New Holland Construction announced the winner of the Top Shops Contest — a nationwide search for the most outstanding farm shop designs. Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese LLC, a family owned and operated dairy farm in Waterloo, Wis., won the grand prize of a New Holland 200 Series L218 skid steer loader, valued at more than $35,000.
The annual contest, sponsored by Successful Farming magazine, is open to active farmers and/or their spouses or immediate family members who are 21 years of age or older and are legal U.S. residents. Contestants can submit entries in as many as five different project categories — Best Shop Design, Best Shop Feature, Best Welding Center, Best Office and Best Service Truck or Trailer. The best entry from each of the five categories was selected to advance to the final round to compete for the grand prize and the opportunity to drive away with the New Holland L218 skid steer loader.
“New Holland congratulates Crave Brothers Farmstead for this outstanding achievement in innovation,” said Dave December, marketing manager of New Holland Construction.
“For nearly 40 years, dairy farmers like Crave Brothers have depended on New Holland skid steers to tackle everything from cleaning barns and plowing to posthole digging and material handling. And the team at Crave Brothers will definitely appreciate the patented New Holland Super Boom vertical parallel lift system on their new L218 skid steer loader, which allows the machine to lift higher and further — and finish jobs faster — than any other skid steer loader on the market.”
Since 1972 with the introduction of the L35 — the industry’s first skid steer loader with ROPS and a vertical lift boom system — New Holland has produced more than 200,000 skid steer loaders for customers in the agricultural, landscaping and construction markets.
The New Holland 200 Series skid steer loaders feature the same stability, low center of gravity and large load capacity-to-equipment weight ratio as the original L35 skid steer loader. The new self-leveling bucket feature on the 200 Series allows attachments to maintain the preset location throughout the lift cycle.
“We will be using our New Holland L218 skid steer primarily for feeding chores and other miscellaneous duties that go along with our large scale dairy operation,” said Charlie Crave, feed manager of Crave Brothers Farmstead.
From a field of more than 270 entries — a record number of entries for the Top Shops contest — Crave Brothers Farmstead was chosen as the grand prize winner based on its entry in the Best Shop Design category. Contestants in this category were required to provide a detailed description of their entry, along with any supporting materials such as diagrams, layouts, drawings, photographs or videotape.
“We submitted a design for a year-round operation, a shop to support the dairy farm operation and the young stock, as well as the cropping operations,” Crave said. “We milk more than 1,000 cows every day and we crop 2,000 acres annually. The new shop supports these efforts and also supports the operations of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese. Some of the best shop features include energy-efficient lighting and a wash bay featuring pulse start metal halide lights that operate in damper environments necessary for livestock and cropping operations.”
The New Holland L218 skid steer loader delivers best-in-class forward dump height and reach. Featuring the longest wheelbase and the widest, most comfortable cab in the industry, the machine is rated at 57 hp (42 kW), with a rated operating capacity of 1,800 lbs. (818 kg) and a bucket breakout force of 5,435 lbs. (24.2 kN).
The 53-degree dump angle on the L218 lets operators empty the bucket faster, increasing cycle times and productivity, according to the manufacturer.
Crave Brothers Farmstead specializes in specialty cheeses, but also works in cooperation with other local farmers for feed harvesting, custom heifer raising and machinery sharing. The company has received many dairy industry awards, including Dairy Farm Family of the Year and Dairymen of the Year.
For more information on Crave Brothers Farmstead, visit www.cravecheese.com/.
For more information on the New Holland 200 Series skid steer loaders, visit www.newholland.com/200series.
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