Adam Goodwin farms a sizeable mixed farm in the midlands with his father Frank. They purchased a Deutz-Fahr 5100c in October from local dealer Gordon Hegarty and Sons.

The little Deutz replaced a New Holland T6010 of similar size. The Goodwins are believers in having their own gear to get the work done when it needs to be done.

Frank believes machinery has become far too complex and that Irish farms are carrying far too much horsepower. The other tractors in the yard are a New Holland T6.165 and a Case Maxxum 125. These are not big tractors for the gear being used and acres being covered.

The little Deutz does the job on this farm that most other farms would use a specialised handler like a teleporter or loading shovel for. The Goodwins believe the loader and tractor combo gives far more adaptability within their farming system.

There are about 150 cattle on the farm and they are being fed in shed at the minute. All the feeding of these cattle is undertaken using the little Deutz.

The Deutz Profiline loader is a repainted Stohl item; it looks very well made and attaches very easily to the tractor, taking only a few minutes to remove if required.

The main work the loader undertakes is handling of bales for bedding, using a block cutter to get pit silage to the housed animals and general yard work with pallet forks and a dung fork to clear out sheds. During the tillage periods of the year, the 5100c handles the half-tonne bags of seed and is also used to pull the farm’s ring roller after sowing.

The Goodwins believe the Deutz has plenty of lifting power for any loader work they need it to do, and has plenty of horsepower to get involved during the harvest by pulling large grain trailers within the farm and tipping these trailers with no issue.

The tractor has clocked 90 hours so far and there have been no issues with the tractor or loader. The Goodwins have an interesting weight block on the back of the tractor. It is a salvaged back actor frame from a Massey 65r loader that was used by Frank in the 1950s. It is a masterful collection of bits including a New Holland tool box and some Zetor weights from a previously owned Crystal.

Frank has been farming for 60 years and is still very much involved in this business. He said he has always kept differing brands of tractors and machines around the yard. They try to buy the best machine for the job no matter what the colour of the paint.