Czech Republic

Graduate engineer Josef Kolář,
deputy chairman/manager,
Bantice, Czech Republic, on the XERION 3800:

"The value of the XERION lies not only in its tractive force and low fuel consumption, but also in its versatility."

"We'd heard about the great tractive force of the XERION. But before buying our XERION, we didn't realise that the fuel consumption would be so low" says Josef Kolář from Bantice in the Czech Republic, not far from the border with Lower Austria. Two XERION tractors are used here.

The Zemědělské družstvo Petřín farm was formed in 1993 following the privatisation of a former national farm and currently comprises a total of 10,100 hectares of farmed land. In 2007, the farm placed two new XERION tractors into operation. "We had already had many years of great experiences with CLAAS combine harvesters, forage harvesters, and large square balers. It was therefore an easy decision to choose the XERION as the tractor to use for heavy cultivation. No matter what work we are doing, we always try to operate reliably and with high quality standards" says Kolář, with regard to the decision to buy the XERION.

At Bantice, the major focus is on quality and reliability. After all, Zemědělské družstvo Petřín is active in a total of three industry sectors: The farm's arable crops include grain, rape, poppy, maize, and peas, and meat production includes 5,500 tonnes of poultry and 750 tonnes of pork. The third supporting pillar of the farm, farm contracting, has concentrated on cultivation, sowing, and harvesting. "Whether you are working on your own farm or as a farming contractor, it is important when cultivating to achieve the lowest possible pressure load on the ground whilst retaining the highest possible outputs and consuming low amounts of fuel" explains Josef Kolář.

The no. 1 XERION, a 3300 model, is used at this farm to pull an 8m-wide short disc harrow by Väderstad. "We usually process the ground twice" says Josef Kolář. He explains that the first pass, directly following the harvest, has a depth of 5 cm; the second pass, at a depth of around 10 cm, prepares the ground for processing with the sowing machine. The work takes place with output and consumption values that speak for themselves. For example, diesel consumption when using the XERION 3300 averages out at 5 litres per hectare, and daily output values lie between 160 and 180 hectares.

The second machine, a XERION 3800, is used to pull a Väderstad sowing machine with an 8 m working width. This pair of machines also achieves great output values: A good 10 hectares per hour or 200 hectares per day, with an average fuel consumption value of 6 litres per hectare.