Smart tractor wins sustainability award
Claas's Axion 960 CEMOS tractor has been recognised as the most sustainable tractor in the prestigious Tractor of the Year awards.
Harman Singh and his wife Manpreet run their family dairy farm at Kamahi near Edendale, while his father Balbir and mother Paramjit look after their run-off 19km away at Longbush.
“We needed another utility tractor capable of doing all our work. We do our own cultivation and grow 30ha of fodder beet for winter grazing. It has to tow a 3.0m rotor-spike with a seeder, and we make 2500 bales of silage every year. We cut it, line it, bale it and wrap it and then we have to pick up the bales.”
The Singhs have a long history with Case IH: Balbir bought a new Case International in 1991 and worked it for eight years on their former farm in Waihi.
“That farm had steep hill country and the tractor gave us a good run. We replaced it with a Case IH CX80 in 1999.”
They still have the CX80. “It’s never given us any trouble.”
The Maxxum in the last 12 months has taken the lion’s share of the work and clocked up 600 hours.
Balbir likes the length of the hydraulic arms. “Our neighbour borrowed our rotor-spike, and the arms and PTO of his tractor were so short that it was a battle to get it on. Case IH arms are long enough that you can get between the wheels and the implement, so you can attach it without getting covered in mud.”
He says the Maxxum is simple to drive so he is relaxed to have the workers driving it. And the cab is easy to clean out, which is useful on a dairy farm. There’s no lip so mud and dirt can be swept straight out of the cab.
The Singhs get good service from the dealer, Agricentre South. When the Maxxum first arrived, Balbir found the steps weren’t wide enough to safely get a boot on. The dealer made the steps wider.
Balbir says the Maxxum’s pulling power is good and the cab suspension is another asset.
“I don’t know what they do but the seat is very comfortable. I’m six feet six tall so I need space.
“It rides over the small bumps well. You have to hit a decent bump to feel it.”
The transmission is a 16x16 powershift so, “I don’t use the clutch anymore, even when loading bales on a truck. There’s a shuttle lever for moving from reverse through neutral and into forward. It’s easy for loading and there’s a smooth transition from neutral to moving.”
The Maxxum (115hp) is reckoned a good size for the average dairy farm.
