Caterpillar - Finning Canada

FIELD TESTMulti TaskingB Y J I M S T I R L I N GChallenger MT 865 showspower and adaptabilityWeather is the farmer’s friend and foe,often during the same growing season.But the elements were conspicuously uncooperativelast fall when grain farmers inAlberta’s Peace River country were trying tolift their crops.“It was a terrible harvest, so wet. We couldn’t get a truck or aSuper-B in the fields. We were just slogging through the mud,”recalls Gerry Wells. Now he knows enough to never tweak theweather Gods’ noses. But he recognizes his new ChallengerMT 865 tractor mounted on tracks becomes a very useful allywhen the weather gets bad and ground conditions get worse.“I’ve only put about 300 hours on it, but so far, so good.The flotation’s there so the tractor won’t rut the ground,” Wellsexplains. “You can’t beat it for soft conditions. And I like theway it’s agile and fast in the field with a good range of speeds,”he adds. The northern Alberta farmer has dedicated his workinglifetime to farming and seen many descriptions of equipmentand machinery come and go. His operations spreadacross about 9,000 acres in the region of Wanham, near thePeace River, some 50 miles north of Grande Prairie. He growscanola, wheat, some barley and grass seeds like creeping redfescue.Experience is invaluable when drawing up a shopping listof machinery requirements. “I wanted a tractor to have horsepower,be close to the ground and felt tracks were the way togo,” the farmer explains. The 865 has the power in spades,with 500 gross horsepower from the Caterpillar C16 electronicengine. Wells is experienced with wheeled tractors. “I’m nothappy with [wheel] traction,” he explains. “There’s a power34 TRACKS & TREADS • Summer 2005 www.finning.ca