Scottish farmer and contractor makes the most of his Valtra T174 Active

Tyrie Farm on the Fife coast in Scotland overlooks the Firth of Forth and extends to 55 hectares. The soil is heavy and over half the farm is used for arable crops, mostly potatoes in 2014 and wheat in 2015. 

Advertisement

”I am aiming for a mixture of wheat and barley next and in successive years,” comments farm owner James Penman. The other crop is grass for the single suckler beef herd, mostly on land unsuitable for arable crops.

James took over from his father in 2009. Alongside the farm he runs Penman Plant, a hire company with over 50 machines, from 35-tonne excavators down to 1-tonne machines plus a number of loader backhoes, telehandlers and other equipment. James is also in the process of taking over Meiklem Drainage, a specialist contractor operating throughout much of Scotland. 

In 2014 James looked closely at his tractor requirements and decided to change to a 175/190 hp Valtra T174 Active. Some will consider this a lot of horsepower for a 55-hectare farm, but James’ intention is to utilise the tractor in his other businesses when it’s not committed on the farm. 

”There’s plenty of work for it. At the moment we have a lot of kit committed at the new Forth Crossing, and there is a significant amount of work available for the tractor there. The same applies to forthcoming drainage operations, where pipe and other supplies have to be taken on site, and in more remote areas the gravel carts are at or beyond full stretch.” 

Power and comfort

There was also a second reason for choosing Valtra: James has field equipment of his own but also hires from neighbours (and vice versa), whose implements were often too big for his previous tractor to handle. This and the machine’s age prompted the change. 

”I looked at various machines but it really was the Valtra that caught my eye. We had two models on demonstration from TRP Scotland and eventually I decided on the T174 Active. It really does look the part, and when I got in the cab there was plenty of room – it was comfortable. It was hitched up to some equipment that had made previous tractors struggle and we were off. The controls really were where they should have been – very easy to find.” 

James also reports that Valtra has a healthy reputation for reliability, as does TRP for service. 

”We’re quite a way from their depot at Perth, but if Valtra tractors are half as good as their reputation we won’t be seeing much of them anyway so that’s not a problem.” 

But it’s not James who will be driving the tractor most of the time, on the home farm or on hire; it will be Jimmy Clydesdale. What does he think? In truth, much the same as his boss, but for anyone spending a lot of time in the cab he places a lot more emphasis on cab comfort. 

”The Valtra, it’s great,” is his simple comment.