When Canterbury farmer; Craig Clucas was looking for a new rear mower, a mate suggested he consider getting a Pottinger
Craig purchased a Pottinger NovaCat 442 rear-mounted disc mower, with a 4.3m cutting width, six years ago and has not looked back since. He went for a large 10-disc mower for cutting grass seed and grass silage.
“We used to do it with a six-disc mower, but we wanted to go wider without going to a front and rear mower”, Craig says. “I am very happy with it. I like the width it cuts and it gives our business value for money. I would certainly buy another one and would definitely recommend it to other growers”.
Craig has added top hats in the middle of his NovaCat, plus a full set of swath wheels. when harvesting grass seed this creates two even rows that the tractor can straddle.
Craig has added top hats and a full set of swath wheels to his Pottinger NovaCat 442; so he can efficiently mow and window when harvesting ryegrass seed
They dry more quickly and are easy to pick with the header font.
A unique feature of the Novacat mowers is the cutting direction of the two inner and outer discs, which gives a significant advantage over other mowers. they both turn inward, so they don’t fight with the disc behind them, this means they leave a nice tidy swath with limited clumping.
The Clucas family have been farming Foxdale Farms at Lismore – mid-Canterbury, Since the 1930s. Craig says the family is passionate about the farm.
He is the fourth generation to manage the 430-ha operation which is mainly arable, with a bit of stock, including store lambs, ewes and cows for grazing.
Around 400 ha are set aside for crops on a rotation. They grow ryegrass seeds; cereals; maize; kale; peas, and other small seeds.
“We turn ground over all the time, so we need reliable machinery. The Pottinger NovaCat 442 gives us full control of when we cut the paddocks. Timing is crucial and can have a huge bearing on yield. By having our own mower, we don’t have to rely on a contractor” Craig says.
They can run the mower with their 120-HP John Deere 6120M tractor, or alternatively, they hook it into their 175HP John Deere 6175 with skinny tyres to mow grass seed.
In large paddocks, the mower can cruise along at 15kph and cut about 5 ha an hour doing silage.
“In grass seed, we drive at 10kph and cut 3.5ha per hour. We go through up to 25 litres of fuel per hour when cutting grass seed because it is quite thick, but when do silage we use less fuel.”
With its hydraulic centre pivot mounting, the cutter bar is evenly supported over the entire cutting width which gives close ground tracking.
Its large cutting width means Craig can get through mowing jobs in half the time.
“I get up at 3 am when it is cool and dewy and do about 20ha. it is done before 9 am when it is getting too warm. When we had a smaller mower, we did two shifts through the night. Now we only need one operator.
it takes less time at a difficult part of the season. we need to make the most of our time at that time of the year, and having the bigger mower makes a difference
With his NovaCat 442’s 4.3m cutting width and unique mowing section, Craig Clucas can harvest ryegrass without using a contractor or self-propelled mower.
The NovaCat 442 is such a reliable mower- Craig has had no breakdowns. We just change the oils every second year and we replace the blades. It’s just the basic wear and tear.
Craig bought the mower from Drummond and Etheridge, Ashburton. he says they have been fantastic to deal with. he has had very good service from Pottinger’s sales specialist Grham Booth, although the NovaCat has never given him any troubles.
Words by: Paul Titus (Rural Contractor); Graham Booth (Drummond and Etheridge); and Craig Clucas
