POWER FARMING

26 February 1999




POWER FARMING

ITS easy to get carried away with the idea that farmers only buy big tractors these days. In fact, their buying patterns are rather more complex than that.

You certainly wont see many sub-40hp compact tractors on farms as theyre chiefly the province of local

authorities and market

gardeners. And at 8% of the market theres not exactly a frenzy of buying activity in the 40-70hp bracket either.

Once you get to 70hp, things start to hot up. The 70-80hp category accounts for 6.5% of the market, the 80-90hp bracket 13%, 90-100hp 22%, 100-120hp 15%. And so on.

All of which preamble is designed to explain why this months tractor test – a 70hp John Deere 5400 – seems small for the UK

market but slots into what is still a worthwhile niche.

And now (as the Monty Python team used to say) for something completely

different. Its bigger than a Land Rover, smaller than a Bedford truck, was made in France and is tough enough to stand anything UK

agriculture can throw at it. What is it? A Marmon.

Yes it is.

Finally, with one of the wettest winters on record far from over, theres a fair bet unwanted water will be

sitting around your farm buildings somewhere it shouldnt be. Need

something to pump it out with? Then enter our PF

competition, which has seven Honda petrol-engined waterpumps as prizes.


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