The Pletts have three full-time employees who all operate the yard tractor at times. It’s important to the whole farm that the employees are comfortable and have reliable equipment. Weldon says, “They enjoy the TM, and they love the suspension. It’s a comfortable ride, and a lot easier day for them.” The New Holland TM165 tractor became the Plett’s main yard tractor when they traded a 105-hp Case-IH MX120. They expect the TM to average 1,400 hours a year. This winter, the yard tractor will be in the yard, working a four-hour daily shift with up to 350 beef and dairy animals in outside pens. “We need to move bales, pull the bale shredder, take the mixer wagon to the feed piles, feed corn silage – so it gets an awful lot of work in winter.” In summer, their “yard tractor” doesn’t see much yard time. It pulls the sprayer, Haybine® Mower-conditioner and square baler. Baling starts in early June and, with a couple of short breaks between cuts, the season ends when the last straw is baled in early October. “We needed more power for baling,” Weldon says. “The TM has good torque, and it’s smooth. That’s what made us decide to go with this one.” Hay exports Baling requirements have changed dramatically for the Plett family, and for many hay producers in southeastern Manitoba. Today, the region has a strong, steady export market for hay. It also has a new medium-square bale packaging system that is rapidly replacing traditional small square bales. Weldon says, “It’s so much easier to use medium square bales for loading and hauling. There’s no manual labor at all. One guy with a tractor can load or unload a bale trailer alone now. And, dairy farmers like the medium squares because they can cover them properly with a tarp. You don’t have the spoilage that goes with round bales. And, it’s a lot faster system. You can put up a lot more hay in a short time with medium squares. With weather being what it is, that’s important.” Until 1999, Weldon had only made small square bales for his livestock. Then he purchased a New Holland medium square baler. He explains, “That year, we made a wholesale change and did about 9,000 or 10,000 medium squares.”
More power enabled the farm to improve baling efficiency with a new bale accumulator. “We needed more power to pull the whole setup, with the accumulator behind the baler,” Weldon explains. Their upgraded system now accumulates and drops three bales at a single spot. “It makes gathering the bales a lot faster,” he says. “We make one stop where before we made three. For unloading, we have a grab now that picks up three bales at once.” He adds, “We’re always trying to beat the weather, so the accumulator makes a big difference for us.” A smooth ride In addition to more power, Weldon also wanted operating ease and the smoothest possible ride in the new yard tractor. “Suspension was the big thing,” he says. “We bale most of our stuff around 7 mph. The smoother the ride, the more comfortable it is for the operator.” Some hay fields are fairly even and level. But after two or three years of production, they can become “real bumpy” due to infestations of pocket gophers. Gopher mounds can make a hay field rough to bale for the tractor operator. Weldon’s TM tractor is equipped with a double line of defense. He ordered the Terraglide option for the front axle. This front suspension isolates the frame from the axle as tires travel across mounds. “We’re baling for 12 hours a day. It’s a lot easier on the operator with the Terraglide suspension. He’s not nearly as tired at the end of the day because he hasn’t been bouncing around all day,” Weldon says. He also ordered the ComfortRide option, which provides full suspension for the tractor cab. And, the operator’s air-ride suspension seat helps absorb the impact. Weldon’s TM165 was the first in the area to have a full 18-speed powershift transmission. He says, “With the automatic, it shifts by itself for the road gears as well as for the lower gears. When you get on the road you hit the automatic switch and open up the throttle, and it takes care of itself.” Front-wheel assist was also a requirement for the yard tractor. He noted, “We had a lot of mud this spring, and it worked well in there.” The TM has larger tires than its predecessor, both front and back. Along with front-wheel assist, they “made a big difference” in the wet conditions. Good lighting Good lighting is another important feature on the tractor, which does a lot of work before dawn in winter and after dark in summer. Weldon says, “The alternator is a big thing for us. The TM has a lot of electrical power. That makes a big difference on the baler where we run so much electricity. At night, before, we couldn’t run all our lights. This year, we run all the lights in our standard lighting package.” |
