Farming in the region of 500 acres, tillage farmer Richard O’Connor predominately runs a one-man enterprise.

Located outside Liscarroll in northwest Cork, Richard has clocked up just over 500 hours on his new Gen 6 Fendt 720 Profi Plus since its arrival earlier in the year.

Given that Richard is a one-man band, he tends to take the same approach with tractors.

Wanting a one-size-fits-all solution, or in his words, a “good all-rounder” capable of all jobs, he found the Fendt 720 Vario to be the answer when buying his first in 2019.

However, Richard is no newbie to the brand, having driven Fendt tractors since as far back as 2012. A John Deere 7530 is kept on the farm for spraying duties, which spends its spring and summer months on row crop wheels.

This year, Richard traded and upgraded his two-year-old Fendt 720 Vario for the new Gen 6 model.

“Although my 720 was only two years old, it suited to upgrade financially. In another year or so it was going to need tyres and, as well as that, the warranty would be expiring.

“Running only two tractors, one which does the majority of the work, means reliability is top priority. By keeping the tractor fresh, I know my running costs are going to be low, with warranty and a service plan for peace of mind,” said Richard.

With the new Gen 6 tractors only arriving in the country when Richard was considering changing, he said that it was worth opting for the Profi Plus Gen 6 model with the new FendtOne cab.

“Even though it cost more, I saw it from the point of view that it will hold its value when I go to trade again.”

Command arm

In late 2019, Fendt introduced its FendtOne concept on its 300 and 700 Vario tractors. Although the exterior sees little change, the main change is the control arm and tech interfaces inside the cab.

Richard noted that, at first, the new control arm took some time to become familiar with, even with experience of the older generation command arm.

“Initially it looks like there are more buttons because the side blister pad is gone. Instead they’re all grouped together, which leaves things feeling a little busier at first.

“But the fundamentals, how it drives, is the same as before. As you spend more time with it, you realise how effortless it is used and the degree in which functions can be assigned to the joystick buttons, etc.”

Richard said that things such as function colour coding have remained the same as the previous generation. For example, the orange-coloured LED lights flags transmission functions while blue indicates lift functions.

“At first, the joystick felt a little chunkier in hand, but you quickly become accustomed to it. Almost all of its buttons can be accessed from your fingertips without having to reposition your right arm.

“Even the radio and air con is controlled from the armrest now. The little thumb wheel is a nice feature for tweaking cruise speeds on the go.”

The main touchscreen terminal on the control arm has increased in size from 10in to 12in on the 700 series, which Richard said allows quite a bit more to be displayed.

Being the top-spec Profi Plus model, Richards’s machine has the 3L joystick, which alone can control up to 27 different functions including forward/reverse shuttle or a front loader if fitted.

Richard described the ability to assign the numerous functions to the joystick and command arm as a “major leap forward”, leaving it ideal for controlling implements such as his Kuhn Espro IsoBus drill.

Dashboard

The new 10in fully digital dashboard display not only does away with any buttons seen previously, but it provides a large degree of customisability.

Fendt has said that a software update is soon to be introduced, which will allow FendtOne owners to display functions such as guidance maps and IsoBus implement screens on the dashboard monitor.

Gen 6 tractors introduced an optional 12in terminal that drops from the roof on the right-hand side.

Richard didn’t opt for the third screen, but, looking back, he said it would have been great for displaying IsoBus screens for the drill, etc. This would leave it possible to dedicate a screen for guidance, tractor info and a third for IsoBus implements.

Performance

Another update to the Gen 6 tractors was the progression to Stage V. Power output from the Deutz block remains unchanged with a max 209hp.

Richard believes that the Gen 6 tractor has more torque over his old model and is a better tractor for grip overall. However, he is unsure whether the Trelleborg tyres (instead of Michelin) are helping in that regard.

Fuel consumption remains pretty much on par with the previous 720. A full 400l tank will see 80 acres through when drilling, Richard said.

Verdict

“I am again well impressed with the Fendt 720. To me, it is certainly one of the most compact and manoeuvrable tractors in that bracket. It suits almost everything from ploughing with a five-furrow reversible, to drilling, to spreading manure and sludge with a 14t Ktwo dung spreader or fertiliser with the 3t Rauch spreader.

“In the summer, I often sub in to local contractors and pull a silage trailer or slurry tanker.

“After 500 hours, I have a good grasp over the new control arm. Every day I find a better or an easier way of doing a particular task. The flexibility and customisability won’t be beaten and having gotten used to the new control layout, I wouldn’t go back the old cab. The Profi Plus spec and chrome pack finishes it off well.

“From the first Fendt I drove to this one, I think they’re up there with the best in terms of comfort and performance. Even down to things like design, dirt never seems to gather in places, like on the steps, where other tractors would. The only other negative is that the Bluetooth hands-free system isn’t as good as the last tractor, but I’ve been told a software update is on the way to fix this.”

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