Bruno Muff's farm is located at the very top and yet right in the middle - in the widely scattered Swiss municipality of Ruswil, almost at the top of the ridge. On one side it looks down to Lake Sempach, on the other to the undulating world of the Entlebuch. Bruno Muff and his father are loyal Aebi customers. He was very satisfied with the CC 56 that had already been used on the farm for several years, but it is sometimes small details that make a new machine attractive. So it came to the change, although the previous machine was still in very good condition.
A role model for apprentices
For Bruno Muff, the even better work safety was the decisive factor. His farm is also an apprenticeship farm and also Jasmin Bucheli, who is in the second year of her apprenticeship here, must be able to handle the vehicle safely and carry out all work with it. The decisive factor here is that modern agricultural machines and especially the single-axle machines no longer depend on strong arms, but can be operated with little hand and finger pressure thanks to modern technology. Farming is physically demanding anyway, so it is important that the machines make the work easier. This is the only way that many farms can be managed as one-man or one-woman businesses today – as is the farm of the Muff family. Bruno Muff and Jasmin Bucheli work mostly alone and independently, with a little help from Bruno's father. He was still involved in the great technology leap from hand to motor mowing. That was a technology revolution that brought great progress in productivity at the time.
Not only the technology itself has changed, but also how and who manages the farms. Today, more and more women are working as farm managers. If the profession is to be attractive to them, the machines and their operation must be designed in such a way that any person of any stature can manage a full day's work with minimal effort and full concentration.
Modern, state-of-the-art production
Where once machines were built on individual production islands, today everything is in a flow. For a little more than a year now, the Burgdorf plant has been working on the Combicut line with lean production. Depending on incoming orders, between four and sixteen machines can be built per day. No move, no step too many in the factory, every tool is always in the right place. Dozens of boxes with different screws and fastening materials are individually placed on electronic scales. As soon as a box becomes too light, the scales trigger a replenishment order to the supplier so that the line is never short of parts.
Intuitive steering
The drive and thus also the steering of the modern Aebi CC machines are fundamentally different from old single-axle machines. Today, they have a hydrostatic drive that drives each wheel individually and at different speeds and executes the corresponding steering movements upon intuitive pressure on the bars. This feels simple and comfortable right from the start, all with absolutely no effort.
In terms of safety, Bruno Muff appreciates the fact on his new CC 56 that the machine immediately switches off the traction drive when the operator releases the dead man's switch. However, the automatic safety system no longer switches off the engine. Especially in difficult, steep and dangerous situations, it is a big plus in terms of safety if you no longer need to restart the engine after a mishap.
The goal is to eliminate manual work
Bruno Muff uses an Aebi Terratrac TT 211 and a CC 56 on his farm – so to say a large and a small implement carrier. He needs the CC 56 where it gets really steep or narrow between the trees, where he can mow right up to the trees. «The goal is to eliminate manual work," he says. The Muff family already had four Terratrac and the new CC 56 is the fifth single-axle machine. The farm is not only situated between the Central Plateau and the mountains of Napf and Entlebuch. It is also on the border of «tractor-and-trailer country» and «transporter country», says Erich Heiniger, owner of Heiniger Landtechnik in Ebnet and Bruno Muff's service partner. There are many farms in the region that have both normal and hillside mechanisation. In addition, they cultivate rather small areas compared to the Swiss average. The service partner is correspondingly important.
Soil protection above all
Bruno Muff's farm covers 19 hectares. He keeps 32 dairy cows, young cattle and 200 fatteners and produces only dry fodder. Cave-aged Emmentaler cheese is produced from the milk. The farm is thus typical for the canton of Lucerne, but Bruno Muff's handling of his land is special. Mainly because the quality of the cheese starts with the condition of the soil. «Soil compaction is a big problem and I avoid every unnecessary drive over the fields,» he says. Decisive for this is not only the farmer's way of working, but also the choice of machinery. On the Muff farm, they are as light as possible and designed to be consistently gentle on the soil. As a result, Bruno Muff achieves above-average yields with five to six cuts, in some years even seven cuts per year.
