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Fendt has always been a premium brand of tractor, so when I got the chance to drive the latest from the German marque, I jumped at the idea and decided to get some of its forefathers in the same field to see how things have moved on in the last nearly 25 years.
Fendt 720 profi plus(The new one)
The newest of the tractors at the field day was a profi plus spec 720 which had all the boxes on the extras list ticked, meaning that this was as close to autonomous as I’m happy to drive.
This tractor came with fully integrated GPS with auto steer. It was also fully ISOBUS-compliant, so any implement with ISOBUS on board could link directly to the GPS and the tractor’s screen could be used to control the machine. This machine had TMS (headland management) in it.
This was introduced to the Fendt range in the early noughties and really made use of the Vario technology they had been using for a few years.
Driving the 720 was a real joy. It was hooked to a 3m Tulip cultivator which consisted of two rows of disks and a set of five crow foot legs. With the legs lowered hydraulically, it took some serious pulling. The 720 was more than up to the challenge and handled it with ease. 
After a few minutes of setting up, the autosteer was ready. This was very easy to use and even with the basic EGNOS system was very accurate. When starting into the first row, a quick push of the small go button engaged the autosteer.Once on the row, another push of the big go button dropped the implement and then a push right of the joystick got the tractor up to the preset cruise speed.
When it is time to change direction, one quick push of the end button on the controller to lift the implement, a quick pull back on the Vario lever to reduce forward speed and taking control of the steering are required. Once the tractor is roughly pointed in the right direction, another push of the go button and it will find its own path back up the field. This makes covering large areas with minimal effort very easy and with accuracy that is beyond even the freshest of operators.
Fendt 924 Vario (The first Vario in Ireland)
Fendt launched the Vario transmission at Agritechnica in 1995 after years of development, including a shelved attempt in the 1980s which failed due to the cost and availability of parts to make it work efficiently.
With the changes in manufacturing in the early 1990s, Fendt went back at it and was finally happy to release it to the public.
The tractor that was in the field on the day was a 924 Vario. This tractor was the first one in Ireland.
It was brought in by Fendt for the Spring Show in 1998 and apparently was driven off the stand directly to its first home in Co Waterford. It stayed on that farm until 15 years ago when it was bought by its current owners, Joe Nolan and Sons, with nearly 6,000 hours on the clock. They have clocked another 7,500 hours, bringing the hour total up to an impressive 13,500 hours so far in its career. The 924 produces a spectacular (even by today’s standards) 240hp. This power and its state-of-the-art Vario gearbox must have made this tractor feel and look like a spaceship in 1998.
When you consider that the Massey Ferguson 4255 or New Holland TS 115 were probably the most common new purchases that year, driving the big Vario was a pleasure. It was hooked to a 4.5 Kockerling grubber which belonged to the tractor’s owner and was a great match to the power of the tractor.
Once on the move using the little Vario joystick, the power that was available from the big MAN diesel was intoxicating and seemed to be endless. When the big grubber was buried as deep as I dared into the ground, the way the 924 hunkered down and pulled was mind blowing. The noise from the engine was spectacular and it felt like it would pull the entire field into the next parish if it was asked to.
Fendt 615 LSA Turbomatik E (The non-Vario)
These tractors were produced from 1979 to 1993 and were the first range of Fendt tractors that were seen in any number on this island. The one that was in the field was one of the last ones to come to Ireland, being registered for the first time in January 1993. Its current owner is Garrett O’Sullivan, who has owned it for the past two and a half years and the restoration job that he has done on the tractor is a credit to him.
During the day, it came to light that the 615 had at one point belonged to the current owners of the 924. It’s a small Fendt world. It’s hard believe that a tractor that produces 150hp was the smallest in the field on the day but in 1993 this was a serious tractor which would only have been of any use to the biggest farmers and contractors in the country.
Garrett is adamant that despite the hard work he has put into the 615, he wants it to be a working classic. He uses it to draw a dump trailer with scrap metal from his family truck maintenance business and even takes time off to use the venerable Fendt to help local farmers at harvest time.
Driving the 615 was a completely new experience to me. Manual gear changes seemed alien after the newer tractor but soon became an interesting challenge and very satisfying when achieved without having to apologise to the tractor’s owner.
According to some of the Fendt experts in the field, if managed correctly gear changes can be undertaken without the use of the clutch. I wasn’t brave enough to try. Between the brake and clutch pedal there is a little pedal. A quick stab of this gives you the use of a “half gear” if the pressure comes on and will shift back up when the revs rise up again. Very smart for this era of machine.
The 615 was hooked to a 3m Namyslo disk cultivator and given that conditions were far from ideal, the 615 was more than capable of pulling it even when slightly blocked with wet clay.
The implement controls were very simple, with a switch to raise and lower the implement and a large dial to set the working depth, these at a time when big levers were the norm. Sitting in the driver’s seat of the 615 with the front and back window open and listening to the big Fendt growling as the pressure came on is one of life’s great pleasures.
Moving between the differing eras of Fendt tractors, the one thing that occurred to me was that each of these tractors was a standout machine in its day. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the 615 would have stood out from the crowd due to its horsepower and also the differing controls and gearbox configuration that were not the norm on other brands.
Moving up the years to the 924, this stood out even more as a nearly otherworldly machine at the time and truly was the start of the building of what we know of today as Fendt Vario tractors.
The biggest step forward to the 720 is the introduction of computing power to the mix.
The Vario system itself hasn’t changed hugely but the controls to use it more efficiently have moved on light years.
With the headland management and the integrated autosteer on this machine, the advantages of the Vario system can be utilised to close to their potential. If the next 25 years see the same leaps forward in tractor technology, who knows what will be working in the fields but I can’t wait to drive them.
German workhorse for 100-cow Irish dairy farm
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