Claydon Terrablade

Claydon were showing their simple inter-row cultivator to work within strip-till rows of cereals or other crops. It is particularly aimed at improving grass weed control in cereals which is widely known to be an issue in all min-till and strip-till systems. Working widths are from 3m up to 6m.

It is normally front-mounted relying on the operator to steer it. When rear-mounted it can be steered using RTK for more accurate use.

Gaspardo 1.5m one pass

For use on compact tractors, Gaspardo were exhibiting a 1.3m one-pass. Seed is dropped from the box drill between the power-harrow and packer roller. Hardly a machine to worry the local gardaí with its transport width.

Claas film-on-film round baler

Following market trends Claas are now offering a film-on-film option on its Rolland 454 Uniwrap baler. The baler comes with a 25-knife chopping rotor and drop-floor in case of blockages. The film in place of the net is loaded from the ground with a user-friendly cradle system. The single-axle design is fitted with 620 55/26.5 tyres.

Kuhn Intelliwrap FBP 3135

The tandem axle round baler is now available with film-on-film and 3D wrapping system. Two 750mm rolls of stretch-film wrap the bale in place of net in the chamber. The advantage of the 3D system which finishes the wrapping outside the chamber is it can be programmed to cover the corners of the bales very well allowing savings to be made on the overall wrapping. The saving according to Kuhn is about 30%.

Kuhn Smart Plough

This innovation brings automatic headland control to ploughing, allowing each individual furrow to be automatically brought into and out of work with the plough in the lowered position. It gives a straight line at the headland making for very tidy “ins-and-outs”. The plough can be dropped with each furrow engaging in work at precisely the right time. It uses a double acting hydraulic ram in place of the body reset ram but all other components are standard.

Bredal K-XE Series trailed spreaders

Covered recently in the Irish Farmers Journal, the Bredal K-Xe series was shown to the public. The trailed spreader uses two folding-disc units mounted on arms 6m apart to spread lime to 30m, urea to 40m and granulated fertiliser to 48m.

Dalbo Megaroll 2430

Rollers don’t come much bigger than the Dalbo Megaroll 2430. With a working width of more than 24m and a complex folding arrangement to get the nine individual rollers down to a transport width, it’s no wonder the entire unit weighs in at 21 tonnes. Needless to say this is just one of the many rollers that Dalbo have on the market.

Claas Terratrac system for forage harvesters and tractors

Claas were pushing their track option on their machinery with their slogan “It’s all about the soil” very visible on their combines, forage harvesters and tractors. Both a Claas Axion 960 and Jaguar 960 forage harvester were fitted with different versions of the Terratrac. The advantage of tracks is bigger contact areas without increasing the transport width of the machine. The Jaguar 960 is 1m longer than the normal and the front idler of each track lifts when turning to reduce scuffing. The track-shod Axion is almost the same as a wheeled tractor except for different rear-axle housings to hold the track units.

John Deere ExactApply nozzles

John Deere demonstrated the latest in nozzle-control systems. This caters for variable application rate without altering spray quality by switching on and off different sized nozzles on the one nozzle unit. What’s unique about this system is that John Deere have combined nozzle switching with pulse-width modulation control. This effectively alters application rate by switching on and off the nozzle many times every second. It allows a very wide range in flow-rates. In use, for example when turning in a corner with the sprayer turned on it can vary the application on all nozzles on the boom so application rate stays constant across the full working width of the sprayer.

Claas Torion CMATIC 1914 articulated loader

The Claas-coloured Liebherr loader is powered by a four-cylinder 228hp Liebherr engine. The 19,500kg machine uses a CMatic infinitely variable transmission with a rearward-positioned engine allowing cooled air to be drawn into the cooling system positioned behind the cab. Claas say this gives better weight distribution and a cooler cab for the operator. Aimed at larger contractors and possibly quarry work it was shown with a 5m folding rake and no doubt would be very suitable for AD plants across Europe and larger silage contractors. The loader can be specified in a choice of loader-geometries and is fitted with 650/75 R32 tyres.

JCB TM 420

In response to demand for larger lift capacity from articulated, JCB introduced the TM420. It has 145hp, a lift 4,100kg lift capacity to 5.4m and a 160 l/min hydraulic pump. Total operating weight is 9,530kg and will find particular favour with German AD plants that want reach, lift capacity and fast cycle times. JCB also launched a high capacity 560-80 Agri pro with a 6,000kg lift capacity to 7.9m.

Kubota branded Kverneland ploughs and grass equipment

Although not the first time Kubota has rebranded some established names in its portfolio, there was a Kverneland 5-furrow on show labelled the RM300SV. This had all the same functionality of a Kverneland plough except the colour was a bright shade of orange. Other products similarly painted were balers, wrappers, tedders, rakes and electrically powered fertiliser spreaders. Whether this branding rolls out all across Europe is yet to be seen.

Multi Tool Trac

One of a number of electrically powered machines on display was the Multi Tool Trac. It was designed in response to demands from controlled traffic farming growers in the Netherlands for work in bed systems. A unique feature is the variable track width which is adjustable on the move from 2.25m-3.25m. Max power is 88kw nominal power. Also fitted to this machine is a 210hp 6-cylinder engine which drives a generator. It is a tool carrier design with implements mounted on the front, centre, underneath and on the rear.

Siloking 3225-32 tri-axle self-propelled diet feeder

Large herds need large feeders so say Siloking. The 7.7l 286hp 32m³ 3225-32 is aimed at 1,000+ cow herds. The machine uses a front mounted loading arm to feed into the three vertical augers. A rear steering axle helps manoeuvrability. All this is controlled from a side mounted cab with climate control. There is even the option to fit a cover on top of the feeder to reduce the spread of dust during feeding. Siloking were also exhibiting their electric eTruck 1408 diet feeder for feeding environments where emissions were potentially an issue.