Tractor test
Powermix check for farm-sourced tractors
Keep the faith
“The tractors that are put through the profi test are obviously tweaked by their manufacturers and are not representative.” This is a comment we hear time and again, not just from machine owners but also from rival tractor makers about the regular profi tractor tests. So we thought we should put an end to any doubt that editorial integrity is at the very core of profi’s being. It’s our raison
Practical test
Krone BiG X 480 forage harvester
Big baby
Krone introduced its 489hp BiG X 480 one year ago and now we’ve got the chance to put it through its crop-munching paces in an in-depth profi practical test. Though not exactly a lightweight, the smallest machine in the German firm’s line-up boasts some clever engineering that sets a high bar for the other forager makers in the sector
Driving impression
Dig a little deeper
Amazone Certos 7001-2TX compact discs
Amazone has grown its disc range with the Certos, a trailed cultivator for those wanting to move soil down to more traditional heavy discing depths. We take the Certos out to the field to see what it has to offer
Fine technology, smart control
Claas Disco 9200C Business rear mower
Claas has updated its disc mower line-up, which now benefits from the firm’s Max Cut cutterbar. For our driving impression we elected to go for the Disco 9200C rear butterfly unit in top-of-the-range Business spec
Big cat gets soft paws
Ropa Tiger 5 beet harvester:
Handled in the UK by Norfolk-based CTM Harpley Engineering, Ropa’s new range-topping Tiger 5 beet harvester is a three-axle behemoth with wider tyres, a stabilising system, a stepless transmission and an SCR engine. After a run in a pre-production model we sum up the main changes
Ropa Tiger 5 beet harvester
Big cat gets soft paws
Handled in the UK by Norfolk-based CTM Harpley Engineering, Ropa’s new range-topping Tiger 5 beet harvester is a three-axle behemoth with wider tyres, a stabilising system, a stepless transmission and an SCR engine. After a run in a pre-production model we sum up the main changes
CBM quick couplers
No catch
In a number of past tests we have criticised the lift arm hook ends from CBM for being awkward to handle. Now the Italian manufacturer has introduced an updated generation of couplers and offered us an early opportunity to check them out. Our view: they’re proof of how just a small change can make a big difference
Deutz-Fahr 5100C tractor
Italo-German alliance
The new Deutz-Fahr 5C is powered by an engine from Deutz, through a gearbox from SAME Deutz-Fahr — and the whole caboodle is assembled in Treviglio, Italy. Here are our initial impressions of the 69kW/95hp (rated), Stage IIIB-compliant DF 5100C
Amazone Certos 7001-2TX compact discs
Dig a little deeper
Amazone has grown its disc range with the Certos, a trailed cultivator for those wanting to move soil down to more traditional heavy discing depths. We take the Certos out to the field to see what it has to offer
Vicon FastBale non-stop round baler wrapper
Bale express
Not only has Vicon announced it is working on a non-stop fixed-chamber baler, but it is coming to the party all guns blazing with a combi wrapper unit. We had the opportunity to catch up with one of the pre-production machines operating in the UK this season — to see how the process works and find out how far the project has developed
Claas Disco 9200C Business rear mower
Fine technology, smart control
Claas has updated its disc mower line-up, which now benefits from the firm’s Max Cut cutterbar. For our driving impression we elected to go for the Disco 9200C rear butterfly unit in top-of-the-range Business spec
Livestock equipment
Gea Farm Technologies DairyProQ
40 robots and one rotary
With the capability to offer anything from 28 to 80 units, the DairyProQ could be the milking robot that the largest dairy herds have been waiting for. Gea Farm Technologies has announced the unit will be commercially available from 2016, so here’s a brief look at what will hit the market next year
Adapting to life with robots
Not all plain sailing
Four generations of the same family have milked cows at Tyn Celyn, Gwyddelwern, Corwen, North Wales, and for the past 25 years or so this has been done through a 12-stall abreast parlour. Now, however, robots have taken over, the Roberts family being the first to install the new generation of Fullwood’s robot, the Merlin M2
Used machinery
Case IH Quadtrac rubber-tracked tractor
Treading carefully
Case IH introduced the Quadtrac in the USA way back in 1995, with the first 9300 series models finding homes in the UK during 1997. Since then these large articulated tracked tractors have obviously evolved even though their basics remain true to the original, and, just as important, for those interested in a lower cost purchase there’s now a decent used park from which to pick
Workshop
From the workshop
Simple solutions to everyday problems
This month’s ‘Simple solutions’ from regular tipster Mike Donovan run to a safer way of changing wheels, a low-cost low-loader trailer for moving mini excavators on the road and a posh perch for man’s best bud
Drill sharpeners
Get to the point
Fed up with drills that don’t cut properly, with smoke coming off the work and out of your ears? Then this comparison of four drill sharpening tools might be just what you need…
Power on the farm
The generation game
Choosing a standby generator takes rather more than luck if you’re to identify the right one for your needs… and your budget. For the spark of guidance we turn to Justyn Smith, of JSPUK, Hereford-based specialist in gensets large and small(ish)
Machine management
Finding the magic crop establishment numbers
Algebra farming
Seeking to adopt controlled-traffic farming and direct drill strategies to reduce compaction, cut costs and improve soil health, Kent grower Guy Eckley has faced some tricky machinery buying decisions along the way
Treading lightly in cabbages
On track with cabbages
Europe’s largest pointed cabbage grower has no regrets about spending €50,000 on a set of four Soucy rubber tracks for one of its 16 John Deere tractors. But what other machinery investments has the firm made?
Around the world
Precision for simple planting / Positive signs in Aussie kit market / AGCO adds tech partner and drone product / One Fastrac, one week, two journalists
Technical
Hydraulics explained: Part VII Schematics
Signposts in the wilderness
This seven-part series on farm machinery hydraulics rounds off with a wander through the maze of hydraulic symbols and diagrams. The man with the reel of thread is John Liposits, technical trainer at John Deere’s Langar, Notts HQ
TUNING
Tool storage on machines
All tools on board?
Parkinson’s law alludes to something along the lines of — the need to carry tools will always expand to fill the on-board space available. Assuming the renowned historian is correct, it could be argued that adding even more tool storage capacity is a pointless exercise, because the requirement will never be satisfied. Fair enough… but that won’t stop machine operators continuing to come up with
Under the hammer
Slower second-hand trade for used kit
Tough times for exports
What with the recent strong pound and increases in import duties in certain countries, collective machinery auctions are having a hard time. Despite this, Cheffins auctioneer Bill Pepper remains positive and says he’s still achieving good prices for specific lots. Here he talks us through the past two sales
Self-propelled umbilical spreading
More pump than hump
One Dutch contracting firm has removed the slurry tank from its Vervaet self-propelled trike and converted it into a lightweight umbilical system. Proof that old age needn’t preclude impressive productivity, the 25-year-old three-wheeler remains a valued member of the contractor’s team
Contractor price guide 2015
UK contractor charges
This is the National Association of Agricultural Contractors’ (www.naac.co.uk) charge guide, based on info supplied by its members this spring. The figures are only a guide and assume a red diesel price of 60p/litre. Prices will vary according to UK region, size of job, type of equipment used etc
