Real fuel consumption on a farm tractor
How a large livestock holding replaced quota-based fuel accounting on its Lamborghini R8-265 tractor with measured consumption — and fuel drains stopped.
A large livestock holding
One of the largest agricultural holdings in its region, producing pork, beef and dairy. Its Lamborghini R8-265 general-purpose tractor — Deutz BF6M 1013 ECP engine, 7.2 L, 192 kW, 550-litre tank — is used for ploughing, harrowing and transport with various implements and trailers.
Quotas that left room for drains
A tractor’s fuel use depends on the operating mode, speed, ground hardness, trailer load and air temperature. Quota-based accounting ignores all of that, so the accounting department struggled to account for fuel. In practice, quotas tend to exceed real consumption — leaving room for drivers to drain the difference into canisters.
The farm decided to fit telematics not only to track the tractor’s location but to record fuel consumption and engine hours accurately.
A differential flow meter and cloud reports
A DFM 500D differential flow meter measures fuel in both the supply and return lines and sends the net consumption to a GPS tracker; measurement error does not exceed 3%. A cloud telematics service builds reports on idling and driving time, engine hours, and total and average consumption in each operating mode.
The system has run since July 2020 and met all expectations: live location, instant fuel consumption, and fuel and engine-hour reports for any period. The tractor’s actual consumption turned out to be lower than the quota. Fuel is now accounted from real data — drivers no longer have unaccounted surpluses, and fuel drains have stopped.
Task → Solution → Result
Quota-based accounting
Quotas above real consumption made fuel hard to account for and easy to drain.
DFM 500D + tracker
Differential flow measurement with cloud reports by operating mode.
Drains stopped
Real consumption below quota; fuel accounted from measured data.
After installing the telematics system, we get all the information we need regarding fuel consumption and tractor operating time. A dispatcher monitors fuel consumption and location in real time. Reports in the cloud telematics service are clear, informative and intuitive. The information is exported to spreadsheets and is further used for management and accounting purposes.
Leading specialist · Livestock holding
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