It is now 25 years since Fanie van der Walt and his two brothers decided to take over and expand the family business. They come from a long line of farmers who have been farming for over 100 years in the Lejweleputswa Municipal District, a very arid region in the province of Free State.
Visit to Fanie van der Walt, Head of the Fendt Chapter, South Africa
The van der Walt family grows corn, sunflowers and wheat. Every three to four years they change the crop rotation between corn and soy, sometimes wheat. They also keep cattle and sheep and, like many South African farmers, run a wildlife farm. A great challenge for the farmers of the region are the climatic conditions, which range from very dry to almost humid. The average annual rainfall in this province is just 450-700 mm. The soils here are partly covered with sand (loam content less than 5%), some lime deposits as well as clay-containing soils – all material from the foothills of the famous Karoo half-desert.
Recalculating with Fendt
When Fanie van der Walt was looking for a tractor with 300 hp or more in 2016, he came across the Fendt brand. Until then he had used a tracked machine that had come of age and was now interested in a wheeled tractor. As the Fendt brand has only just been introduced to the South African market, Fanie turned to his local AGCO dealer. For one season now, he has been the proud owner of the high-torque Fendt 1050 Vario with high performance and low fuel consumption. “The best thing about my decision to switch to Fendt are the fuel savings I make,” says Fanie enthusiastically. “I can't reduce the amount of seeds or fertiliser; they're fixed. But my Fendt 1050 Vario saves me half the amount of fuel I used to use with my old tractor. We're talking about savings of 1 million. South African rand per season, that's about 61,000 euros,” says the South African farmer.
Especially in the severe droughts, saving resources of any kind in South Africa is important. “When we had no rain, we fought against the seasonal increase in fertiliser prices of 10-20%”, Fanie says, describing the extra challenges. This makes it all the more important that using his Fendt 1050 Vario would quickly pay off. “I tell many of my neighbours who ask about my Vario, how differently Fendt runs its business. It's so different from anything I've experienced before. And the attention that Fendt gives to its customers goes way beyond my previous aftersales experiences.”
Fanie is now part of a group of Fendt customers who visited the tractor plant in Marktoberdorf in April to inquire directly about current technological trends and telemetry applications. Both the tractor production as well as the hospitality he experienced at Fendt and in Bavaria in general, impressed him. Meanwhile, Fanie van der Walt was elected by the South African “Fendt family” in September 2019 as Head of the “Fendt Chapter, South Africa”. Just like with us, farmers and agricultural equipment dealers meet here to share professional insights and of course also have fun. It's a beautiful tradition that connects farmers across borders.
More customer voices
When I borrowed the Fendt 700 Vario-series demonstrator from the local Crawfords Billingshurst depot I didn’t expect to buy it, but within 30 minutes of it arriving on the farm I just didn’t want to give it back
David Ellin, farm manager, England
This year, we achieved daily outputs of over 1,000 m3 with our new draught horse, which is quite astonishing under the conditions prevailing here.
Marcel Döring, Contracting company Döring, Fritzlar, Germany - Fendt 900 Vario
At 40 km/h, the speed is only 950 rpm, which of course makes the job a lot more relaxed for the drivers.
Frank Busche, Busche contracting company, Estorf, Germany - Fendt 700, 900, 1000 Vario
The 942 is easy going and overall a mature concept.
Fitim Mehmeti, Contracting company M & H Agricultural Logistics, Wobeck, Germany - Fendt 900, 1000 Vario
The 415 hp from the MAN engine with 9 l displacement, coupled with the low-speed concept, are optimal for chipper use.
Mathias Schneider, Contracting company Schneider, Sainbach, Germany - Fendt 900 Vario
It´s nice and neat in the barley, wheat and here in the rapeseed.
Konrad Miosge, Dankmarshausen farming cooperative, Dankmarshausen, Germany - Fendt IDEAL 8T, IDEAL 9T, 936, 942 Vario
It's all about diversity. That's why we call the tractor a multipurpose machine.
Josef Pappenreiter, Managing Director VA Erzberg GmbH - Fendt 1050 Vario
Fendt tractors are enormously efficient with regard to time, quality and fuel.
Kerem Bolat, head of agricultural equipment maintenance, Ceylanpinar Farm, Turkey - Fendt 900 Vario
Fendt IDEAL sets new standards.
Ulrich Stemmer, Agriculture, Pig fattening, Präbschütz, Germany - Fendt IDEAL 9T, 1050, 2x 939s, 933, 724 Vario, Farmer 2S, Favorit 600 LSA
It’s quite simple really – leaders drive Fendt!
Anton Reetz, Managing Director of Agrarservice Rügen in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Germany - Fendt 1000, 900, 800, 700 Vario, Baler 4160 V
We'd be
nowhere near as flexible if
we used trucks.
Daniel Otto, branch manager of Viela Export GmbH, ferry port of Sassnitz / Mukran, Germany - Fendt 720 Vario
You get to turn something really bad into something really good.
Garry Kemp, Entrepreneur in Allendale East, South Australia, Australia - Fendt 1050 Vario
With our LAYJET method, we are on average 10 times faster than with conventional technology.
Rainer Dunst, Managing Director of LAYJET Micro-Rohr Verlegegesellschaft from Steiermark, Austria - Fendt 936 Vario
Damiano und Paolo Cazzola, owner of an agricultural company, Salizzole, Italy - Fendt Katana 65/85; 30 Fendt tractors
Henning Hagemann, farmer from Groß Salitz, Germany - Fendt 1050 Vario
Woody Martin, contractor & farmer from Pennsylvania, USA - Fendt 930 Vario
Matt Hoff, dairy farmer from Maryland, USA - Fendt 927, 930, 933 Vario
Fendt 828 Vario vs Porsche 911 GT3 & Anthony Beltoise, renowned race car driver, France
