Ridgeview Wine Estate, Ditchling Common
After 25 years’ faithful service Ridgeview Wine Estate, which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020, has retired its original Fendt 250V, trading it in for a brand new Fendt Vario 207V. Vineyard manager Matt Strugnell tells us how he’s getting on with his new tractor.
Matt has been managing Ridgeview’s 5-hecatre home vineyard since February 2002. While he wasn’t around when the original Fendt 250V was purchased, Matt does know why founder Mike Roberts chose the brand.
“Back in 1995 it wasn’t easy to go out and get a 100hp vineyard tractor; 50 to 60hp was top end, but one of Mike’s requirements was that it had to be powerful enough to use the subsoiler,” said Matt.
“The other thing Mike always took into consideration, because of his accountancy background, was depreciation. He would always say that the most expensive part of owning a car was the depreciation and he thought the same way about tractors. Mike looked at the second hand market and was very aware of how well Fendts held their value.”
As well as operating the 250V for the last 18 years, Matt has also been servicing the tractor himself since 2006.
“I can honestly say that we’ve never had any problems that have stopped us using the tractor,” said Matt. “Even now, aside from a few inevitable dents, it’s still pretty tidy.”
While the 25 year old machine was only just approaching 6,000 hours, the upgrade had been in the budget for a couple of years as Matt was struggling to operate some modern pieces of vineyard equipment.
“There was nothing wrong with the tractor, but it was starting to show its age. We have a leaf stripper which, if we were using it on a really hot day, would put so much demand on the tractor that we’d have to keep switching it off for 20 minutes every now and again to stop it from overheating.”
While Matt researched other manufacturers, Fendt once again proved to be the best option on the market.
“I did get quotes for other tractors, but by the time we’d altered the specification on those to get something that was really worthwhile, there wasn’t much difference in price. I know everyone has this perception that Fendt is a very expensive brand but with the right specification and resale value taken into account it’s not the case,” he said.
As well as good hydraulic capability and plenty of spool valves, Matt was also looking for a comfortable cab, with good filtration and visibility; 4-wheel drive; and a tight turning circle.
“We have done about 20 hours in our new tractor so far and it is a really nice working environment,” said Matt. “We’ve really noticed a difference in terms of visibility when we’re spraying. Now that I’ve got it, I really love the Vario transmission too. The most obvious benefit for that is when we’re spraying because although our vineyard only has a gentle slope it was inevitable that we’d lose or gain pressure and would need to make continuous adjustments. This just works it all out and operates in the most efficient way.”
There has been a noticeable improvement in fuel efficiency and Matt is also enjoying the detailed data which he can access from the onboard computer.
As well as sourcing Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot meunier from vines at Ridgeview, the Sussex producer takes in fruit from around 100ha of vines and Matt also advises contract growers on aspects of viticulture, including what to look for in a tractor.
“I have been to look at tractors with growers in the past and have also put new vineyards in touch with Nick and the team,” said Matt. “The service from NP Seymour is fantastic. I remember shortly after we said we were going ahead with the purchase of the new tractor, Nick emailed me to say that he remembers showing the first Fendt to Mike and Chris and how great it had been to work with us over the last 25 years. I would feel really uncomfortable buying from anyone other than Nick. I know that I can phone the office with any engineering questions, even if it’s about a piece of equipment they don’t supply, and Nick will always come up with a solution.”