Looking to operate more effciently, Norfolk farming and contracting  firm HC Beales has been gradually changing the bias of its tractor  fleet to include a greater number of Fendt tractors.

“Fuel effciency and overall reliability are keyf actors for us,” explains Charles Saffell, who runs the farming operation from Crown Farm, Great Ellingham, Attleborough.

“We’ve had a 724 in the fleet for two years now, and we’ve been so impressed with it, that we quickly added a second 724 to the line-up,” he says.

The family business currently handles a 530ha workload on mixed soil types, and includes a mix of combinable crops and sugar beet.

And it was this evaluation processthat formed the catalyst for further change, with both Deere’s making way for two more Fendts, giving the farming business an all Fendt fleet.“This season, we’ve added a 516 to pull ourtrailed sprayer and an 828 to handle heavierdraft work,” he says. “The Vario transmission isn’t just about economy – it delivers power too. All we need to do is choose from performance or economy settings, and the cruise controlsystems do the rest.”Providing a wide variety of services including whole farm agreements, stubble-to-stubble contracts plus hay and silage services, HC Beales demands productivity and efficiency from all its tractors and equipment. But tractor cabs need to be comfortable too, and this is an area where the latest 700-series score for the Norfolk farmer. “I believe our Fendt 724’s are the most comfortable tractors on the market,” hes ays. “We spend long days in cabs so it is important that operators have a spacious,quiet environment to work in.”