‘It’s the smallest tractor on the farm, but the one that makes the most money,’ is the verdict of Chris Moorhouse, on his new Kubota B1241. Mr Moorhouse runs a ‘pick your own’ fruit operation at Bentley Grange Farm near Huddersfield, alongside a successful pet food retail business.
“I’m the fourth generation to farm here at Bentley Grange and in the late 70s we started to move away from arable, poultry and pigs to soft fruit production,” he explains.
Some 12 years ago, the growing system was updated from open field production to Spanish tunnels, and is now exclusively ‘pick your own’ on 1ha of land.
“Strawberries are the main crop, but we also grow raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries,” says Mr Moorhouse. “The market has changed – traditionally pickers just wanted large amounts of fruit, often for jam making. Now they come with their families for a day out.”
Growing under tunnels has also enhanced to the picking experience.
Strawberries are planted in bags on ‘tabletops’ so there is no need to bend, and grass is established between the rows to avoid having to walk on muddy ground.
“We need a tractor that can fit between the rows to mow the grass, and also to work with a specialist sprayer that can reach over the plants.”
Other jobs for the 24hp Kubota compact include pulling a trailer to move growbags in and out and towing the gantry used to fit and remove the plastic over the tunnels at either end of the season.
“The Kubota B1241 is very manoeuvrable and compact in size so it works in the tunnel very well, but a real bonus is the mid-mounted ROPS which can be folded down to work alongside the end posts where height is restricted. It goes much lower than a rear mounted ROPS that we tried.”
He notes that the platform of the B1241 is also easy to get on and off, useful when swapping frequently between implements or checking the crop.
“My 85 year-old father drives the tractor a lot so access is very important. The controls are well laid out and straightforward and it’s comfortable and easy to drive.”
Mr Moorhouse comments that he plans to keep the tractor ‘for a long time’.
“It’s well built and robust, and importantly with Kubota being a well-established company we have the confidence to know that we can always get parts if we need them in the future.”
