800 series | Farming and horse stables

Boosting coffee farm efficiency in Australia

Zentveld’s Australian Coffee farm in New South Wales, Australia has a secret weapon: the Avant 860i. The loader agilely handles the work of many machines, streamlining operations at the farm.

When John Zentveld was looking for a new efficient work machine for his coffee farm located in Byron Bay, New South Wales, a friend told him about Avant loaders. He had previously been impressed by their versatility at a fair. Based on the tip and after researching further, John ended up acquiring an Avant 860i.

Now, John is happy with his choice. As one of Avant’s strengths, he cites the loader’s narrow axle width which allows the machine to move nimbly between trees and rows without damaging the crop. Likewise, the light weight of the Avant reduces soil compaction compared to working with tractors. Thanks to the various attachments acquired by the Zentvelds, work on the coffee farm is now more streamlined and versatile: attachments like excavator buckets, lifts and branch cutters expand the loader’s capabilities from lawn mowers.

“Having the Avant loader with the flail mower and root grapple has revolutionized how we clean up after pruning our coffee trees,” says John.

Speeding up the harvest

The Avant 860i is also a reliable partner in maintaining roads on Zentveld’s coffee farm, harvesting coffee beans, transporting waste containers and composting.

“The Avant loader with forks attached is ideal for collecting field bins and returning them to the processing area, making this part of the harvesting extremely efficient”, John praises. “Next, we’re keen to try out the edge trimmer attachment for maintaining rows of young coffee trees without the need to use herbicides.”

When the Avant 860i loader came to Zentveld’s coffee farm, it replaced one of the tractors, a bucket on the other tractor, and a rough terrain forklift. At the same time, harvesting became more efficient, safer, and more ergonomic.

Better safety and work ergonomics

According to John Zentveld, the Avant can handle tasks that would otherwise require multiple machines and tools, such as tractors, forklifts, and off-road equipment. For this reason, the Avant has been revolutionary for harvesting and has significantly improved the efficiency of the coffee farm.

“In addition to efficiency, the front-mounted attachments and articulated steering improve safety and work ergonomics compared to rear-mounted tractor attachments.”

Overall, the versatility, maneuverability, and attachments of the Avant 860i make the compact loader an indispensable tool on Zentveld’s coffee farm.

“Now that we have the versatile Avant loader, we don’t need one of the tractors anymore, or the bucket on the other tractor, or the rough terrain forklift,” says John. “I’m very happy with our Avant loader.”