Deere delivers in Dorset

Deere delivers in Dorset

Dorset's grass verges and school playing fields are looking greener than usual this summer following the purchase of a fleet of new John Deere tractors by the organisation responsible for the upkeep of the county's highways and amenity areas.

Dorset Works Organisation (DWO), the contracting division of Dorset County Council, has taken delivery of three John Deere 6020 Series tractors - two 90hp 6220SEs and a 110hp 6420 - for their operations throughout the county. The tractors were supplied by the groundscare division of John Deere dealer New Forest Farm Machinery of Ringwood in Hampshire.

The two 90hp tractors are for general maintenance of school playing fields, and have replaced a pair of ageing Land Rovers. They are equipped with John Deere 631 front loaders, PowrQuad transmissions and Nokian TRI grass tyres, and join an existing four year old 6210SE model. For grass cutting all three tractors operate with seven-unit hydraulic gang mowers.

The third new tractor is a high specification four-cylinder turbo model with AutoQuad 50kph transmission. This tractor is also equipped with a John Deere 651 front loader and Nokian TRI grass tyres, and will spend most of its time coupled to a McConnell PA650 flail mower for use throughout the county on permanent and casual contracts.

DWO's rethink of its machinery policy was brought about by the changing climate, which effectively meant that the division's equipment was working over a much longer season.

"We now start cutting grass much earlier in the year, typically in February or March as opposed to April, and our Land Rovers were struggling on the soft and wet land," explained DWO's James Bottle. "We won't have this problem with the new John Deeres."

Photo: The new fleet of John Deere 6020 Series tractors was handed over by New Forest Farm Machinery's managing director Henry Richardson (centre) and salesman Tim Farwell to Dorset Works Organisation employees James Bottle, John Morey and Tony Frampton.