A McCormick X5M tractor from Clark Equipment has proven to meet all the criteria which Victorian business Agresta Flowers needed
Most people will be familiar with the phrase “it’s what’s inside that counts”.
For Victorian farmer Domenico Agresta, it was what is inside McCormick’s X5M tractor – specifically a Perkins engine – that ultimately inspired his purchase.
Domenico has spent his lifetime around tractors after his father founded the family business Agresta Flowers in 1968, and it was his long-term trust in the reliability of Perkins engines that meant purchasing a McCormick tractor from Australian distributor Clark Equipment.
Agresta Flowers is based at Somerville in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and recently doubled in size to 40 acres after acquiring a neighbouring property.
Something with a Perkins engine was the first criteria, and it was the value for money offered by McCormick’s X5M – along with several other features including operator comfort – which made that the winner.
“We’ve purchased a new nursery in Somerville and I needed something that had good, reliable horsepower because this particular tractor is used for the cultivation of the new soil,” Domenico says.
“We don’t need super big tractors, but we just need something that’s going to be reliable.
“We went with McCormick for the simple reason I’ve always been brought up with Perkins engines and they’re reliable and they’re very fuel efficient.”
McCormick’s X5M is part of the Italian manufacturer’s utility range and offers a maximum of 110hp (81kW) from the four-cylinder 4.4L Perkins diesel engine.
A 4,500kg rear lift capacity means it can comfortably handle demanding attachments and complete open field tasks such as ploughing, tilling, harrowing, sowing and hay making.
It is fitted with electrohydraulic four-wheel drive engagement and a 60 + 30L/minute hydraulic flow rate to handle both the hydraulic functions and steering system.
Two transmission options are available – Power Four and XtraShift.
The Power Four transmission provides 12 speeds in both forward and reverse which can be increased to 16 in both directions with the creeper unit.
McCormick’s XtraShift transmission with three-stage HML powershift offers 48 speeds forward and 16 in reverse.
Both options feature an electrohydraulic power shuttle with response modulation and de-clutch function for fast and smooth clutchless gear shifting.
This shows itself in ways which Domenico says also contributed to his purchase decision.
“Another reason we went for the McCormick was driver fatigue,” he says.
“The McCormick has a button on the gear shift lever that engages the clutch so that you can change gears all in one go, and don’t get leg fatigue.
“It has also got very good visibility, being glass all the way around.
“We do a lot of cultivation from the rear of the tractor, so when you’re looking back you can see right down to the ground from there and you have got no obstructions of view at all.
“The four-wheel drive capability is great and it has performed beautifully for us.”
Value for money
No matter which sector of farming somebody is in, the need to get bang for buck with major machinery investments is regularly front of mind.
With price pressures on Domenico’s core product of flowers leading to budget tightening, along with increasing costs for fuel, the goal was to get something which would be reliable without adding unnecessary expense.
“When we had been looking to purchase a new tractor at the time, we looked across all the brands,” he says.
“We based it on two things. Price is important these days because we’re not the getting the return on our product as well as we used to.
“Reliability was the other factor, and with the McCormick being Italian built, having the Perkins engine and the horsepower that we needed – that’s why we went with it.
“Some of our other tractors are very thirsty on fuel and fuel consumption is a big factor these days as well.
“We’re not looking for equipment that’s got complicated computer controls – we just need something that is reliable and just starts every time you hop into it.”
The X5M also offers what McCormick describes as “superior automotive-style comfort”, which includes the likes of a Total Slim View cabin which has the all-round visibility which Domenico mentions, along with an air suspension seat for increased comfort and a flat-deck platform.
Service matters
McCormick tractors are distributed in Australia by Clark Equipment, which offers a strong network of branches around the country.
Domenico’s nearest branch is in Dandenong in Melbourne’s south-east, where he deals with sales representative Stephen Bryan.
While the tractor has proven reliable since its purchase, the ongoing after-sales service which Domenico has received has led to other items being purchased from Clark Equipment.
“Stephen has been great – he rings up probably every couple of months just to follow up and see how things are going,” Domenico says.
“Since then, I’ve purchased a few other bits and pieces from their company like the attachable A-frames which we use on the back of our tractors and means we can quickly change the equipment without getting out of the tractor.
“I needed a few of them, so Stephen was able to source them quickly and purchase for me at a reasonable price.
“We’ve had no issues with Clark Equipment – they have been great.”
Long road travelled
While it was the engine inside the McCormick X5M which contributed strongly towards Domenico’s purchase, this trust in Perkins has been built over a long time.
Agresta Flowers remains a family business, coming up to nearly 60 years of operation since Domenico’s father founded it.
Even at the age of 84, his mother remains a director and still owns the company.
Domenico initially went into building, but the company he was an apprentice at went broke in the 1980s and he moved back to the nursery – somewhere he has remained since.
He has taken the reins of the business and racks up plenty of miles on the road between the nursery in Somerville and the markets at Epping in Melbourne’s north.
“We mainly supply wholesale florists because we don’t sell by a bunch, we sell by the buckets,” Domenico says.
“We’ve got customers that buy 200, 300 or 400 bunches at a time so that’s our main core business.
“We grow particular lines like alstroemeria, which is a special type of flower that comes from the Netherlands and is under plant variety rights, so you can’t propagate it which guarantees us good sales.
“We grow a few other crops outside as well such as gypsophila.”
Domenico also faces challenges such as long hours and variable pricing which will be familiar to farmers nationwide.
Joking that the nursery is called as such because it needs to be looked after like a baby, Domenico is working hard to ensure Agresta Flowers has a long and prosperous future.
“We’re expanding in Somerville at the moment to continue on building what we are,” he says.
“Having bought the property next door we’ve now got 40 acres, which is all going to be put under greenhouses and sprinklers.”
The McCormick X5M is cultivating the soil which will create that long-term prosperity and with plans to purchase another tractor along with upgrading some older ones, the McCormick brand – and the Perkins engines which power them – is going to be a major part of that story.