1 The Jar-Met Z329:

This is a new budget entry into the round-baler market from Jar-Met.

Jar-Met has previously been known for supplying small sprayers and spreaders for the grassland market. It looks as if the design is roughly based on a well-known and much-loved manufacturer of round balers from the late 1990s.

As this is the first one in Ireland and as of yet has not been used in Irish conditions, we don’t know if these balers will work as well as the machine they seem to be based on. The baler makes a standard four by four bale in a fixed chamber.

Grass is picked up using a standard 1.7m setup. The bales can be tied with either twine or netting. The standard wheel size is 400/60-15.5. It comes with a warning sound and a light to tell the operator when the chamber is full and ready for tying.

A central greasing point is also a standard feature of the machine. None of these specs are groundbreaking in these days of more and more technology on our machines, but with a price tag of €16,500 plus VAT, it may turn out to be a shrewd purchase for the smaller operator.

2 The Blaney compact hedge cutter:

The Blaney stand had products from its many brands and ranges, including its new compact loaders and the full-size hedge cutter range. The newest arrival in the lineup was a compact hedge cutter equipped with a finger-bar trimmer, featuring a low friction, self-lubricating design which it claims makes it easier to drive and reduces wear and associated maintenance costs. This may also allow improved performance even on older tractors with less oil flow. It is ideal for smaller or compact tractors for lighter hedge-cutting tasks where a flail head is not required.

The list price of this machine is €4,999 plus VAT.

3 The new 1160 eHoftrac:

This electrically powered mini-loader from Wiedeman allows for work to be carried out in confined areas without issues of exhaust fumes and noise associated with the standard diesel powered version. It is capable of lifting up to 2.3t to a height of 2.4m using its separate 9kW (12.1hp) motor for the hydraulics. Drive power is supplied from another smaller 6.5kW (8.7hp) motor. These may seem like very small power figures, but the torque available is much greater with electric motors making the power much more usable.

The charging time for the loader is eight hours and this apparently gives between two and four hours working time, depending on what is being done.

The list price of this machine is €35,400 plus VAT.