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JOHN DEERE is showing that a 300hp tractor need not be ungainly. Its new model 7290R was delivered last month to a Northland rural contractor by local dealer Cervus Equipment.
Launched early 2014, the 7290R (290hp) is powered by a 9L turbocharged 6-cylinder engine that gives the power of a large machine without the ungainliness, says Cervus Northland manager Tim Ormrod.
He says that with its wheelbase and length more akin to 200-250hp tractors, it suits a variety of applications. “Their Northland use will mostly be cultivation but their manoeuvrability ideally suits them to silage pickup wagons or slurry tankers.”
The tractor’s AutoPowr transmission uses a hydro-mechanical system for no-step gearing backwards and forwards between zero and 50km/h. It is also available with the new e23 transmission option offering manual, automatic or optimised manual shifting modes. Built on a 23F/11R shifted through a hydraulic wet clutch, the system allows the user to configure gearing to suit the job and situations required. “It is a great addition to the options we have available. This transmission provides great pulling power and stability,” important for the tasks the tractor will likely do.
Ormrod expects large-scale farmers and contractors to show most interest, for cultivation or ‘intensive’ work. “Trailed gear is getting bigger – 3m power harrows are being replaced by 6m.”
“Maintaining one large tractor is cheaper than two smaller ones and it reduces the number of good operators a farmer or contractor needs to find.”
An optional 3.4t factory-fitted front hitch widens the possibilities with the tractor. And a 22 LED headlight package makes night work a “walk in the park,” Ormroad says.
Twelve months after its release, the all-new John Deere S7 combine harvester has been put through its paces across a range of grain-growing regions, so producers can see first-hand its potential productivity and efficiency benefits.
Designed to allow customers to adopt technology and reduce costs, John Deere’s Precision Essentials Programme, offers those customers the option to either buy all their precision agriculture (PA) technology upfront, or select only the hardware and software that will be most valuable to their business.
John Deere has started the New Year with the release of JDLink Boost, using a satellite connectivity solution to ensure customers continue seamless work in fields with little to no cellular coverage.
The recently announced Milk Sustainability Centre – a collaboration between global giant John Deere and milking and feed specialists De Laval – is said to deliver dairy farmers a new tool to enhance efficiency and sustainability, while also rising to the challenges of changing regulations that affect their businesses.
Agri-tech company Precision Farming is linking with John Deere’s Operations Centre guidance technology to automate nutrient and spray record-keeping and Nitrogen Cap compliance for farmers.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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