As well as operating a large-scale contracting business with brothers Rob and John, Richard Russell and his wife, Tania, also grow a range of winter cereal and pulse crops on a 160-hectare property at St Germains, near Echuca.

The Xerion 3800 VC tractor – made by noted European company Claas – comes equipped with a unique rotating cab and front and rear linkages, augmented by a 285kW Caterpillar engine and 4WD.

Allowing the cab to rotate through 180 degrees permits the driver to switch from a conventional forward-facing mode to look rearward, over the tractor's main three point linkage, to deliver the high output mowing, spraying, mulching, spreading, even silage pit rolling duties, expected of a self-propelled machine.

Bristling with new technology, the new Xerion unit is equipped with a constantly variable transmission, six different steering modes, GPS guidance and 'intelligent' control systems.

The crab steering is "absolutely brilliant for silage rolling" according to Richard, who specialises in silage clamp work.

"It effectively makes a three-metre-wide roll into a four metre roll, so you can do 33 per cent more work in the same period of time," he said.

In addition, he makes the point that being able to the turn the cab around improves visibility while the rear-mounted engine ensures the radiator does not clog up.

'Grunt' from the Xerion 8.8L power plant is needed to keep pace with Rob Russell's Claas Jaguar 960 forage harvester which forms the centrepiece of the harvesting side of the business.

Richard says he waited an "agonising" four years for the flagship Xerion tractor to be released on the Australian market, lobbying importer Landpower to import one on his return. His patience was rewarded in September last year when the first Xerion was landed in Australia, principally as part of an exhaustive six month Australian evaluation program in NSW and Victoria to ensure its suitability to Australian conditions.