“95 percent of Fall Farmers’ Day’s success is the practical demonstrations with tractors and implements that we carry out here and because we can get all the big players in the market together here.” So says Wynand Ambrosius, who is in charge of affairs at the Fall Farmers’ Day. “This year it was especially the combination tools that provided the favorite entertainment.”
The twentieth Fall was again a resounding success and because the show moved to the Fall Farmers’ Association’s sports club with many more facilities this year, the exhibitors and visitors were even more satisfied.
“In addition, we built two more sets of ablution blocks and four loading benches, which were completed just in time,” says Wynand. The parking, access and general logistics were also much better.
The heavy fog that hung over the showground early in the morning happily cleared up completely when the companies’ speakers and operators went to take their places in the country to list the fingertip facts of each implement and tractor and prove that it works as they say.
Despite the streaks of dust that lay on the tools admirers’ faces, everyone seemed happy and satisfied with what the day had to offer. “This year there were between 2 200 and 2 300 people who came through the gates and we experience a strong growth in our numbers every year,” says Wynand.
John Deere has all the habit of impressing the Fall attendees with pomp every year. Here they move tractors and a sprayer stately forward in a stair line. The John Deere equipment is provided by Afgri Mechanization, which is also the main sponsor of the event.
Canada’s mighty 570 Versatile knuckle tractor is new to the country and, along with the 12 – meter wide Kverneland CTC Maxi chisel plow with 32 teeth, has made farmers’ eyes widen.
Victor Kerslake from Tractor Warehouse tells how the Agrex Kulo DDI manure spreader works, which has a built-in scale and a range of 32 meters. The spreader is electronically driven and can be switched on or off in the queue. Mario Posthumus rolled the technologically advanced M9540 Kubota tractor across the country.
Equalizer planters are being built in South Africa for African soil. The multipurpose SL planter is suitable for conventional as well as minimum tillage and shows here how each seed is placed exactly in its place.
The Finnish Valtra tractors from Valtrac, with their variety of colors, were once again beautiful examples of useful engineering prowess. One of the features of the larger Valtra tractors that make work on the farm easier is that the operator’s seat and workstation can turn around so that the tractor can also work in the rear. This is especially useful for cutting and picking.
Lemken’s Gigant 10 is a carrier that is used to get the job done even faster and wider by carrying two tools side by side. The Giant worked with two Rubins at Val and the farmers were amazed to see 90% of the plant material disappear underground.
Shop Hook Distributors has ten depots around Pretoria and across the eastern parts of the country. “We sell about 20 million liters of fuel per month and about 60% of our market is farmers,” says Nico van Wyk, the group’s marketing manager. To his left is Flip Ras, manager of the Balfour branch.
StanSaPro of Standerton may boast of their original plans. After the smart engineers of big planter companies pushed their products into the market, there is always something that StanSaPro’s people can improve on. Juan Jansen van Rensburg, regional parts manager, shows how you can make a planter without a clutch work by mounting their contact drive unit above each wheel so that it is activated as soon as the planter starts moving. The unit then drives the seed, fertilizer and vaccine application systems of the planter so that the planter can run lighter and there can be less wear on the parts such as the gears and chains. Stefan Jordaan is the sales manager.
Remember to mark Fall Farmers’ Day on your calendar. It is every year on the first Wednesday in July.