Bumper machinery display at Tullamore show

Over 70,000 people flocked to the 35th instalment of the Tullamore Show, which took place on Sunday, 9 August. Ireland’s largest one-day show takes place each year on the Butterfield Estate, just outside Tullamore in Co Offaly.

The machinery element of the exhibition at the Tullamore Show has been growing year-on-year, and organisers have said that the 2026 event saw the largest farm machinery listing ever in the show’s history, up 30% year on year.

Newcomers to this year’s event increased the machinery listings by a further 15%, meaning the machinery element of the show was up 45% in just two years.

Rainbow Engineering, based near Ferbane in Co Offaly, launched its new dump trailer range at the Tullamore Show last weekend. Following the release of several 16t and 18t pre-series units for the 2025 season, the manufacturer showcased its first 20t model at the event (pictured above). Plans are also in place for a 22t model.

The main design characteristic of the new 20t (12.5m3) model is the short wheelbase and deep tub, which keeps the unit manoeuvrable. The second standout design feature is the hydraulic lay flat rear door, which the manufacturer says was a request from several of its customers.

Coming as standard on high speed 50km/h running gear and air over hydraulic brakes, the trailer range is shod on 560/60 22.5 BKT tyres as standard.

The manufacturer said both narrower and wider tyres are available on request.

It’s manufactured with a 10mm floor with 6mm sides, with the option of Hardox available on request. The trailer at the show was finished in black, but the firm says the trailer range is offered in a range of colours. The starting price of the 20t model is €28,000 plus VAT.

Kuhn’s Cleanstraw system is designed to reduce dust in livestock sheds by applying a fine mist of water to the straw as it is distributed out of the chute of the straw blower.

The unit comprises a 64-litre water tank and three misting nozzles mounted at the exit of the straw blowing chute. The nozzles are fed by a pump, which feeds water at a flow rate of one litre of water per 100kg of straw, without slowing the machine’s performance.

Kuhn claims that applying a mist of water at this rate and in this way eliminates excessive levels of airborne dust by reducing the amount of time that these particles remain suspended in the air. It says trials have shown that the air in a typical livestock shed will be dust-free within 30 seconds after straw-blowing with the Cleanstraw system.

Kuhn is offering the ‘Cleanstraw’ kit on new machines, or as a retrofit upgrade for existing machines. It’s priced in the region of €3,000 plus VAT.

Clarke Agri Engineering’s most recent product caught the eye of many showgoers in Tullamore. The Mayo-based manufacturer’s Pasture Pro 3000 (rear-mounted) and Pasture Pro 3000F (front-mounted) system was its main product on display.

The Pasture Pro combo is a grassland rejuvenator available in 3m working widths. Starting at the front, the mounted harrow can be fitted with two rows of shatter boards or slicing plates, which are hydraulically adjustable.

The front unit weighs in at 350kg and is priced at €2,900 plus VAT.

Moving to the rear unit, the front row can be fitted with shatter boards or slicing plates, while the back row can be fitted with two rows of either eight, 10, or 12mm tines, which are manually adjustable with an option of upgrading to hydraulic adjustment.

The rear-mounted machine weighs in at approximately 1,300kg and comes with the option of a Guttler or an APV air seeder. Depending on the specification, the rear unit is priced at €14,500 plus VAT.

Both the front and rear unit can be purchased individually. The front-mounted Pasture Pro can be configured the same as the rear machine, without a roller option. There are also a number of roller options for the rear unit, including prism, plain, aerator and a Cambridge roller.

Feed Train is an American designed and built feeding system which is distributed across Ireland, the UK and Europe by Peter Hosey Trailers. On the market now for close to a year, the simple system has hit the market by demand with the Offaly based distributor business having sold over 100 units.

The system is offered in three variations, one is a cargo box mounted on a UTV, the next is a static unit and the third is a trailed unit, to be pulled behind an ATV/UTV.

All three feature the same basic design, all being battery driven and featuring wireless remote control, meaning there are no leads required. All units feature a 10cm auger, which it says is suited to nuts and meal.

Speed dispensing varies on the feed type, but works out in the region of 19l of volume every six seconds.

The system which is mounted to the rear cargo box of the UTV has a 272kg capacity and weighs in at 91kg empty.

It’s priced at €3,650 plus VAT.

The trailed unit has a 454kg capacity and is priced at €3,850 plus VAT.

Co Down based Erth Engineering showcased its Panbuster Drill at an Irish show for the first time. The new machine combines the manufacturer’s two most well-known products, its Panbuster subsoiler and Agriseeder drill. The new Panbuster drill has been designed to sow cereals.

Combining design elements from both the Panbuster and Agriseeder ranges, Erth claims low draft requirements and reduced operating costs. Currently only in a 3m working width to begin, Erth says larger models will follow suit. The drill features five main working elements. These include an optional front-opening disc, followed by the proven Panbuster low-disturbance legs and a consolidation roller. At the rear is a familiar single-disc coulter system with 20 sprung discs and coulters, configured to offer 150mm row spacing. Unlike the near-vertical subsoiler legs used by most competitors, Erth says its angled leg design is key to maintaining a low draft requirement of around 150hp. Subsoiling and drilling depth are controlled via the roller unit.

Well-known JCB dealer Kelly’s Agricultural Machinery Ltd showcased the 6300 model from its new Fastrac 6000 series. The long-awaited two-model series comes after five years of R&D and positions itself between the existing 4000 and 8000 series. Aside from retaining the equal wheel, four-wheel steering format, self-levelling suspension and the cab frame with the existing ranges, everything else is new.

The series sees JCB move away from an AGCO Power engine and Fendt CVT transmission. Instead, the 6000 is fitted with a 6.7l FPT engine and stepless ZF Eccom gearbox with a maximum speed of 66km/h.

Both the 6260 (284hp) and 6300 (335hp) are mechanically identical and offer the same front and rear lift capacities at 5,000kg and 11,000kg. Hydraulic output has increased considerably, with up to six rear spools possible and a 205l/min pump fitted as standard, increasing to 410l/min with the optional twin pump.

A number of other updates have been introduced below the surface including a cast steel front end, heavier-duty Dana axles, a new braking system, a heavier-duty back end, and a new cab roof as well as more technologically advanced architecture within the cab for telematics and precision agriculture.

Atkins Farm Machinery exhibited the first F4 3000, 3t mounted fertiliser spreader, in Ireland at this year’s Tullamore Show. The F4 offering from Bredal is at the higher end of the spreading market and essentially comes with the same technology as the firms well-known trailed range of spreaders. This includes the same heavy-duty undercarriage.

The F4-mounted range is designed to spread large bout widths from 24m up to 40m at high accuracy. The Isobus-operated spreader comes with the option of a stainless-steel hopper with capacity ranging between 1,500l and 4,000l. It’s designed for farmers not requiring larger trailed machines.

Wide feed belts

The big difference between this spreader and a typical high-end spreader is that the fertiliser is metered by a pair of individually controlled 200mm wide feed belts to 800mm discs.

Headland section control is offered as standard with up to 12 sections available. The rate can be adjusted on the move, either manually or automatically. The F4 range spread according to the quadruple overlap principle where each disc spreads across a double working width.

The Grasstec Group exhibited the SKAi spot sprayer, which captured a lot of interest from both farmers and agricultural contractors in Tullamore. The SKAi sprayer is a joint project between UK sprayer manufacturer Team Sprayers and Scottish company Soil Essentials.

The unit is offered as a complete spot spraying solution or retrofit to suitable existing sprayers. It’s distributed in Ireland by the Grasstec Group, based in Cork, which now has six units sold across the country.

The sprayers are available in 9m, 12m, 15m and 24m working widths, and feature RGB cameras every 3m. Through the use of artificial intelligence, the target weeds are detected and sprayed in real time by turning on the required nozzle(s).

Depending on the model, the sprayers feature a 1,000l to 1,800l clean water tank and a 200l chemical tank for efficient mixing and application at speeds up to 10km/h. Inside the cab there is a cloud connected tablet-based interface.

Real-time on-screen camera feeds show target weed detection and the spray control shows target areas and nozzle activation.

Operators can set parameters such as the percentage certainty needed to initiate spray application. For example, if the system is 80% sure that a dock is present but 90% certainty is the target then it will not be sprayed.

The algorithm is currently commercially available for the detection of docks and thistles. Meanwhile, a data set for detecting ragwort, rushes and nettles is currently at a ‘beta’ stage, but the Grasstec Group have said the latter programme is working at 75% efficiency. The 12m unit is priced at €82,500 plus VAT.

Fastparts, a division of Farmhand, which is the Irish importer of Krone, Amazone, Zuidberg and APV, debuted the new Quicke Balecut at the Tullamore Show last weekend.

The system uses a film/net retaining mechanism with eight hooks mounted in a single row across the machine, which is positioned on a separate frame. These hooks are operated using a hydraulic sequencing valve which engages and disengage as the blade is opened and closed. The spring-loaded retainer pivots +/-5° side to side, and from +/-15° front to back to handle out of shape bales. The bale splitter is designed to handle round bales from 90cm (3ft) up to 160cm (5.2ft).

The unit comes fitted with five tines, with the option of increasing this to seven. It’s fitted with bolt-on knife sections for easy replacement.

The unit can be fitted with any loader brackets. It weighs in at 514kg and is priced at €4,150 plus VAT.

Douglas Farm Machinery from Enfield showcased the Terraland TN mounted subsoiler from Czech Republic based manufacturer, Bednar FMT.

The TN mounted subsoiler is designed to work to a depth of 65 centimetres, offering growers an alternative to conventional ploughing.

Bednar’s argument is that this machine works deeper, faster and with lower demands on the tractor power than a conventional plough. The Terraland TN subsoiler comes with working width options of three and four metres.

The manufacturer says the properties of the Terraland TN make it suitable for deep loosening and incorporation of large quantities of organic matter.

The legs are protected against overload mechanically using shear bolts or optionally through its hydraulic protection system.

Depending on the use of the machine, various legs, points, wings and rollers can be fitted. The base price for the 3m unit starts at €25,000 plus VAT.