Brothers Kristian and Ole on the Kylstad farm in Furnes, Norway inherited the father's interest in machines. All three of them operate a Valtra, and none of them can imagine exchanging it for anything else. They actually tried one time, but the result was not so good.

“I grew up with Volvo and then Volvo Valmet. I got my first Valmet in 1985. Kristian got mad at me when I exchanged the Valtra for 22 months when he was seven years old.” Per Kristian Kylstad chuckles and says the best thing he could do was to change back. 

He runs the Kylstad lille farm i Furnes, a few kilometres north of Hamar. He raises suckler cows in addition to running a contracting firm, and has a Valtra T214 Direct, purchased from Ola Vasassen at Akershus Tractor Hamar.

“I do mostly excavation work and snow ploughing. In addition my partner Berthe Bratberg has a farm in Gaupen that we also run.”

Great interest in machines

The two brothers Kristian (23) and Ole (17) grew up on this idyllic farm that has been in the family since the 1800’s. Both grew up with an interest in machines and they were only a few months old when they were out in the fields with their father for the first time.

“I installed a child seat in the tractor and figured it was much safer for them to be inside than outside”, says Per Kristian.

“It has been great for me to grow up on a farm. I have been interested in machines the whole time, and I have learned a lot. I now work as an excavator operator for a local contractor in addition to renting out a Valtra N163 Direct with me as the operator. Snow ploughing, some transport and agricultural operations are some of the tasks”, says Kristian,

SmartTouch

The youngest brother, Ole, is still a student at Jønsberg Agricultural School. He got a Valtra N174 Direct before Christmas, and that has caught the attention of his classmates.

“There are of course many discussions at school about tractor brands, but those who have tried out my Valtra are impressed. They speak very highly of SmartTouch, with the new joystick and display.” You can do a lot in a simple way.

Ole doesn't really have time to go to school.

“I work for my father and on a neighbour farm in addition to going to school. On the weekends I help to plough at Ringsakerfjellet. There has been a lot of snow this year, so I have had enough to do.”

Practical with TwinTrac

Both the father and the youngest son have TwinTrac on the tractors which is very useful when clearing snow around all the buildings after the big snowfalls last winter. 

–“It's not unusual to have 30–40 cm at a time, and not long ago we had to open up a road with close to 1,5 metres of snow. We used TwinTrac and backed up with the snowblower. That gives us much better control. We also operate the trimmer with TwinTrac, and we might be getting a mowing machine as time goes on. Then we will have a much better view”, Per Kristian explains.

“In addition the new 4th generation Valtra has better legroom in the back, and you can push the steering wheel to the side.” Ole adds that it then becomes more comfortable to operate with a TwinTrac.

His own collections of models

The oldest son, Kristian, is a enthusiastic collector of models and now has close to 65 Valtra models. He has had some of them since he was a boy.

“Sometimes it was difficult because Ole wanted to play with them, but I didn't want them to get worn.” Kristian chuckles and says that he sometimes came home from school and Ole had ruined one of them and I was not very happy.

He usually orders the models on the Internet.

“My favourites are models of the tractors we have had, but I collect them all.

Service is important

All three have been to the Valtra factory in Finland several times. Per Kristian was there for the first time in 1992. Kristian won a trip with Bedre Gardsdrift some years back.

“It's very inspiring to be there, and the possibility of adding to my collection of models”, he says.

From the time he bought his first Valmet from Ola Vasaasen he has been aware of how important service and follow-up have been during busy daily routines. 

“I cannot speak highly enough about Akershus Traktor Hamar. Not only Ola who is a salesman, but the mechanics and those who work in the store. In addition Valtra has a 4200 hour guarantee, and that is important to us.” Together they all say that it will be Valtra in the future, also for the next generation.