A FLEET of seven Hustler mowers is a force to be reckoned with, ANDREA MAYES writes

Craig White can't speak highly enough of his seven Hustler mowers bought over a period of seven years.

    IN A WORD
  • MAKE: Hustler
  • MODEL: Super Z XR-7 2866
  • LIST PRICE: $20,290
  • BEST FEATURES: Craig said the Hustlers are very manoeuvrable and incredibly robust with excellent balance.
  • MORE DETAILS: Small Horse Tractors (03) 9791 6414.

His first Hustler, a Standard Z, has been put out to grass on his home farm at Garfield North where it still does sterling service.

The other six mowers, ranging from 18kW to 21kW with 1580mm to 1836mm wide mowing decks, work on various poultry industry properties owned by Craig and his business partners.

His business operations include poultry farms, the building and running of poultry sheds and the manufacture of automation equipment for poultry farms.

Craig was brought up on a dairy farm in the Skye-Carrum Downs area and began work in the poultry industry when he left school.

He has been working in the industry for 30 years and the farms in Pearcedale, Nar Nar Goon, Garfield North and Yannathan, together with the building side of the business, employs 28 staff.

At his first poultry farm, Craig had a small ride-on lawnmower to keep the land tidy.

"It needed a lot of maintenance and we often had to get the slasher out," Craig said.

"We ended up going through a lawnmower a year, so about eight years ago I started looking around for a real heavy duty machine."

Craig made initial enquiries on the internet and tested five different brands of mowers.

"The Hustler sounded promising. I saw one in action at Lardner Park Field Days where I spoke to the people at Small Horse Tractors.

"I did a test drive of the Hustler Z, loved it, bought it and we've never looked back.

"For a few years, whenever we bought another property, we bought another Hustler and had five of them working in different places.

"In June 2009, we bought two Super Z XR-7 models: a 1683mm and a 1836mm, each with a 21kW Kohler electronically fuel-injected engine."

The fleet now consists of four Super Zs and three Standard Zs, which are put to work continually cutting  about 20ha at regular intervals.

"The work we do isn't like trimming a football oval or a golf course," Craig said.

"The Hustlers handle all sorts of terrain, including steep roadside banks, the slopes around dams and tight spots around and in between trees.

"The power makes a big difference and zero turn technology counter-rotates the drive wheels allowing them to turn on the spot.

"They are very manoeuvrable and incredibly robust with excellent balance and a very low centre of gravity.

"The Z XR-7 cutting deck is made of extremely thick material and that's a big bonus.

"It's one of the things that first attracted me to the mowers.

"They work continually but even when they have to contend with sticks and stones there's no sign of wear on the decks. You hear other farmers complaining about having to replace cutting decks too often and you know they aren't using a Hustler," he said.

The Hustler frame is not bolted together but made from one piece from the front castors to the rear bumper.

The leading edge of the deck is heavily reinforced and carries a lifetime warranty.

SmoothTrak Twin-Lever steering provides independent control of each drive wheel.

The deck is raised and lowered from the driver's seat using a foot pedal.

Speed, forward, reverse, turns and braking are all operated with hand controls.

The Hustler's blades are produced with electro-fusion technology which produces an extra-hard layer at the blade's cutting edge to provide a clean cut for as much as two to three times longer than ordinary blades, according to Craig.

Engine service points are at the rear of the machine and changing filters is quick work with easy access to all maintenance areas.

The oil filter and sump can be serviced with a single container.

"Maintenance isn't an issue," Craig said.

"Over the years you might replace a bearing or two but that's about it.

"These machines work for us day in and day out and they don't really get looked after. They just keep going.

"Once you've had a Hustler Super Z, it would be hard to go back to something else."