM1330 front mower, an MF DM1364 rear mower and two new Massey Ferguson RK3877 rakes for the business, Phil Hawke Contracting Ltd, Hinuera, 7km south of Matamata.
He had not owned a Massey Ferguson mower before, nor a front mower.
“Nobody else does a 4m-wide back mower. We can cover 7m at a time, whereas the normal combination is 6m with a 3m-wide front mower,” he says. “It makes a big difference. We’re doing 5ha/hour, and that saves us heaps of time.”
He wondered how a front mower would work out but – no problems. “I’ve got the Fendt tractor with the front linkage. Now I can send one tractor out and it covers what two separate mowers would cover.”
The mowers are effective on heavy crops, Hawke says. “Having the 4.0m back mower is a major plus. My biggest worry was its ability to follow the contour but it runs under pressure, which forces it into the ground. It’s easy and quick.”
The two new mowers have made a difference to his business. “They’ve improved our efficiency because we can mow in the mornings and come back and bale in the afternoon. Before now we had two mowers going out and they sometimes weren’t finished in time to start baling.”
Hawke bought the first of his two Massey Ferguson RD3877 rakes when someone else’s purchase did not eventuate at Matamata Tractors and Machinery. He took the rake home, and bought a second rake soon after.
“Comparing the Massey Ferguson rakes to other rakes I’ve had, I would say they’re stronger and easier to operate. We run them in front of the round and square balers and go out to 7.2m wide. The round balers need a wider windrow and we have to shorten them up for the square baler.”
Hawke particularly likes the way the tines are set up and how easy it is to replace one if it breaks. “If we did have to replace one, it would be a five-minute job, compared to a half-hour job with our old rake. And even if you bend an arm there’s only one pin to pull out to straighten it.”
The other new addition to Hawke’s fleet is a Fendt 818 tractor, which he’s now operating alongside the second-hand Fendt 718 he bought a year ago.
“I found the 718 easy to drive and economical and that’s why I bought the 818. They’re initially expensive to buy but you save so much in fuel and ease of operation and they’re so well made.”
The 718 pulls a new baler, while the 818 is used for mowing, square baling and pulling a large undersower. Both tractors have Vario transmission, making driving easy.
