How St Donats Farm Powers Their Operation with the Fendt 720 Vario
Just north of Hereford, Sam Davies runs St Donats Farm alongside his father, Graham. Together, they farm 550 acres of combinable crops on medium, well-suited soil and operate a thriving straw-processing enterprise that supplies poultry bedding across Herefordshire and the surrounding counties.
To handle everything from heavy cultivations and drilling to long-distance straw haulage, St Donats Farm relies on a fleet strategy built around the Fendt 720 Vario. We caught up with Sam to discuss their latest Gen7 addition, the seamlessly integrated FendtONE tech, and their long-standing partnership with RVW Pugh / TR Machinery.
Q: Sam, could you give us an overview of your farming setup at St Donats and how your business has expanded over the years?
Sam Davies: I run St Donats alongside my father, Graham. We farm 550 acres of combinable crops on good, medium soil just north of Hereford. Over the years, processing straw for poultry bedding across Herefordshire and neighbouring counties has become a massive part of our business.
We grow our own straw, process it through our plant, and buy extra straw from local farms within a 15-mile radius year-round, handling all our own haulage. Our fieldwork is fairly central around the home block, but the straw side keeps our tractors busy on the road all winter.
Q: What is the lineup of tractors on the farm, and where does the Fendt 720 sit within your workload?
Sam: We run two Fendt 720s. We bought our very first one from Pughs about eight and a half years ago because we loved the compact chassis size and the power-to-weight ratio. The 200 hp bracket has proven to be the absolute sweet spot for our ground, so we’ve stuck with them ever since.
We operate a two-tractor system: one acts as our mainline frontline tractor that handles the vast majority of heavy field work, and the second serves as a reserve unit that steps in during peak windows for hedge cutting, spring work, or secondary cultivations. Our main operator, Pete, spends most of his time on the newer 720, while a couple of us jump on and off the second unit as needed.
Q: You recently upgraded to the latest Fendt 720 Gen7. What prompted that change, and how does it compare to your older model?
Sam: Our latest 720 replaced our original S4 model that we bought eight years ago. The Gen7 sits on a slightly bigger frame and features the 20 hp power boost (bringing it up to 220 hp), which gives us much better stance and stability on the road when pulling heavy straw loads.
We use one tractor for practically every job, cultivating, drilling, ploughing, spraying, and fertiliser spreading. The 720’s compact frame allows us to move between heavy draft work and lighter jobs with complete ease.
Q: Did you consider any competitive tractor brands before ordering your latest 720?
Sam: To be honest, we haven’t really looked at other brands when purchasing because we just love driving the Fendts. We do hire other makes during busy summer periods, and it really shows us that we probably take for granted how good the Fendt actually is.
The moment you jump back into the Fendt, you instantly realise how superior the visibility is out of this cab. The big windscreen lets in so much light, it's just a genuinely nice place to spend a long working day.
Now that both of our 720s run on the FendtONE operating system, it makes fleet management effortless. You can jump out of one tractor and straight into the other, and the controls are identical. We use a lot of variable rate applications and prescription maps, and moving jobs, field boundaries, and data between the two machines on FendtONE is completely seamless.
Q: How does the Vario transmission and low-engine-speed concept perform in terms of driving and fuel efficiencies?
Sam: The way the tractor drives is well above anything else we've driven. The Vario transmission is so smooth and responsive, whether you are pulling heavy cultivations in the field or hauling straw at speed on the road.
The noise in the cab is noticeably quieter in the Gen7 thanks to the new engine and transmission setup. We’ve noticed the tractor running at 300 to 400 less rpm on the exact same task compared to our Gen6 model, which makes a huge difference to fuel use and working comfort. When you hook up an implement, you simply load your saved profile on the terminal and you’re immediately back to where you left off, saving a huge amount of setup time.
Q: How long have you been dealing with Dave Smith and the team at RVW Pugh / TR Machinery?
Sam: We’ve dealt with Dave Smith right from the very beginning. When we were first looking to buy a Fendt eight years ago, they were far more accommodating than other dealers. They helped us spec a machine that suited our exact needs while staying strictly within our budget.
Q: How would you describe their sales and support approach today?
Sam: It’s never a hard sell; Dave wants to sell you what genuinely fits your business at that moment. We actually looked at changing our tractor a year earlier, decided the timing wasn't quite right, and came back to it this year. They are accommodating, practical, and always willing to sit down around the table and work things out with you.
Q: If another farmer asked you whether the Fendt 720 Vario is worth the investment, what would you tell them?
Sam: I’d say yes. It is a big investment, but there is a tremendous amount of technology packed into it. It’s more than capable of handling every task we throw at it, and crucially for us, Fendts hold their resale value exceptionally well. That strong residual value makes the initial investment make complete sense.
Q: If you had to sum up the Fendt 720 in three words, what would they be?
Sam: Comfortable, punchy, clever.