“We had it on demonstration from our local dealer, Clarke & Pulman, and quickly fell in love with it,” explained Damien Pinder, who runs the farm with his parents Rennie and Jacqueline, his wife Susan, and assisted by his son Richard, daughter Abigail, and Richard’s partner Katie who manages the sheep.

Trading as SC Pinder & Co, the family farm includes approximately 80ha of grass used to provide grazing and forage for a beef suckler herd consisting mainly of British Blues and Hereford cattle. There is also a flock of pedigree Texel sheep, plus additional store lambs of various breeds bought in last winter.

The small machinery fleet includes one modern tractor with a loader, and two older models. The main tractor tasks are mowing, tedding and baling, and loading and spreading manure. Livestock are fed indoors in the winter using a straw chopper, and bales and feed are loaded and handled in the yard and in the fields. Hay and haylage bales are made for winter feed, or sold and transported to local equestrian customers and farms.

Ride quality and comfort

When the previous main tractor was due for updating, Damien arranged to borrow the MF 5S.125 from Ormskirk-based Clarke & Pulman Ltd. He was so impressed that he immediately placed an order, and the tractor arrived on the farm in October 2021. “From the seat there is an excellent view all around which is important for yard work, as well as for travel on busy roads. The ride quality and comfort are wonderful, and it’s a real pleasure to drive,” he said.

Other cab design features appreciated by the Pinders include the opening rear side windows and the optional LED lighting package. “It’s nice having fresh air rather than relying totally on the air conditioning, and even with the side windows the door is still big enough to get in and out of the cab easily,” Rennie added. “It’s our first tractor with LED lights and they are amazing. For loader work in the farm buildings, they make the job much easier and safer.”

_{The MF 5S.125 Dyna-4 tractor does most of the work on the farm owned by SC Pinder & Co.}

Smooth, effortless Dyna-4

The Pinder’s 5S.125 has a Dyna-4 (16x16), 40kph transmission, and is fitted with a Massey Ferguson FL 3823 front loader. “The Dyna-4 transmission suits us. It’s smooth, the gear changes are effortless, and it just works so well. At the maximum 40kph it still has plenty of power and it’s quiet and comfortable,” Damien continued. “The cruise control feature is a real advantage. I just choose the speed and the tractor selects the ideal engine speed and gear combination for the task. For activities requiring constant speeds such as fertiliser spreading it’s a great help.”

_{Damien Pinder (left) with his father Rennie.}

Brilliant controls

It didn’t take long to get used to the new tractor. “For loader work, the Visio roof panel makes it easy to keep an eye on the attachment and load at maximum height, and the loader control joystick is fantastic. As well as operating the loader and attachment, it also controls the shuttle direction and selects the gears, so only one hand is needed leaving the other free for steering. It’s brilliant,” Damien added.

The 125hp tractor baled hay and haylage this summer, and Damien was impressed by the PTO performance in the challenging conditions. “We had a lot of grass, but the tractor just played with our 1.2m fixed-chamber roller baler,” he explained.

_{The MF 5S.125 Dyna-4 cutting grass for hay and haylage on the busy Lancashire livestock farm.}

Completely reliable

So far, the MF 5S.125 has been totally reliable, and Damien and Rennie agree that they bought the right tractor. It will work approximately 600 hours per year, with routine servicing carried out by the dealer. “As well as helping on our farm, my son Richard works for Clarke & Pulman which is why we were aware of the new 5S-series tractors in the first place. A new tractor is a big investment for us, and if we hadn’t been certain that this was the best tractor to suit our needs then we wouldn’t have placed the order. I also know that Richard wouldn’t have recommended it to us if he had any doubts regarding its suitability. I love driving it. It’s spot on,” he concluded.