Case IH press release written in August 2005.

THE record-breaking Steiger STX500 Quadtrac that regained the Ploughing World Record for Case IH in February this year has been sold to a Hertfordshire-based contractor.

The new owner is Scott & Scott, of Buttermilk Hall Farm, Buntingford, which can now boast ownership of two of Case IH’s top-of-the-range tractors.

The 500hp Quadtrac, which was taken to Commensacq, France, for the record attempt, managed to plough 321ha in 24 hours hitched to a specially designed 20-furrow Grégoire-Besson plough.

The record-breaking effort beat the previous 2002 record by 70ha and Case IH's own 2000 world record by 112ha.

The Scotts, father Ralph and sons Warren and Robert, are no strangers to the Quadtrac. They bought their first one - a 400hp Case IH 9380 - in 2001, only replacing it with a STX500 at the end of 2004. The record-breaking machine joined their fleet in August, just in time for some serious post-harvest cultivation work.

“We bought the second Quadtrac because we will have enough work for two,” Warren said. “We have already booked nearly 2,400ha for cultivation work this autumn and we don’t want to let anyone down.

“If there’s one thing that certain about contracting, you’ll only let a customer down once.”
The Scotts bought their first Quadtrac because of its incredible traction.

“Having worked with it for the past four years, I know what the Quadtrac is capable of,” Warren said. “There’s no other tractor that can compete with it in the wet and we can carry ploughing no matter what the weather is like.”

Warren is currently spending most of his time securing more work for the two tractors and makes no secret of the fact that he would like to add another when he can justify it.

“For a contractor to make money and reduce the cost to the customer, he needs to increase the amount of work he does in a day,” Warren said. “Because we have the kit for the job, we can offer a competitive price and still make a margin.”

Scott & Scott has bought a new 6m Väderstad Top Down cultivator with mounted BioDrill to pull behind the record-breaking tractor, although Warren is not going to be pushing it quite as hard as it worked in France.

“I’m aiming for between 60-80ha a day from it,” he said. “We don’t work 24 hours because I believe in having one dedicated driver on each machine because it becomes their tractor and they take care of it.”

The Scott’s other STX500 is hitched to a 6m Simba Solo cultivator. With eight subsoiler legs, it is a bit harder to pull and Warren only expects up to 60ha a day from it. If ploughing is required, the Scotts have a 14-furrow reversible Kverneland plough which, like the cultivators, also runs at 6m wide.

“From the middle of August we expect to be working at full capacity for about six weeks, but we will keep going as long as the weather and ground conditions allow,” Warren said.

The tractor was sold by Case IH dealer Collings Brothers, of Abbotsley; itself no stranger to the Case IH Steiger STX Quadtracs. The company has sold 30 of them and now has a total of 37 maintained by its service department.

Ray Runciman of Collings Brothers said that Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire was proving ideal terrain for the four tracked machines.

“Farms are getting much bigger and need these high-powered tractors, and there are many more contractors using them as well,” he said. “They all want to get over the land quickly and the Quadtrac, with its excellent traction, is proving perfect for the job.”

Scott & Scott has been dealing with Collings Brothers for the past 15 years and knows that the Case IH dealer can provide the support required to keep the high-value Quadtracs hard at work.

“Collings have always given us the best of service,” Warren said, “and they know if we can find the work for it, we’ll be back for a third Quadtrac as soon as we can.”