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The 120hp John Deere 6120M is what is known as a medium-sized tractor. It could be considered the ideal stockman’s tractor due to its size and power. Matt Donovan bought his 2017 6120M with a factory-fitted 623R front loader to replace a 6330, which was traded in with 5,500 hours on the clock.
As long as it stays going and doesn’t breakdown we’re happy
Matt is a big John Deere fan – prior to the 6330 he had a 6220. There is also a John Deere 2850 on lighter duties which he said “will never be sold”.
On the day we visited, the tractor was being used for a mixed range of work from feeding bulk ration to loading concrete blocks for a milking parlour building job. I started by asking Matt what he uses the tractor for. He said: “It handles about 1,000 silage bales per year for the cows. We pull a 2,000-gallon Hi-Spec slurry tank with it, which can make it work hard on some hilly ground. In the summer, we use it for topping, spreading fertiliser and general jobs on the 100-cow dairy farm.”
The engine and transmission
“It’s got plenty of power when we need it and is more powerful than the 6330 it replaced. The rest of the work we do with the tractor doesn’t take that much power but for heavier work we’re happy with the tractor,” he said.
Powering this tractor is a four-cylinder 4.5-litre stage IV compliant PowerTech PSS engine that uses a two-stage turbo-charging system.
To achieve the stage IV emission criteria, the engine uses diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) in conjunction with AdBlue. I asked Matt what he thought of needing to have AdBlue for his tractor for the first time. “Its fine. It doesn’t burn a lot of it. The tractor does have to run its regeneration cycle which is annoying.” Teamed to this engine is an AutoQuad Plus transmission which gives 24 forward and 24 reverse gears.
Suspended cab
Climbing up into the cab, access could be described as good from the left-hand side. A handrail on the left A-pillar and another on the door make it easy to climb the steps into the cab.
The passenger seat was folded neatly on the right but made it that bit more awkward when it was folded down.
The steering column can be easily folded up and down. All controls fall readily to hand on the right hand side with left-hand reverser tucked neatly under the steering wheel on the left. I asked Matt what his impression of the cab was: “It’s no problem getting into the cab from this side but the right-hand side is more challenging. The steps into the cab are vertical which makes them difficult to climb but also the console and loader control lever means unless I absolutely had to I wouldn’t use that door to get in and out.
‘‘The cab suspension is very comfortable and is designed differently to the one we had on the 6330.’’
Looking to the rear of the tractor, the cab suspension is now mechanical, using a coil-spring with gas accumulator. This replaces the previous hydraulic cylinder and gas accumulator design that was fitted to the 6330. “We didn’t get front-axle suspension as we don’t do that much road work with the tractor,” he said.
Looking out the right-hand door, Matt pointed to the exhaust system. “It’s a lot bigger than the 6330 and could easily get caught in briars or damaged as it sticks out further. We haven’t caught it in anything yet but we’re definitely aware of it as it sticks out a fair bit.”
623R front-loader
As we walked around the tractor, I asked him what he liked about the tractor-loader combination. “The loader is a lot quicker to lift and I don’t have to rev the engine to get it to rise quickly. It will easily lift 2t as we have been moving full pallets of blocks around the yard. 
According to John Deere, the 623R front loader has a 2,622kg lift capacity at full height, which is powered by the tractor’s 114l/min hydraulic pump. “There is great lighting for loader work if we’re feeding cows in darkness. The loader has suspension fitted which can be turned on and off from the joystick – this makes it smooth to work on rough surfaces. “There’s good visibility from the tractor but generally speaking the visibility of the loader is not as good as the previous tractor. This is due in part to the extra lift height of the loader. Greaseable bushings are fitted throughout the loader which can be replaced if needed but we keep them greased to avoid this. Taking the loader on and off is a little more difficult than the 6330 but hopefully this will become easier in time.”
Servicing and engine access
“We’ve no issue whatsoever accessing the engine.
"The one-piece bonnet opens a lot higher, meaning the engine and all other serviceable components under here are easily accessible. The oil change interval is 500 hours which is great,” Matt said. One minor issue I did notice was that the bonnet must be lifted in order to pull the engine-oil dipstick which requires the loader to be in the raised position.
Before leaving Matt, I asked him for his overall opinion. “I’m happy with the tractor in general. For the work we are doing, it’s powerful enough and very manoeuvrable. Visibility is not as good from the cab and access from the right isn’t great but it’s a great tractor. As long as it stays going and doesn’t breakdown we’re happy,’’ he said.
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