Muck scraping becomes almost a pleasure with new McCormick compact tractor
Wed 27/08/2014
It’s a mucky job that needs doing twice daily without fail when cows are housed through the winter months. All the more reason, then, to have a decent tractor to use for scraping cubicle houses and yards, reckons Chris Yates; and that is just what he’s had since a venerable David Brown expired after 20 years’ service on the scraper.“It hated cold mornings and messed up the whole milking routine when it wouldn’t start,” he says. “Now I just jump on the tractor, turn the key and away she goes. Switch on the heater and the Bluetooth radio to play music from my phone – what more do you want?”
The tractor in question is a McCormick GM compact sourced from local dealer John Ayre at Alkmonton Tractors in Derbyshire. The GM45 at Ireton Home Farm is the second most powerful model in the 35-54hp range, with 44hp from its 2-litre Yanmar four-cylinder engine.
“The best things about it are the cab, the tight steering lock and its performance on the road,” says Chris Yates. “The cab’s easy enough to get in and out of for a small tractor and the steering makes it really nippy in buildings and around the yard. But it’s the tractor’s pulling power that really shocked me!”
On the scraping job, having a driven front axle has proved a boon because while the two-wheel drive David Brown struggled to get up the muck ramp on icy or snowy mornings, the McCormick will push a scraper-full straight up, usually without needing the diff lock.
For added versatility, a suitcase weight adapter was made in Alkmonton’s workshops so that the little machine can handle a cubicle sawdust spreader should the regular tractor fail one morning.
“I daresay some people would question spending out on a new tractor for muck scraping but it’s one of the most used and abused tractors on the farm,” Chris Yates points out.
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