Toolcat 5600 Rides Herd on Cattle Chores
Joan Cutler uses a Toolcat 5600 to keep things running smoothly on the Michigan beef cattle farm she owns with her husband Bill.
After retiring from the work-aday world and moving to the country, Joan Cutler, a retired RN, is back in business, doing what she loves best—raising and showing livestock. A Toolcat™ 5600 utility work machine is making her work a lot easier and faster than it used to be.
Earlier in her life, Joan trained and showed Quarterhorses, competing in both riding and halter classes, while her husband, Bill, chairman of the board of H H Cutler, Grand Rapids, Mich., raised beef cattle as a hobby. Today, as owners of Cutler’s Little Farm near Middleville, Mich., they’re starting a herd of registered Polled Hereford cattle. “Now that we’re retired we wanted to do something more exciting,” Joan says. “For us, that’s showing cattle.”
The Cutlers show their Herefords at the annual North American International Livestock Show in Louisville, where one of her heifers won a blue ribbon last year, as well as the Denver National Livestock Show. Bob Goble of Ridgeview Farm shows their cattle.
When Joan raised horses, she used a tractor with a front-end loader along with a shovel and wheelbarrow for cleaning out manure. The 5600 simplifies that job along with a lot of other chores around the farm. “Bill still uses a tractor, but the 5600 is mine,” Joan says. “It allows me to do a lot more work than with the tractor.”
Bill bought Joan the Toolcat machine, equipped with a 46 hp Kubota diesel engine, after almost buying a second utility vehicle for the farm. “The 5600 is much more versatile, plus it’s a lot more comfortable,” Joan says.
Her Bobcat utility work machine, purchased from Carleton Equipment, Byron Center, Mich., has an enclosed cab, air conditioning and heat. “I stay cool in hot weather, warm in the winter and dry when it rains,” she says.
The 5600 saves her time and labor in many ways:
• Cleaning manure. Equipped with a utility bucket, the machine is used to clean out pens and scrape manure from the concrete pad in the barnyard.
• Moving round bales. The 5600 is used to move bales from storage to the cattle lot for feeding in the winter.
• Transporting small bales. Joan uses the cargo box to haul half a dozen or more small hay bales at a time.
• Hauling materials. The 5600 and bucket also make it easy to haul dirt, gravel and sand for filling in low spots and for hauling soil for large flower beds.
• Clearing snow. The machine’s agility combined with four-wheel drive and all-wheel steer also makes it a great tool for clearing snow from a large driveway and the barnyard.
Bill and Joan Cutler
“The Toolcat 5600 is very userfriendly,” Joan says. “It maneuvers easily to work in tight areas. The cab isn’t cramped at all and has room for two people, if needed. Also, you have a very good view all around the machine from the operator’s seat.”
This versatile machine is proving an ideal choice for the Cutlers. By eliminating much of the hard, physical work, it enables them to do what they like best—raising and showing purebred cattle. Says Joan: “We’re very happy with the machine.”
A Joy to Operate
We really enjoy our Toolcat™ 5600,” says Joan Cutler. Not only does it save time and labor, this hard-working machine offers an easy, convenient way to handle a variety of chores around the farm. Plus, it’s a pleasure to drive.
“It’s just a lot of fun to operate,” she says. “Everyone who comes by the farm and sees it, wants to drive the machine.”