Fendt Tractors: Launching Innovation on the Farm

Farm businesses must innovate to stay successful year to year; as Michel Camps likes to say, it doesn’t pay to be “stubborn.” While he and his wife Hanneke are certainly not above listening to other farmers and following proven advice, they’re also leading in ways to offset input costs at their CP Farms in Barnwell, Alberta, with new methods that save time and money.

One such innovation is a planting procedure that tills, applies fertilizer and fungicide, plants and closes all in one pass. The Fendt 1050, at 517hp, helped make that possible.

“The 1050 has been a major game changer on our farm,” says Michel. “We’re talking in the tens of thousands of dollars worth of savings a year by combining some of the operations that you would normally have two separate units for.”

Besides the one-pass planting, “we can use the tractor virtually year-round,” he says. “Typically in this area most of the tillage is being done with large articulated tractors or track machines. They’re very good in heavy draft applications, but they’re not that great in row crop applications or transport. This 1050 has the power to do the heavy draft work, but it can also be a nimble tractor to use for lighter work that does not need 500 horse.”

Transport is a great example. “The 1050 being equipped with air brakes makes transport work of loads up to 30, 35 tons easier,” he says, “all at going 50 kilometers an hour, which is an added benefit if you’ve got fields that are a little bit further away like ours are.”

Versatility means efficiency, and Michel likes how “the tractor automatically determines which RPM is suitable or the most fuel efficient for the operation you’re doing at the time,” he says. Add to that a “whisper-quiet” cab, he says, and “it’s been a tremendous advantage for our farm, for sure.”

Hanneke sees the advantage on the bookkeeping side, as well, both with in-field efficiency and financing options. “That makes Fendt more interesting,” she says.

“The tractor is only as good as the backup you have at the dealership,” says Michel. “I just find the backup we have from Hanlon Ag (in Lethbridge, Alberta) is second to none. ”They go out of their way to make sure a tractor is not sitting for a service during operating hours.”

All of the Camps’ AGCO equipment has come from Hanlon, including one Fendt tractor from every series available in North America: the 1050, plus a 936, 828, 720 and a 512.