A T4512 for cheese production in the nature park Volcans d’Auvergne.

In the year 1988, Alain Ausset took over the farm from his parents, which is located in Laroqueville in the Cantal region (France).

He belongs to the third generation, who runs the farm and runs the family business together with his children, nephews and nieces. The property consists of almost 400 ha of land, which is mainly used for fodder production. The large agricultural area was created by the reunification of three estates located on a plateau 900 metres above sea level in the heart of the nature park Volcans d‘Auvergne. In this natural and protected vicinity, the herd of about 180 cows regularly goes to summer pastures in summer. The Gaec du Soliage farm (Groupement agricole d‘exploitation en commun) produces 200,000 litres of milk per year for cheese production and 120,000 litres for the dairy industry. In addition, it supplies meat to butchers and regional supermarkets. The team of Gaec du Soliage consists of seven persons (four partners and three employees) working full-time on the farm. Two of them are exclusively responsible for cheese production. In order to effectively complete the necessary work on the farm, the correct use of technology is decisive. The plant is equipped with six tractors (three with front loader) from 70 to 160 HP.

 In 2010, the first telehandler T4512 from Weidemann was purchased, which runs about 500 hours a year. Alain Ausset decided upon Weidemann machine, since he was convinced with the stability, manoeuvrability, lift capacity and high functionality. In addition, all persons working on the farm were very impressed with the demonstration machine. In order to cover the highest possible tasks and applications, Gaec du Soliage has purchased additional T4512s, which are equipped with different attachments: Grab bucket, bale unwrapper, bale fork, rubber blade etc. The telehandlers are mainly used for cleaning stables and moving straw bales. The small, compact machines move approx. 300 tons of straw, 450 tons of hay and 250 tons of winding material annually. Alain Ausset and his team are very much satisfied with the Weidemann machines, since the work is done more quickly and effectively as compared to a tractor with front loader. Here, the compactness and manoeuvrability of the machines scores particularly high, paired with the high payload of 1.2 tonnes.