This Australian farmer invested in a Hustler Combi wagon because it is efficient, safe and easy-to-use

Published 28th October 2021
Australia

Australian farmer Shane Moxey from GCS Partners In Farming recently invested in a Hustler Combi RX148 multi-feeder wagon for his mixed farming operation. Not only does the machine save him time with less travel to the fields, but it is also a very safe one-man wagon, which was an essential criterion as the farm is crossed by a highway.

Watch Shane’s story to see how Hustler helped his operation and improved his efficiency.

 
GCS Partners In Farming is a family farm owned and operated by Glenn and Colleen Moxey with Shane their son and his family based in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia near the town of Forbes. They have been making hay in this area for over 30 years.

The farm is a mixed operation. “We produce mainly lucerne and hay in the summertime, somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 little bales of lucerne. We have about 20,000 to 30,000 little bales of cereal and then we do about 5,000 to 10,000 big bales of hay for our own cattle and for sale,” Shane described. He particularly enjoys the diversity of tasks as “there’s something different to do
most days.”

 

“We were looking for a much easier way to feed out and now [with the Hustler], things are just so much easier”

 

Before owning a Hustler wagon, Shane was using hay feeders. Because of the multiple trips to the paddocks and the soil compaction due to the herd concentration and foot traffic, “in wet times that ended up being a boggy mess,” Shane explained.

The Hustler Combi RX148 multi-feeder wagon feeds out bales of any type in a long windrow, encouraging the cattle to move and to spread around the feed over hundreds of metres. As the feed is never concentrated in a few spots, the soil can regenerate quicker, offering a better pasture efficiency.

 

 

The waste caused by using hay feeders/hay rings was also significant. The Hustler now allows Shane to distribute a more adequate volume of feed, which is less trampled by the cattle, significantly reducing his hay waste.

 

“You load the Hustler up, take it out to the field, spread out the feed and all gets eaten, no waste, less compaction on the paddock”

 

The Hustler Combi range is able to feed out literally every supplementary type of feed, including all bale types, shapes and sizes and any type of loose feed including fine chop silage, maize silage, root crops, vegetables and more.

For Shane’s operation, the most important was to find a large-capacity feedout wagon able to handle the big 8′ square bales made on the farm. This type of wagon isn’t always easy to find, and mixer wagons aren’t suited for the job.

 

“Once we started feeding out with it, that was when we really knew that it was the machine for us”

 

The Hustler Combi RX148 “just ticked all the boxes,” Shane said. “It fed out, presented and it was safe to use and quite easy to use.”

Health and safety on farm is a growing concern. Heavy machinery is becoming safer, but the fact that the Combi wagon is 100% hydraulically powered makes it less dangerous than a PTO-powered machine. Safety is definitely “one of the main reasons why we’ve got this piece of machinery,” Shane said. “One-man operation, you take all your bales to the field in one trip and you’re not carrying big loads of hay on the front of the loader across highways. It just travels up the road so safely.”

 

 

The Combi wagon is also a piece of machinery easy to use, even for low-skill operators. This becomes an asset on large-scale farms as it takes less time to train new employees on the equipment.

 

“It just travels up the road so safely”

 

Today, Shane has improved his feeding efficiency thanks to the Hustler Combi RX148 feedout wagon and can spend more time on other important tasks around the farm.

“The biggest commodity wasted on a farmer is time. The best thing about the Hustler for us is pre-Hustler it was taking nearly half a day when we’re in the drought feeding, and now we can feed more cattle in two or three hours in the morning. Makes life easier!” Shane concluded.

 

“[Hustler] makes life easier!”

 

Do you want to know more about Hustler’s Combi ranges? Contact us today, you’ll be glad you did!

 

New call-to-action