Ray & Paul Doble
When it came to taking forage harvesting in house at Collard Hill Farm, Blackborough, Devon, a system that would be flexible was needed. It would have to cost no more than the existing contractor charges and suit the 4 cylinder tractors operated by the business. The father and son team of Paul and Ray Doble also wanted to be able to operate the system themselves without resorting to hiring in staff. “We spent a considerable amount of time researching which way we should go” says Paul. “I fully costed all the available options and the Pottinger loader wagon came out top”.
A key factor with the Pottinger wagon was its low operating costs, both in terms of maintenance and fuel. “With fuel at the price it is we wanted to keep fuel consumption to a minimum”. We had a demonstration from our local Pottinger dealer and we were surprised on how little fuel we used to harvest 4 acres. The tractor consumed only 4.5 litres of diesel which was difficult to believe!” Purchasing a Pottinger Faro 3500L loader wagon during 2006 and with the first seasons forage safely gathered in, the Doble’s are firmly convinced they did the right thing. We always used to have some of our second and third cut silage done in big bales but this was costly and involved lots of handling.
The wagon has made life so simple - everything now goes in the clamp, plus we don’t have the costly hassle of disposing of bale wrap”. We use our 100hp 4wd Valtra with buck rake on the clamp and this handles the forage well and gives us excellent consolidation”. Paul comments: “Having our own wagon has completely simplified harvesting operations. We need to fit harvesting in around milking and the wagon allows us to do this”. He goes on “the low labour requirement means that we can get all our stock work done and commence foraging when we are ready, there is no waiting for anyone to arrive”. Operating their Faro 3500L wagon with a 90hp 2wd Valtra tractor poses no problems.
Ray who operates the wagon says: “The tractor and Faro wagon are an excellent match, the 90hp is more than capable of operating the wagon. When I am turning it barely leaves a mark in the field, the 10 ton silage trailers used with the forage harvester did more damage”. It’s not only grass that the Faro wagon has harvested, having this year harvested wholecrop silage. “We grow maize, but growing whole-crop really stacks up financially. With good feed value plus reduced growing and harvesting costs it is becoming a bigger part of our forage acreage” says Paul. With its low operating costs and high build quality the Doble’s see a long term future for the Pottinger wagon as an integral part of their farming business.
We were surprised how little fuel we used to harvest 4 acres. The tractor consumed only 4.5 litres of diesel which was difficult to believe.
TESTIMONIALS
March 2010
finds favour with Cheshire Contractor
... click to read more
2010
exceeded expections in Norfolk ... click to read more
2010
has made life more simple says Devon Contractor ... click to read more
2010
has proved the best decision we ever made
says Devon farmer ... click to read more
