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Bert. “We had CX-II coulters on our old outfit, so we know how good they are at seed placement.” In the right conditions, operator Morgan Thickitt says the outfit can be run comfortably at around 10kph, and is regularly achieving an output of around 100 acres/day. “At that output, it’s only 10 days work, and it’s surprised us both that an Optum 300 can manage this 6m outfit with ease,” says Morgan. “It’s not often that 100% engine load is reached, and 75-85% is more the average. There’s also a temperature monitor on the power harrow, so I can also see how everything is running.” Morgan has high praise for the combination’s rear transport wheel, which carries much of the weight of the folding harrow and coulter bar, when travelling on local roads. “We’ve land that’s quite spread out, so the rear transport wheel has made this outfit very safe, and takes a lot of weight off the tractor,” he adds. “It’s a great idea to help manage the weight of larger kit like this.” Morgan says forward visibility isn’t an issue as the Maxi front hopper sits slightly lower than the tractor bonnet, and the front press wheel
assembly shares the hopper weight, and consolidates soil ahead of the power harrow. “When the Optum 300 is swapped for an Optum 340 model, we’ll gain 710 tyres over this tractor’s 650’s, spreading weight that bit better,” he adds. “With Isobus, it’s all run through the tractor terminal and is very easy outfit to use. With just a few taps on the screen, we can get so much more efficiency from this combi.”
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