It’s coming to the time of the year when fertiliser spreaders are being prepared for work with a limited amount of fertiliser spread on drier land.

In this week’s machinery section, we give a few tips on what preparation should be made to your spreader before any fertiliser is loaded to minimise wasting this valuable commodity.

We also give some guidance to prospective buyers of secondhand spreaders. There is still great value to be had in this part of the market if you know what you’re looking for.

In our tractor test, we put the New Holland T5.120 through its paces. The compact Italian-built tractor and loader combination performed admirably despite its size in the various tasks we put it through.

In our motoring pages, Alistair Chambers spent the week in the new Mercedes X-Class pickup, after it made a good first impression last year.

The exclusive brand is competing in a market where functionality would often favour fashion for the majority of prospective customers. The question is does the posh pickup live up to its billing?

In our vintage pages, we look back at the American-built TW series tractor. Considered by many at the time to be huge, this tractor sold in limited numbers in Ireland. We also pay a visit to a pristine example in Co Waterford that’s still working on a mixed farm.