Since 1967, the Kendall family at St Ingunger Farm, Lanivet, has placed its trust in local dealer Vincent Tractors & Plant. It is why the 900-acre, 550-cow dairy farm operates a fleet of five Kubota tractors.
“Trust is everything,” says Stephen Kendall, who runs the family farming business with wife Karen. “I trust my dealer to provide reliable equipment at a sensible price, along with the ability to provide first class customer service and support.”
The farm operates an M7172, M7152, M7131, an M135GX-II and an M5111, having switched to Kubota tractors in 2005, when the Vincent family became a dealer for Kubota tractors.
“The M5 and M-GX both have loaders fitted, which gives us extra flexibility around the yard with feeding and general handling duties,” he says. “And the three M7’s are kept busy on fieldwork, which ranges from ploughing and cultivations, muck and slurry spreading, and silage duties.”
Alongside grass leys, the farm grows 160-acres of maize and 150 acres of winter and spring sown cereals – the latter ear-marked for whole-crop silage, helping to support a further 400 dairy replacements and 350-head of beef cattle.
“We like the compact size of the MGX,” says Stephen. “It’s great for fertiliser spreading with our twin-disc Kubota DSX spreader, and when silaging with our eight-rotor TE8590 tedder.”
“Our M7s handle the heavier work, and the M7172 KVT Premium has front linkage and PTO which lets us run a 6m front/rear mower conditioner combination.”
When it comes to tractor replacement, Mr Kendall keeps one eye on warranty and overall reliability, which can often provide the catalyst for change.
“Our tractors clock-up around 1,600-1,700 hours/year,” he says. “And 5,000 hours is usually a cut-off for us. Though the 2018-model M7131 has now done 6,300 hours, and has been an impressive tractor.”
“The 131 spends most of its time on the feeder wagon, making up to six mixes/day at peak times, and with a second farm and our clamps off-site, there’s a bit of travelling involved too,” he adds. “The newer M7172 KVT Premium has only just covered 3,500 hours.”
Mr Kendall adds that extended warranty gives peace of mind, and all tractors are purchased with five-year, 5,000-hour warranties.
“All our Kubota tractors have been very reliable, and I’m very pleased with them,” he says. “But that said, if something does go wrong, we know that we can rely on the service and support provided by Vincent Tractors & Plant.”
