THE purchase of a CLAAS XERION 5000 tractor is propelling a Riverina cropping enterprise to new levels of efficiency as it pursues a holistic approach to improving farm productivity, profitability and sustainability. Third and fourth generation farmers, Dave and Dan Fox, plant more than 2100 ha of winter cereals and pulse crops in the Marrar district of the NSW Riverina.

Two years ago, the Foxs’ upgraded to a new Excel Stubble Warrior 12 metre disc seeder with hydraulic downforce for use in their min-till, full stubble retention program. Its additional power and hydraulic requirements pushed their 25-year-old articulated tractor beyond the limit of its capabilities and it suffered a catastrophic breakdown in the middle of sowing.

“We still had 700 ha of crop to get in and our back-up tractor wasn’t set up to tow the new seeder, so we really only had two options: try to hire a tractor or buy one off the lot,” Dan Fox says. “We’d previously trialled a CLAAS XERION 5000 during harvest but we really liked it but we had decided not to go ahead with it. It was on single tyres and we didn’t think it wouldn’t have enough traction to tow 60 tonnes of seeder, air cart and liquid fertiliser cart. We knew we were running out of capacity and technology with our old tractors but we couldn’t get our heads around the cost of a new machine. I asked CLAAS Harvest Centre Wagga if we could hire the XERION for a couple of weeks and they said, ‘Just take it and convince yourself that it can do the job.”

XERION 5000 has four equal-sized wheels, permanent four-wheel-drive, all-wheel steering and equal weight distribution over heavy-duty Raba axles. Its 12.8 litre six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz engine produces a maximum torque of 2600 Nm at just 1300 rpm. This is teamed up with a ZF Eccom 5.5 continuously variable transmission, which seamlessly passes through three ranges up to 50 km/h. A high-flow hydraulic system delivers up to 445 L/min to five double-acting rear spool valves, ensuring ample hydraulic capacity for the air seeder. The flow rate of each circuit can be adjusted to give priority to high-demand functions, such as the seeder fans.

CLAAS Harvest Centre Sales Representative, Murray Higman, organised the XERION 5000 to be delivered that afternoon and Dave, the farm’s resident tractor driver, was soon back at work. Murray gave me a crash course about how to drive it and off I went,” Dave says. “We were in a hurry, so I set the cruise control at 13 km/h and it took off up the hill without missing a beat – same equipment, same paddock. I thought, ‘This can’t be right’. Our old tractor was flat out going 10 km/h! It wasn’t even set-up properly.

“A CLAAS factory specialist visited after sowing and changed the engine droop settings on the cruise control, allowing the tractor to operate at the top of the torque range rather than maximum rpm, maximising productivity whilst minimising fuel consumption. He also showed us how to use the ballasting system and tyre pressure to improve traction. We had the tyre pressure set to 17 psi front and 15 psi rear, but we were told we could let them all the way down to 9 psi if we need to. We’re getting as much footprint with the VF900/60 R42 single tyres as we used to get with 710/70 R38 duals. We get very little wheel slip on the hills – I was quite surprised.”

The modular ballasting system allows up to seven tonnes of weight to be added over the front and rear axles in 400 kg increments. CLAAS’ ‘high torque, low rpm’ powertrain management system means fuel consumption is significantly lower than similar-sized tractors. “We’re going faster and using half the fuel,” Dave says. “We’re saving more than 5 L/ha – that’s over 10,000 litres of fuel or $15,000 a year, which take the pain out of depreciation.”

Dave is amazed by the smoothness of the continuously variable transmission. “The CVT works out what it needs to get up the hill by itself,” he says. I just sit back and let it do its thing. Our old tractor had a manual gearbox, meaning two gear shifts at the end of each row, which as an old shearer, can be a pain in the shoulder.” Dave also appreciates the tractor’s axle and four-point cabin suspension systems. “The suspension is miles ahead of the old tractor and the cabin is like floating on a cloud, particularly on the rough headlands,” he says. “Because it’s not articulated, it doesn’t jar as it comes back onto the line, which starts to get tedious after 15 hours.”

Inside, XERION is equipped with the CEBIS touch screen operating system, which features an integrated armrest, multi-function control lever. “It took a bit for me to get my head around the operating system but to be fair, this is the first new tractor we’ve bought in 50 years,” Dave says. “I had to absorb a 30-year jump in technology in one hit. I have always been wary of electronic management systems but these are quite practical and easy to use, even for an old bloke. Now that I’ve got my head around it, it’s mind-boggling what this tractor can do. The more I drive it, the more I appreciate it.”

In hindsight, both men think last year’s breakdown was a blessing in disguise. “We’ve come to the conclusion this has to be the best value-for-money high horsepower tractor on the market,” Dan says. “As far as we are concerned, there’s only three important things on a tractor – the engine, the transmission and the axles – and XERION has the best in class for all three. A lot of the features, like the linkage, PTO, ballast, air compressor, trailer brakes and tool kit, are all standard, not options. And it’s got a three-year warranty, which you don’t get with the other brands and that gives you a lot of confidence. It’s really two tractors in one, so we can use it at harvest as well. It’s got the capacity of a big tractor and the manoeuvrability of a small tractor, so you can do everything with one machine.”

Dave has also welcomed the upgrade. “This has delivered everything we’d expect from a new tractor and more,” he says. “Its capabilities far exceed what I thought it could do. It pulls hard, it’s got heaps of torque and heaps of hydraulic capacity – but we still had the Steiger fixed just in case we ever need it!”