Almost right is not good enough to satisfy the mechanization needs of today’s farmer. Farming is becoming more and more challenging and specialized, and therefore the farmer must have technology that is exactly up to the task it has to perform. Valtra tractors offer that number-fitting technology. You order your Valtra tractor exactly according to your specifications and the factory makes it this way – a tractor specially made for you, with the hydraulic capacity, braking system, wheels… everything exactly as you prefer, up to even the color of your choice and your farming ‘s name painted on the cabin if you will.

Marcus Varoli is one of the farmers who needed a special tractor for a special task – and Valtra is the tractor that is customized to exactly fit his needs.

It is one thing to work with your tractor through maize fields and orchards, but to turn a former forestry site into a fertile land, you need something special. It is eucalyptus stumps especially that offer a huge challenge, because the wood is rock hard and must first be drilled or gnawed away and then consumed, finely chopped and spit out.

This is exactly what Marcus Varoli does. He has a few hectares full of eucalyptus stumps from a former forestry area on his beautiful farm outside Plettenberg Bay in the Crags area, and if you have a farm, you have to farm. “After I have restored the acidity of the soil, which was caused by the eucalyptus splinters, I want to grow ryegrass next season and then maize.”

The Valtra tractor’s extra value service power take-off has been adapted to handle the stubble drill with tremendous torque without hesitation. Of course, the tractor seat that can turn over with the control panel on the armrest helps tremendously.
The Valtra tractor’s extra value service power take-off has been adapted to handle the stubble drill with tremendous torque without hesitation. Of course, the tractor seat that can turn over with the control panel on the armrest helps tremendously.
But making the hard, sticky eucalyptus splinters was a special task that required special equipment and especially a special tractor.

After thorough research, the fingers and papers pointed to the Valtra T171, which is manufactured in Finland and distributed and backed by Valtrac in South Africa.

Today, Valtra tractors, which are descended from the legendary Volvo, inspire confidence around the world and in all farming industries. The name, Valtra, has become synonymous with forestry in the Norwegian lands with tractors specially manufactured for forestry.

The chassis is designed to prevent harmful branches and stumps from getting stuck at the bottom of the tractor – the four-wheel drive axle and the 165-liter fuel tank are built into the frame.

Marcus’ T171 is a “TwinTrac” tractor, which means that its seat can turn around and that the tractor can work equally well forwards and backwards. Marcus ordered his tractor from the factory with forestry tires and an extra forest protection plate under the belly. Because he drives the tractor himself, he also ordered his tractor with the comfortable air-controlled seat.

In front are the giant eucalyptus stumps and in the background the land is almost ready to be planted after the Valtra and its implements have passed through.
In front are the giant eucalyptus stumps and in the background the land is almost ready to be planted after the Valtra and its implements have passed through.
“We first have to drill each stump carefully with a stump drill and then I climb in with the mulcher to eat away any larger material to be used as mulch,” he says. This task completes Valtra’s heavy-duty power take-off 1,000 EHD (1,000 rpm) like children’s games. The power take-off’s wider gears in the gearbox and clutch plate with a diameter of 162 mm absorb the extra load lag-lag.

He also uses the extra thick 45 mm power take-off to handle the torque. The T-Series is available in South Africa in four models from 117 to 160 kW.

All of South Africa’s Valtra tractors are equipped with a control stop function, which, like an alert operator, monitors the engine and gearbox oil temperature and switches off the tractor if the temperature becomes too high. This prevents any possible damage. Dean da Costa is the technical manager for forestry at Mondi in northern KwaZulu-Natal and he is in charge of new plantings. He says: “Nampo and the council of various agricultural engineers convinced me to order two of the T191s with forest cabins. I was so impressed that I also recently purchased two T193s. On top of that, I was able to order the tractors from the factory in the orange colors of our company. ”

Each of these tractors, together with its heavy-duty forest eater, is responsible for removing about 450 hectares of rock-hard eucalyptus stumps, which means between 650 and 800 working hours in a year.

In a plantation, of course, every pull thing must be ready and strong enough full time to tow a water tank to a fire in an emergency, and the Valtra tractors do this and it also rises comfortably against the steepest hills.

For more information, call Attie de Villiers at 083-261-9863 or 056-817-8006 or send him an email to attiedev@valtrac.co.za. Valtrac’s user – friendly website, www.valtrac.co.za and Facebook page also have a lot of useful information.