Case IH had one eye on the 250-300hp tractor market when it slotted the Optum in between its Puma and Magnum ranges. So how has it fared? Geoff Ashcroft spoke to an Optum user whose 300hp CVX has just clocked up 3,000 hours.
For Hertfordshire grower Ben Cannon of the Hyde Hall Partnership, Sandon, near Buntingford, the arrival of the Optum 300 CVX was a breath of fresh air.
He says: "There are some jobs where our Puma is too light, and having had Magnums in the past, they are just that bit too heavy and clumsy for what we need.
"But the Optum 300 is the tractor we have been waiting for, to fill the gap between the Puma and Magnum."
Bought to replace a Puma 240 CVX, the Optum packs a bigger punch and brings a little extra weight for improved traction on the rolling slopes of the Hertfordshire countryside.
"We have some good banks and the extra power and traction is useful," explains Mr Cannon.
"It is a jack of all trades and is as efficient on a set of 12-metre rolls as it is productive pulling a 6m Horsch Sprinter or 6m Avatar drill.
"We have even used the Optum for fertiliser spreading with a Kuhn twin-disc machine. When you do not need all that power, the CVX will give you some surprisingly good fuel efficiency."
The Hyde Hall Partnership runs an 850-hectare all-arable operation within 10 miles of its base at the 250ha Hyde Hall. It is a workload that relies on a hired-in Challenger MT765B for any front line heavy draft work, with a Puma 240 CVX picking up the lighter workload.
Rotation
Cropping includes winter wheat, oilseed rape and a break-crop, leading into spring barley as part of the rotation.
"We prefer to do all our heavy work with the Challenger, before switching to lighter tractors for drilling," he says.
"That heavy work is usually one pass with a 4.8m Kockerling Vario cultivator to move soil and encourage a stale seedbed, which is then sprayed off ahead of drilling."
Hyde Hall Partnership relies on two Horsch 6m drills; a Sprinter with 25mm coulters for oilseed rape, and an Avatar model to give the option of direct drilling should conditions or customers request it. However, a 6m Weaving Tine drill was added last year, as the last resort on the heavy, wet clays.
"The Optum does give us a little more grunt for fieldwork," he says.
"It came fitted with rear wheel weights, but we took those off the day the tractor arrived. It just does not need them and is heavier than the Puma in its most stripped-back form.
Weight block
The Optum also has a front weight block, but it has only been fitted a handful of times, when the tractor was used for some occasional ploughing with our six-furrow Kverneland plough."
Bought as an ex-demo tractor from Ernest Doe Power, Ongar, the Optum 300 CVX came on Michelin Ultraflex tyres, with 620/75 R30 up front, and 710/70 R42 at the rear, and the security of a five-year warranty, which Mr Cannon says was an attractive package.
"This has given us some reassurance during our ownership, which is always a bonus when you are buying the first of a new series that has not been on the market for long," he says. "Though the tractor will be replaced at four years of age, while it still has some warranty remaining to help reinforce its residual value.
"A lot of our kit is bought ex-demo, which often brings additional specification at a keener price than new," he adds. "We are brand-loyal and when you get good service and support form your local dealer, why look at going elsewhere?
"We are on our sixth Merlo telehandler, fifth Case IH combine and our tractor fleet has been an all Case IH affair for years. We did try a Fendt in the early days as a shift from IH tractors, but it has become a tractor that has priced itself out of our radar. A CVX is far better value and far simpler to operate too."
It may be recalled that the Optum range brought three new models to the Case IH line-up, packing 250, 270 and 300hp (rated power) respectively. All are equipped with the firm's own four-range continuously variable transmission, and there is no boost function with the 6.7-litre FPT engine it shares with the Puma.
Tuned
The Hi-eSCR after-treatment package has eliminated the requirement for cooled EGR, allowing the engine to be tuned for power and torque without compromise.
To add strength, the engine gained a structural sump, allowing gross weights of up to 16 tonnes to be achieved. And without chassis side rails, the Optum can deliver on turning radius too.
So has the Optum 300 CVX blotted its copybook at the Hyde Hall Partnership, and has the five year warranty been needed?
"No, not really," says Mr Cannon. "The tractor has just turned 3,000 hours and has been pretty much faultless, with no major failures.
"There have been a couple of oil pipe failures, and the AdBlue gauge failed too, so topping-up needed some guesswork until the sensor could be changed."
In addition, he says the forward/reverse shuttle lever has recently been swapped following an intermittent fault that could drop the transmission into neutral, and a software upgrade for the high-spec seat controller has put an end to the seat losing its bounce.
In terms of specification, the tractor came equipped with a DAB radio, plus two-way radios for improved communication between staff.
"You cannot always rely on phone signal and a two-way radio is much easier to use than a mobile phone," he adds. "We are RTK across the farm, so having the Optum auto-steer ready was a no-brainer."
Mr Cannon says cab comfort is similar to the Puma and brings familiarity, though the Optum's LED work lights have become a must-have on the farm's next tractor purchase.
"The light quality is unbelievable at night. These really do turn the darkest fields into a floodlit environment."
Structure
Mr Cannon admits that as soil structure continues to improve from continued min-till practices, the farm is no longer making full use of the Optum 300 CVX.
"There is nothing it cannot do, and could probably act as a stand-in for the MT765B if really needed, but we will probably go back to a second Puma 240 CVX. Having both a Puma 240 and an Optum 300 has been a great way to compare and contrast when it comes to tractor size and power," he says.
"But the Puma is just that little bit more maneuverable, and it is ideal on our trailed 5,500-litre Horsch Leeb sprayer with 36m boom. I really would not want to put the Optum on the sprayer if the Puma let us down, even though it is great on fuel when full power is not needed."
Verdict
If you need the power and weight, then compared with, say, a Magnum, the Optum delivers the former without all of the latter.
