Oakview’s open house
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- Published on Thursday, August 11, 2016
By Sheila Runions
Banner Staff
Last January, we reported on the opening of Oakview Equipment, an MTZ tractor dealership two miles west of Rapid City on Hwy. 24. An open house of the 2,860 square-foot shop was held for four hours on Thursday, Aug. 4. Besides collecting pamphlets, drinks and doughnuts, farmers also had the opportunity to ride along with owner Doug Finally in the K-744 Kirovet tractor for an up-close and personal feel of the machine.
Field demonstrations were held just east of the shop in an old hay field that was seeded down for 11 years and which was sprayed after the first cut of hay this year. In total, 56 people from local areas to Ste. Rose, Ninette, Rosenort and even Saskatchewan attended, with another seven citizens coming days later.
“The K-744 will be here for at least another week if people still want to see/drive it. We also have a 115-horsepower 1220 with loader here and an A-1523, 145-horsepower tractor. Response was great; a better turn out than expected,” says Doug.
Oakview partnered with another RM of Oakview agricultural company on Aug. 4. Cardale Tech Corp supplied a prototype 15-foot breaking disc which worked the hay field. This piece of equipment also attracted attention from the farmers, who were seen kicking dirt from it and, in general, admiring the unit. MTZ accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s tractors, with 62,000 made annually. What started as Belarus (the world’s largest tractor manufacturer) more than 60 years ago in Russia, MTZ machines are now marketed in more than 100 countries around the world. The company has options currently unavailable in other brand lines, such as down pressure three-point hitches, an engine-installed air compressor and the ability to shut off the hydraulic pump yet still maintain power steering. They are touted as “simple enough farmers can service and repair themselves, reliable enough to handle operating temperatures/conditions in our climate and affordable to all,” says Doug. “They are reliable, tier-three engines with no diesel exhaust fluid, no diesel particle filters, no exhaust regeneration, no computers and no complicated electronics.” Oakview Equipment stocks two or three machines at a time as well as a number of parts for MTZ and older model Belarus tractors.
