Fendt Technology Q&A with Russell Black

We had a chat with Russell Black, arable farmer at Wester Cash Farm, Fife regarding RTK in Fendt tractors. Russell currently has a Fendt 724 that he purchased in the spring of 2023 from Steven Player, Fendt Brand Manager at R&R Machinery.

Fendt 724 ready to work!

Can you tell us a bit about Wester Cash?

We have 400 acres here, there is 100 acres that we contract farm at Auchtermuchty as well. We have a contracting business, so we do a lot of ploughing, sowing, combining, spraying, baling and all that kind of stuff. We grow wheat, oil seed rape, winter barley, spring barley and we outland to a local grower for potatoes. So that covers Wester Cash but we also cover all of Fife as well with our contracting business, to try to keep it local as much as we can.

Can you tell us about your Fendt tractors?

I am currently on Fendt number four. We started in 2007 with a Fendt 415 and then upgraded to a Fendt 820 in 2011. We kept the Fendt 820 for a while and then we traded it in 2019 and bought a Fendt 720. The Fendt 720 was four years old in the spring and Steven had a stock tractor sitting in the yard. So we decided to make the change after four years of having the Fendt 720 and now we have the new Fendt 724 which I am delighted with!

How long have you had Fendt RTK in your tractors?

I had it on my last one so it would have been the Spring of 2019 we started with RTK on a 720 Fendt and then this Spring we upgraded to the 724 with RTK again.

What would you say are the benefits of RTK?

It saves a lot of time, no overlaps, and everything works in with the seeder. It saves seed as the seed placement is perfect as it makes sure you are in the right place in the field, always bang on.

I also had an auto shut off for my sprayer booms before I changed to a self-propelled sprayer and it was so precise. It was really accurate; it would shut off each nozzle as you went down the field and came to the side of the field.

Take a look at the following video of Russell’s auto guide on spraying: https://fb.watch/oOVbG_NJkR/

What jobs do you use RTK for?

We use it for ploughing, seeding, rolling and deep ridging for potatoes (we ridge about 500 acres of land for potatoes). RTK is bang on. Its so accurate and precise.

Russell’s Fendt 724 hard at work!

Do you use section control or vari rate? If so, what do you use it for?

I did use section control on the Fendt for individual nozzle switching on/off. It worked brilliantly.

Take a look at the auto switch on/off working on Russell’s sprayer: https://fb.watch/oOVAbPG4YN/

Hamilton Ross Group would like to thank Russell Black and his family for their continued support over the years and we wish him all the best for the future!

Written by Kirsty Pettigrew, Marketing Assistant