Wimmera Machinery Field Days: Rubber tracks a flexible option
CATERPILLAR dealer William Adams is making tracks to the Wimmera Field Days with a full contingent of rubber-belted crawlers.
CATERPILLAR dealer William Adams is making tracks to the Wimmera Field Days with a full contingent of rubber-belted crawlers.
Leading the line-up is the versatile Challenger MT775E, already winning plaudits for its versatility in Australian paddocks.
Craig Pietsch of William Adams says the MT775E’s big appeal is that it slots nicely between big-framed and smaller-framed machines currently in the Challenger line-up.
No slouch when it comes to raw power, it boasts an Agco 9.8-litre engine producing 405hp at 2100rpm.
Launched in Australia just over a year ago, it attains its grunt via an in-line seven-cylinder engine, placing it at the top end of the MT700 range.
As well as handy power, it shapes up impressively in the economy stakes, attaining 75 to 77 litres per hour while running full tilt in dyno tests.
Ideally suited to row-crop work and right at home in bigger Wimmera properties, this mid-ranger benefits from a Mobil-trac undercarriage system and redesigned high-flow hydraulics.
So successful has it been in early use in Australia, there is speculation some broadacre farmers who previously committed to larger MT800 Challenger tractors might move to this newer and not all that less powerful machine to save a few dollars.
Craig Pietsch believes the attention the MT775E is getting is part of a wider interest generally in rubber-belted tractors and what they can do.
“Everyone is always after more efficient machines and the rubber-belted machines are the most efficient way to get the horsepower to the ground,”
he says.
Vying for attention with the MT775E on the William Adams display at the field days will be a full range of Canadian-made Versatile tractors, including the popular Versatile 320 with a new front suspension axle.
The 320hp tractor comes with full powershift and rear duals, with 16 forward gears and nine reverse and an 8.3-litre
Cummins engine. A definite plus in this range is the roomier and more comfortable cabin, which combines well with a solid built, front-wheel assist drive and a sloped hood that allows impressive forward visibility.
Also on show will be Versatile’s top-of-the range 4-track DeltaTrack 620.
With its throaty exhaust, this one is right at home pulling the heaviest equipment. A favourite with many North American farmers, it has forged a reputation with its robust build.
Powered by a 15-litre Cummins engine and with a heavy-duty CAT TA22 powershift transmission, it offers 16 forward and four reverse gears.
For efficiency, it’s a boomer
VISITORS at this month’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days had to retreat a few steps to take in the eye-watering size of Goldacres’ latest giant broadacre boom, on show for the first time in Victoria.
QuickDraw chemistry in motion
AN automated chemical batching station that claims to improve sprayer productivity by 30 per cent won the 2019 Agribusiness Innovation of the Year Award at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days last week.