L Series

J Dorey

Located on the East coast of Ireland, Co Meath has some of the most productive agricultural land the island of Ireland has to offer. Nestled on a hill and overlooking the surrounding picturesque countryside and with views of the Irish Sea is home to the 6th generation Dorey family farm. It is here John Dorey farms a mix of winter and spring sown crops consisting of beans, oil seed rape, wheat and barley. In addition to growing crops on his home farm, John also carries out a planting and harvesting contracting service for a small number of local farmers.

However, John is not a typical farmer as he shares his time in the fields with the skies over the world as a long haul Boeing 777 pilot. For the most part, John’s role as a pilot complements the time required to manage his crops. However the unpredictable Irish weather can sometimes pose challenges during the peak work load of sowing and harvesting crops.

As a man that uses technology to navigate through the skies, it is not surprising that John has found favour with machines from Fendt. Having admired and looked with interest at Fendt tractors for a number of years, John decided to purchase a Fendt 516 Profi Plus in 2017 for primary work like cultivations. A second older Fendt 716 with 16,500 hours was added to the fleet in 2018 which is used for spraying and grain carting during harvest.

When John decided to update his combine for the 2019 season, although Fendt was not an established combine brand in Ireland, due to his experience of Fendt technology with his 516, he deemed the Fendt combine was worth investigating further. A demonstration of an L series 5 walker 5225 impressed in terms of output but with minimal grain loses. The familiar feel of the operator controls and the overall compact nature of the machine were further reasons why John decided to purchase an L series 5225 for the 2019 season.

Having completed 3 seasons in sometimes varied conditions from lodged crops, tall oil seed rape and wet fields, John is very pleased with how his Fendt combine has performed. The L series combine has harvested approximately 500 acres per year where output and fuel consumption have been ahead of John’s original expectations. Fuel consumption is averaging between 27-29 litres per hour. According to John, the combine is made even more compact and manoeuvrable being ParaLevel equipped, especially useful when negotiating narrow field entrances. The support provided in terms of combine set up and tweaking to improve performance, from his local Fendt dealership ‘Farmworks Machinery’ comes in for praise from John.

As air travel gathers pace again, John will replace the cockpit of a Fendt L series Combine for that of a Boeing 777 but for now, to complete the 2021 harvest, John is helped by his sons Sean & Liam using machines built by Fendt.

K Robson

“For its cost and size, it has proved excellent. I enjoy driving it, we achieve a great sample, grain losses are low and straw is handled gently and left in great condition for baling.”

East Yorkshire-based Farm Manager and Fendt 6275L combine operator, Kevin Robson.

A six-year-old Fendt L-series straw walker combine continues to provide cost-effective harvesting for an East Yorkshire farm.

The Fendt 6275L was chosen for use on a farm near Foxholes in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Approximately 330ha of arable crops include wheat, potatoes, peas, and winter barley. Oilseed rape was also in the rotation until recently.

Cereals are grown for premium markets. Barleys consistently achieve malting quality while wheat is sold for milling when the growing season is favourable but otherwise goes for feed. Many farms in the local area have livestock and almost all the cereal straw is baled by a contractor and then sold.

Favoured design

The Fendt combine was purchased in 2016 from local main dealer Wilfred Scruton Ltd, after it worked the 2015 harvest as the dealer’s demonstration machine. The farm’s previous combine had also been supplied by Scrutons, and back-up from the after-sales team was excellent during the nine years it was owned by the farm. “We buy most of our machinery from Scrutons,” explained Farm Manager, Kevin Robson who is also the combine’s main operator. “Knowing such good backup was available meant that when our existing Laverda combine was due for updating it made sense to replace it with the Fendt. It’s far superior,” he added.

The 6275L has six straw walkers, a 306hp engine and was purchased with a 7m FreeFlow header. The farm has some steep slopes, but Kevin said the combine is never short of power. “It harvests approximately 250ha per year, and we can clear 20ha in a day without trying. Because we aren’t chopping straw, the engine usually operates at 50–60 per cent of its capacity, and we achieve a typical working speed of 3.5kph in wheat yielding 4t/ha. Conditions are often tough going because of high straw volumes, our proximity to the coast which means moisture levels tend to remain high and some steep slopes.”

Kevin says the Proline cab is comfortable and well equipped. Vision all around is excellent and all the controls are to hand. The air conditioning is very effective and little dust enters the cab.

Useful automation

The Fendt has far more automation than the Laverda, and most working adjustments are carried out from the seat. “Conditions change a lot during the day – particularly moisture levels, and the electric sieve adjustment helps us achieve maximum work rates while maintaining an excellent grain sample and minimising losses,” continued Kevin. “The cleaning area is very large for the size of combine, so we rarely lose grain over the sieves, although on steep slopes they become the limiting factor. A small reduction in the working speed solves the issue.

“Because we have a lot of slopes the ParaLevel version which keeps the separation and cleaning systems level would be an advantage, so this is something I feel we should include next time the combine is changed.”

Superb separation

The farm’s Fendt 6275L has Multi Crop Separator (MCS) Plus for enhanced threshing and separation. A Power Feed Roller (PFR) ensures an even feed from the table to the intake elevator, and the MCS Plus separating concave separates more grain from the straw before it reaches the straw walkers.

MCS Plus can be engaged from the cab for heavy working conditions such as when straw volumes are high or when crop moisture content is higher, but the extended concave can be disengaged for reduced power demand and grain damage when it isn’t needed. “Compared to the Laverda, the MCS Plus was a revelation,” stressed Kevin. “Higher speeds can be maintained even when conditions are very difficult, as grain is effectively separated from the straw. On our farm and with our damp climate, we never disengage it as straw damage remains low, and it’s always giving us an advantage.”

Kevin said the FreeFlow header feeds well, even when crops are laid and damp although care was needed when harvesting oilseed rape in the past to prevent wrapping around the auger.