Fanie Slabbert farms with his farther, Hugo and is brother Izak on the farms, Leeuwendans, Janbrewersfontein and Hoogstede between Paarl and Durbanville in the Western Cape.

They operate a very diverse farming enterprise including vines, cattle and sheep, as well as lucerne, wheat and canola.  Their main focus is on grain and over the past couple of years they were one of the major producers of SA-standard lucerne seed in South Africa.

“Because of our expansions, we had to obtain an additional tractor. Due to the drought in 2017, we had to carefully manage our expenditure and in the end bought a second-hand McCormick X7.680

On advice from Jan Uys from Weskus mechanisation. This particular tractor had low working hours and was in excellent condition and we thought it was good value for money at that stage. We bought the tractor and I was quite impressed with the fuel consumption, drawing‐power, traction and the technology of this model,” Fanie explains.

He adds that the performance of the tractor makes farming a great deal easier. “The tractor is capable of handling all the implements used on the farm with ease. We use that specific tractor to do soil preparations, to plant our crops, apply fertiliser, and to transport grain to the elevators, as well as grapes to the cellar.”

“To identify single attributes of the tractors is difficult as the overall performance regarding technology features and fuel consumption is excellent. If I have to focus on something specific, I will say the value for money is unsurpassed. You get excellent value for the price you pay. I think many other brands rely on their name and are too expensive for the value that the farmer receives at the end of the day.”

Fanie says that the staff at both these dealerships really offer outstanding service and that they really add value to the industry with a positive attitude.

He adds that he is collecting model combines, but recently developed a soft spot for  McCormick and has now started collecting these as well. “I also bought McCormick “soft toy” tractor for his son, which is now also safely tucked in bed every night!”

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