Based in the rolling countryside of County Wexford, Sean Roberts is a Dairy farmer who does the job right. Since 2010, Sean has been building a sizeable dairy herd. Sean believes in having the best tools at his disposal to do the job.
The Roberts family have been farming at the same location since 1929, this makes Sean the third generation to farm in this area. Since the move to dairying a decade ago, the cow numbers have risen to 630 with plans for further expansion over the next few years. The business is now run over 3 different milking platforms including the original family farm.
As the business has grown, Sean has seen the need to improve efficiency and ease of work for himself. Central to this was the purchase of a Fendt 312 in early 2016, which came with a Fendt loader. This tractor revolutionised work on the farm, with its Vario transmission and good loader visibility. This tractor was replaced in 2018 with a New Fendt 313, the exiting tractor had clocked a very impressive 3200 hours.
The New tractor came with a 4×75 compact Fendt loader from new and Sean said that with the visibility from the cab, the outfit was “as near to an industrial loader as you can get” and streets ahead of any other tractor and loader combination.
The tractor is far more than a loader tractor on this farm, it handles equipment that would test a larger framed tractor with ease, including a 3500-gallon tanker. Sean said that the 313 is the “ultimate machine” that manages to be agile enough for loader work and handle the big tanker with ease.
As more milking platforms have been added to the business, road work has become a bigger part of the daily routine and Sean has found the Fendt makes this very easy and comfortable. Early this year a Fendt 720 has been added to the fleet and brings 50km/h capability. One thing that Sean has noticed is that, if the two Green German machines leave at the same time the difference of arrival time at the out farm is negligible. The 313 was specified with a front linkage, this allows extra ballast to be added to balance out some of the larger machinery. Sean has found that with the weight added the 313 punches so far above its weight both literally and metaphorically.
Fuel economy is something that is very important to Sean as his tractors are working hard and clocking hours, the fuel bill is a major factor in the economics of the farm. Sean has found in back to back tests with other tractor brands that the Fendt’s are using approximately 15 percent less fuel daily. This makes for serious saving when the tractors are clocking 1600 hours per year.
At the beginning of 2020 Sean decided that a larger tractor was required for his growing business, having had such a good experience he went for a new Fendt 720. This tractor was specified with front linkage and PTO. The reason for these added features was the addition of a Fendt front mower. The 3060 FPKC was twinned with the farms existing mounted rear mower to improve output during the busy grass season. To aide this even further, the 720 was ordered with Fendt Varioguide (fully autosteer) and Novatel Terrastar-L guidance accuracy. This allows Sean to get the optimum from his tractor and mower outfit. Sean said that this makes life easier and means that you never get out of the tractor tired at the end of the day no matter how long it has been.
The 720 was a serious addition to the fleet but the 313 is very much the stalwart of the operation with its ability to undertake nearly every job on the farm. Sean says that these tractors have improved the way the business works and the profitability of the business at the same time.
