LANGHAM, Sask. — There were plenty of red tractors at the Ag in Motion farm show, but one particular red tractor stood out because of the identifying decals it wore: K744 MTZ-Kirovets.
Built in Russia, the K744 was brought to the show by importer Russell Douglas of R.D. Sales in Wadena, Sask.
Douglas, who has been importing, repairing and dealing in Belarus and other Russian-built farm equipment for decades, has been the official Kirovets distributor in Western Canada for three years.
“This is a combination German and Russian tractor. It’s got a 428 horsepower Mercedes diesel in what was previously known as a Belarus tractor. It’s built at the Kirovets factory in St. Petersburg,” he said.
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“Hydraulic capacity is 80 gallons and you have your choice of three different shaft sizes.
This one has a Tier 3 engine. We’d have more tractors sold by now if we had the Tier 4 engines. We’ll soon be getting the Tier 4.”
Douglas said four such demo tractors have been brought to North America.
His K744 made its debut at Ag in Motion last year and has since done field demonstrations from Manitoba to British Columbia. He said the K744 addresses some of the concerns prairie farmers have had with Belarus in the past, especially parts availability.
“The company, MTZ, still brings in parts for those older Belarus tractors,” Douglas said.
“That’s been the majority of my business in recent years.”
The tractor comes standard with automatic differential locks and partial power shift. The transmission has 16 forward gears, eight reverse gears and six ranges. Planetary reduction gears are located out at the wheels.
The chassis has leaf spring suspension. An air shifter means there’s no cab vibrations through a direct connection to the gearbox. The drawbar is rated for 11,000 pounds. Oil changes are at 600 hour intervals. A rubber track version is optional.
