Taking on an additional parcel of arable land has meant that a change in tractor horsepower policy for Hinxhill Estate, near Ashford, has led to the acquisition of a secondary prime tractor.
With over 1000ha of arable land, mainly under a direct-drilling regime, Hinxhill had previously handled much of the heavy work with a John Deere 8345R, with support from a 6210R for lighter duties. Now, the additional workload has called for a higher capacity back-up.
“We felt with the additional workload and the ‘time-critical’ demands of our direct-drilling system” commented Jonathan Houchin, “we wanted a back-up that was heavy enough and powerful enough without going to another eight series John Deere. We traded-out our four year old 6210R which had done five thousand hours over four-years - it never missed a beat and has been a great performer. We decided on the largest of the 6R John Deere tractors the 6250R. It’s a mid weight tractor with up to three-hundred horsepower available in a medium-sized frame - so very manoeuvrable. It also has a very flexible weight system which means we can attach or detach weights very quickly - sometimes in as little as fifteen minutes - depending on the job.”
The new weight attaching system on the John Deere 6250R means it’s simple to add half-tonne weight sets to the wheels or simply pick-up front weights using the front hitch. “We now have a nine tonne tractor that we can weight up to fourteen tonnes very quickly,” said Jonathan, “but only when it’s needed. Carrying dead-weight around is no good for wasting fuel and it also compromises soil compaction. The extra horsepower and weight of the 6250R means we can handle a four-tonne fertiliser spreader with ease - and it’s only burning around one litre a hectare while fertiliser spreading. We fertilised three hundred and sixty seven (367) hectares recently and used only three hundred and fifty (350) litres of fuel which is really frugal for a big tractor like this.”
Mitch from Burden Bros Agri’s Ivychurch branch was here on-site at 5.30am, carried out the service and handed me the keys at 8.00am precisely. That’s what I call service."
The John Deere 6250R comes with the latest standard in operator cab and the very latest CommandPro transmission specification. Added Jonathan, “ The cab is ridiculously quiet, and the CommandPro transmission with joystick control is excellent. We tried other major brands and they were good, but we wanted the extra connectivity that we get with CommandPro. Steering offers lock to lock with one turn and the integrated technology is a long way in front of what we have on the 8R even - and that was far superior to other brands on the market. John Deere have really listened to their customers and come up with serious advances for the professional operator. The performance of the 6250R is amazing and comparing it directly with the heavier 8R tractor, it’s performance comparison is only slightly less because of weight induced grip.”
Hinxhill Estate added the PowerGard extended warranty with maintenance program to cover the tractor for the next five years. “PowerGard is total peace of mind,” commented Jonathan, “the service I get from the Burden Bros Agri tech team has been absolutely superb. On one occasion, I needed the tractor ready for 8.00am but it was organised to have a service that day. Mitch from Burden Bros Agri’s Ivychurch branch was here on-site at 5.30am, carried out the service and handed me the keys at 8.00am precisely. That’s what I call service. I must admit that we had considered another brand of tractor before choosing the John Deere, but I wasn’t prepared to compromise anything on after-sales service. And I know I’ve made the right choice,” he concluded.
