Since the 1890s, the Dieckmann family has farmed their land at Kalbar in the Scenic Rim region of South East Queensland.
Source: AFDJ eNews
Originally running dairy cattle before turning for many years to vegetable crops, the 200-acre farm has been producing lucerne hay using Case IH equipment.
“It’s always been hay since I was a kid in the early sixties; I remember driving the big red tractor and baling hay at night,” Trevor Dieckmann said.
“Although this used to be a big area for vegetable growing; at one time the region produced one third of Queensland’s potato crop and had dedicated ‘potato trains’ that were so full they had to back out of the station first to build up speed to get out of Kalbar.”
Like many of the farms in the region, the Dieckmann farm turned to lucerne hay as the crop of choice, which they sell through their business, Kalbar Lucerne.
The Dieckmanns follow a busy, year-round baling schedule with their Case IH tractors which includes a treasured old International 434, International 454, Case IH 585 and 585 2WD, Case IH 4210, JX1090U, CX60, CX90, JX70 Cab and 956, and their three most recent purchases – a Farmall 115U Cab, Farmall 60B, and Farmall 105U with loader.
“The Farmall 115U we have is big enough for all our general needs and a good size to handle,” Mr Dieckmann said.
“Each tractor has its own dedicated attachments and roles, and the hay gear never comes off except for maintenance; mowers, rakes, balers – they all stay on constantly, particularly in summer when we seldom stop.
“We run straight Rhodes grass, grassy lucerne, green lucerne, shedded lucerne, a lucerne-barley mix, barley, mixed chaff and lucerne chaff and we aim for eight cuts of hay each year, depending on the weather, with an average of 50 units per acre cut.
“That’s 400 bales per acre per year, so we produce around 80,000 bales each year on average.”
Trevor admits to a soft spot for his old 585 2WD that’s been used on the property for almost 40 years.
“We bought the Farmall 115U in 2015 when the series was first released – I think we got the first one in Australia; it’s a good size tractor for this sort of farm and it suits what we do perfectly, so we use it constantly,” he said.
“We then got the Farmall 60B in late-2015, because we thought we’d have to retire the old 585, and it’s a great little run-around; we bale with it, slash with it and do general ground work with it – we went cabless with that because we’re literally in and out of it all the time, we use it so much.”
With such a busy operation, Trevor appreciates the support he receives from Dover & Sons, his Case IH dealer in nearby Boonah.
“I can ring Dovers’ Sales Rep Michael Gnech at any time and Dovers will help us out with any need,” Mr Dieckmann said. “You need that – you need good service – and we’ve always had that with Dovers.”
