Some of the biggest tractors on the market have been tearing up the paddocks in southern NSW.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Henty Machinery Field Days (HMDF) site is currently being used to test some of the most impressive agricultural equipment on the market.
John Deere training instructor Anton Kowalenko, said about 100 sales and technical staff from dealerships throughout Australia and New Zealand converged on the HMFD site for training on the 6000 to 9000 Series tractors.
Each group of 16 staff received instruction on the ballast, transmissions, engines and suspension of the tractors, ranging from 85 to 425 Kw.
John Deere’s second largest four-wheel drive, the 570hp 9570R, was released to the Australian market this year and proved to be the centre of attention at the school.
Mr Kowalenko said the tractor optimisation school was about obtaining the best performance out of a machine in the field.
“With a lot of the new technology available in machinery these days, it is important to know how to get machines to perform at their best,’’ he said.
“For example, there are tractors here with variable transmission options, including Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT™), e23™ and CommandQuad™ Eco,” he said.
“We do schools like this every year – last year we covered combines and sprayers. We will do a hay school later in the year, and next year we will look at planters and air seeders.
“We hold them in locations which best climatically suit what we are trying to accomplish.’’ “With an infield school, if it rains, there’s not too many options,’’ he said.
Mr Kowalenko said the Henty site had classroom facilities and a field area suitable for large machines pulling implements.
“This site is ideal for anyone who needs a bit of space for people to demonstrate or train on machines. “We have access to a shed equipped with power, a kitchen and toilets as the classroom, cement floor and gravel pad outside.’’
Mr Kowalenko said the four-wheel-drive tractors were popular in the broadacre regions west of Henty but always proved to be crowd pullers at the field days.
HMFD chief executive officer Belinda Anderson said the site had plenty of scope for year round machinery demonstrations.
