Equipment Helps Farm Economics

John Kerr

If you're in the farm business today, you do whatever you can to make a buck," says John Kerr, Lexington, Ky.

That's why, when he's not using his Bobcat® T190 compact track loader and ToolcatTM 5600 utility work machine around his farm, he puts them to work making money off the farm.

"It's unbelievable what you can do with these machines," he says. "We use them for everything from handling pallets of salt blocks and hay cubes to landscaping, tearing up sidewalks and cleaning up construction debris."

The farm is home to Kerr, his wife, Alston, and their children, Virginia and John Kerr, IV, where they raise beef cattle, horses and crops.

Kerr's list of Bobcat attachments, many of which can be used on both machines, include an auger, Brushcat® rotary cutter, smooth edge and tooth buckets, an industrial grapple, landscape rake, mower, pallet fork and snow V-blade. The hydraulic Power BobTachTM system on the T190 allows operators to change standard attachments without leaving the cab. For added comfort and productivity, both Bobcat machines are equipped with enclosed, heated and air conditioned cabs.

He buys his Bobcat equipment from Bobcat Enterprises in Lexington. "We've been very pleased with the good service they provide," Kerr says. "If we have a problem they jump right on it, even on a Saturday."

Track benefits

The T190 handles all the heavy work, aided by the flotation and traction of its rugged rubber track undercarriage.

"We're big fans of compact track loaders," Kerr says. "Our T190 doesn't tear up the ground and it can go right through mud. It costs more than a comparable size skid-steer loader, but it's worth every penny."

The size of the T190, he adds, is ideal. It provides the power he needs for landscaping and lifting heavy loads, yet it's small enough to work easily in and around his barns and to haul on a trailer behind a pickup truck.

In addition to grading residential lots and preparing seedbeds on landscaping projects, the T190 makes easy work of transporting timbers, trees and palletized materials. One of its farm chores is cleaning up thick brush in fence rows using the Brushcat® rotary cutter and industrial grapple attachments.

"This is much more efficient and cost-effective than using chainsaws and a tractor with a front-end loader like we did at one time," Kerr says.

The T190 is also a faster, easier alternative to a tractor-loader unit for hauling logs and brush and for using these materials to construct horse jumps, he adds.

A better alternative

The versatile Toolcat utility work machine has also proven its value in Kerr's operations.

"I bought the 5600 because of all the different kinds of work it can do," he says. "Like our T190, we can use it with a variety of attachments, but the Toolcat utility work machine is a whole different animal. Compared to an all-terrain, four-wheel drive vehicle, it has a lot more power and can do many different jobs."

In fact, this work utility machine does some jobs more easily and efficiently than a tractor or pickup truck. With a top speed of 18 mph, the 5600 wastes no time traveling around the farm to do a variety of chores, whether drilling tree planting holes with the auger, cutting grass with the mower or towing trailers. That includes a trailer that carries a water tank, hand tools and mulch for tending to trees and shrubs. The cargo box with hydraulic dump is great for hauling feed to horses and cattle in pastures.

Toolcat 5600 and T190 Loader

A team effort

The compact track loader and utility work machine also work together. For example, instead of driving a pickup truck to the feed store to get individual protein tubs, which weigh 200 lb. each, then hauling it to the field and dragging it off the bed by hand, Kerr takes an easier approach. He uses the T190 to unload a shipment of the protein tubs to the farm and put them in storage. When needed, the machine loads one into the cargo box of the 5600 which transports it to the field and dumps it where needed.

The 5600 is also used to haul and dump gravel to fill in low spots around livestock waterers and other areas. The gravel is loaded by the T190. Once a year the two machines team up for one of Kerr's charitable ventures. He uses them to help unload goods trucked in by vendors for the Rolex Kentucky, a huge horse competition. "This event keeps our machines busy for two weeks," Kerr says, "doing about anything which is necessary at the event. We have even helped with stuck cars and horse trailers. This event appreciates our help and it is a way for me to give back to the horse community."

These are just a few examples of how Bobcat equipment boosts productivity for Kerr on and off the farm.