With limited yard space and 190 acres of steep, exposed terrain on his hillside farm in Cookstown, Northern Ireland, David Lennox faced a challenge – how to improve efficiency through mechanisation.
“Being a small farm, we don’t have the luxury of lots of generous animal housing, and what we do have, is fairly low and compact,” said David Lennox who runs a flock of 400 purebred breeding ewes comprising Lanark Blackface, Pedigree Dorset and Pedigree Dutch Spotted breeds at Heatherhill Farms.
“I had been using our small tractor and loader to bed the sheep pens, using a Kidd trailed straw chopper,” he explained. “But it was a time-consuming process, as I needed to unhitch the straw chopper each time I wanted to load it with bales.”
David reckoned that a dedicated, compact materials handler could benefit both indoor and outdoor tasks around his farm. The solution he found was a Kubota R090 pivot-steer loader bought from DA Forgie, to provide that much-needed efficiency boost.
“The Kubota loader is used every day, I just couldn’t be without it now,” said David. “It’s much easier to now bed the sheep thanks to the R090. I no longer need to uncouple the straw chopper from my loader tractor, to load bales.”
He adds that the R0’s versatility goes far beyond just loading bales into his straw chopper.
“The loader is used up and down the farm, transporting water tanks, moving troughs, carrying bales and repositioning feeders,” said David. “And the wide variety of attachments we have just makes it an extremely versatile machine, with far better visibility than my old tractor and loader.”
He says that before the pivot steer loader arrived at the farm, time was easily lost sorting out the tractor for specific tasks.
“Having the Kubota loader is like having an extra pair of hands,” he said. “We have a bucket, pallet tines and silage grab to carry out the main tasks, and the R0 now makes chopping and changing jobs so easy.”
“With a hydraulic quick hitch, I rarely have to get out of the cab as I can change attachments from the seat,” he said. “We’re saving so much time now.”
The 64hp R090 is capable of lifting 3.4t to a height of 3.2m. Its heated and air-conditioned cab is said to offer excellent visibility, and the LED light package provides generous illumination in and out of David’s buildings.
“I have bought a couple of machines from DA Forgie and I’ve always been impressed with their knowledge and after-sales support,” he said. “Whether it’s a part I need or if I’m wanting work done on a machine, the request is always handled quickly.”
With not one flat field on the farm, the loader is tasked with negotiating steep terrain while carrying loads. While needing careful manoeuvring on the steeper parts of the farm, David says the loader’s stability matches any other handling machine.
Having a hydrostatic transmission also means precise control, backed up with a differential lock to boost traction in slippery conditions.
“The R0 is small enough to get around our tight sheds, but powerful enough to get up the hillsides and carryout those necessary jobs on a daily basis,” he said. “For the size of it, this is a gutsy machine with no shortage of pushing and lifting power.
