A Queensland farmer and contractor is impressed with his new JCB Fastrac iCON 8330 tractor and has been showing his online fan base
He is a TikTok star with his finger on the pulse of farm machinery worldwide, so Lance Wise’s decision to go with JCB’s Fastrac iCON 8330 tractor was not one taken lightly.
The Queensland farmer and contractor has more than 35,000 followers on the social media platform, sharing videos of his life working the land in the state’s Darling Downs region.
His videos give his audience an insight into real-world farm machinery use, while the knowledge sharing goes both ways as Lance is also exposed to new machines, techniques and ideas thanks to the platform.
Having spent much of his farming life using another brand of tractor, it was after a demonstration of the Fastrac iCON 8330 early last year that Lance made his first leap into JCB machinery.
“We were pretty impressed with it, so we decided to go ahead towards the end of last year and it’s been running well,” Lance says.
“It’s just very smooth, doing every operation you put it towards – smooth in the paddock, and smooth on the road.
“We’ve normally run other tractors and this is just far better and a lot more comfortable to ride in.”
Lance is primarily a grain farmer, operating across 1,650 hectares at Bowenville near Toowoomba, while also doing contract harvesting around the Darling Downs region and hiring out some machinery.
One of the features which JCB tractors are known for, particularly the Fastrac iCON 8330, is their speed.
A modified Fastrac broke a Guinness World Record in 2019 for the world’s fastest tractor, while the ‘standard’ Fastrac iCON 8330 boasts a top speed of 70km/h.
This additional speed is invaluable for an operation like Lance’s, where hire and contracting machinery can be located at different sites and travel time between these can be significant.
“When we’re moving machines around, you can’t tow them with a truck or ute or anything like that, so the tractor reaching 70km/h means you can get there fairly quickly and cruise home at 25-30km/h with an implement on the back,” he says.
“Some instances could take six hours or more to get one machine and move it on to the next person, and I’ve almost halved it – or definitely taken off one-third of the time.
“It’s just made that a lot quicker and then obviously the suspension is a lot smoother as well. “That’s one of the reasons why we bought it, and it just fits in with our farming quite well.”
The Fastrac iCON 8330’s speed is a huge point of difference, but the tractor is far from a one-trick pony.
The iCON part of the name refers to the manufacturer’s new technology and control suite, which was only launched in Australia less than two years ago.
JCB says iCON has been designed to bolster the tractor’s technological capability while remaining simple and efficient for users.
It features a new armrest console and 30cm touchscreen display with fully integrated ISOBUS connectivity, precise GPS guidance and implement control applications, plus simplified operation on the joystick.
One simple change for operators is now pushing the joystick forward to increase tractor speed, rather than tapping to the right-hand side.
There are five configurable buttons and a roller thumb control on the main joystick, and another four with a rocker switch on the second joystick.
This has also made a difference for Lance, with JCB’s intentions when introducing the iCON suite being reflected in his experience.
“It’s very user friendly and very easy to configure the controls to each implement that you hook up to it,” Lance says.
“Once you work out your configurations and how you want to run the machine and control layout, it’s just far easier to use than other tractors.
“Everything’s one or two clicks away instead of needing to dive into the screen and go through five, six or seven steps to find out how to do something.
“It’s all just there and it’s been quite good that way.”
JCB’s Fastrac iCON 8330 is a powerful unit, producing 348 horsepower (260kW) and 1450Nm of torque.
Its rear lift capability of 10,000kg means it can handle even the most demanding of implements with ease.
It is one of two models in the JCB Fastrac iCON range, with the smaller 4220 model offering 235hp (175kW) of power, 1000Nm of torque and 8,000kg rear lift capacity.
For Lance, it is the 8330’s versatility and strength which makes it ideal for his needs.
“We’re mainly using it for the running around type jobs – so tow-behind spraying, spreading, three-point linkage spreading, chaser bin, those type of things,” he says.
“It definitely pulls harder than our other 350 horsepower tractor, so it can do that work quite well.”
Many farmers may know Lance through his TikTok profile ‘Lancey86’, where he is showing the benefits of his machines such as the JCB Fastrac iCON 8330 while also learning from other farmers around the world.
“It’s seeing what people do in different parts of the world, how they do it and how that can translate to what you do and give you different ideas,” he says.
“That’s been a good experience for us, looking over the fence and seeing what’s around.
“You’re also showing a different point of view to people that want to watch.
“It gives them a thought process where they might go for this piece of gear instead of that piece of gear – they’re actually getting a point of view from somebody who’s using the thing.”
Fastrac iCON tractors are distributed nationwide by JCB CEA’s extensive dealer network.