McHale will be showing a new range of straw blowers and bale feeders at this year’s Ploughing and it will also be an opportunity for many farmers to see the latest Fusion Vario range of variable bale and wrapper combination machines from the Mayo-based company.

Since the launch of the C460 straw blower and bale feeder in 2010, McHale has had requests from users for a linkage machine and a machine which could handle two 5ft bales. For this year’s Ploughing, McHale has responded with the addition of two new machines to its straw blower and bale feeder range. All three models will be on display at the McHale stand Row 17 Stand 214, at the National Ploughing Championships.

The new McHale C360 is a three-point linkage straw blower and bale feeder. The new McHale C460 for 5ft bales is a trailed machine, which has the capacity to handle two 1.5m (5ft) diameter bales.

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The three models in the McHale straw blowing range are designed to feed round or square bales and share a number of common features. The machines can be used for feeding short-fibre silage and can also be used to easily distribute long-fibre fodder, such as hay and straw.

A key feature in the McHale straw blowing range is the machine’s twin-speed independent gearbox. This allows the operator to easily adjust the rpm from 280rpm for feeding silage or hay up to 540rpm for using the machine to distribute straw for bedding.

The two speed gearbox is claimed to distribute silage where it is desired. The speed of the conveyor is proportionally controlled. This allows the operator to adjust feeding speed, depending on material density and composition.

The McHale straw blowing and bale feeding models can be used to distribute bedding straw and other types of material straw. In difficult-to-access bedding areas, the chute on the range can pass through 300o. Straw can be blown 18m on the right side and 13m to the left of the machine.

The range is controlled via an electronic console. This allows the operator to control machine operation from the tractor cab. Grouping the major machine function on one operator efficient control console allows the operator to adjust the conveyor speed and director, the tailgate position, the chute position and height, the rotor comb movement for unblocking and rotor activation and deactivation.

The direction and height of the feeding chute can be controlled via an integrated joystick on the control console in the tractor cab.

For this year’s National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Stradbally, Co Laois, McHale will show its variable chamber integrated baler wrapper, the McHale Fusion Vario, for the first time on the McHale stand 214, row 17.

The Fusion Vario claims to offer the contractor or farmer the flexibility to make bales of silage from 1m (3ft 3in) up to 1.4m (4ft 8in) silage and bales from 750mm to 1.65m (2ft 6in up to 5ft 6in) bales of hay or straw.

This allows the contractor to offer a range of services with one machine, which eliminates the need to return to the yard to change machines over the course of a day’s work. McHales claim that this approach with the Vario machine can save time on the road and allows the machine and driver to keep working and maximise output and profits.

From the farmers’ perspective, James Heanue, of McHale, claims that they can get larger bales if they want them which, for silage, will reduce film usage and costs and for hay and straw will reduce the amount of bales that need to be handled for collection, feeding or bedding.

The McHale Fusion Vario is a fully automatic integrated baler wrapper, which consists of a high output variable chamber baler with an integrated wrapping ring. It can wrap hay, straw, haylage and silage bales in one machine.

It is a unique machine, which benefits from two new McHale patents. These are the McHale patented high speed transfer system. As the transfer cradle moves the bale towards the wrapping ring, the wrapping roller closest to the bale chamber pivots out of the way, which reduces the height the bale has to travel to get to the wrapper. This system saves time, as the patented system moves the bale quickly, ensuring that the McHale Fusion Vario delivers the high output.

The second patent is the McHale patented tip roller. The McHale Fusion Vario can wrap bales from 1.1m up to 1.45m with ease. The patented tip roller adjusts its height in line with bale size to ensure the plastic always goes onto the centre of the bale, regardless of the bale diameter. McHale claims that this ensures the correct overlap is always achieved.

The new McHale Fusion Vario comes with the new McHale iTouch in-cab control console, which provides clear indicators of machine performance on its large touchscreen graphic display.

The iTouch control console is fitted with a rear camera, as standard. In automatic mode, the camera image will appear at different predetermined times on the screen, such as when the bale is being transferred or tipped.

Automatic

The iTouch control console, when combined with the load-sensing valve on the Fusion Vario, makes the baler and wrapping operation fully automatic.

James Heanue, Irish sales manager for McHale, said: “We launched the Fusion Vario at Agritechnica last November and machines started work in Europe this season. The Fusion Varios have been well accepted across Europe.

Over the last decade McHale has established itself as a leading producer of integrated baler wrappers in Europe. The McHale Fusion has become the machine of choice for contractors and farmers in many parts of the world.