McHale to put entire grass equipment offering to work at Grass 2026

McHale will be putting its full grass equipment portfolio to work at Grass 2026 in Kilkenny next week. To start, attendees will have the opportunity to witness the ProGlide Mower Range in action, demonstrating its flotation and ground-following capabilities.

A combination of the ProGlide, front, F3100 and B9000, Butterfly mower conditioners will be taking part in the demonstration.

Following the mowing demonstration, McHale’s T8-1020 trailed eight-rotor tedder will take to the field, allowing attendees to experience its easy rotor and height adjustment features first-hand. Power is transferred to the rotors using a heavy-duty driveline with greasable universal joints.

An overload clutch protects the driveline while all pivoting points are incorporated in the cast housing. All McHale tedders are fitted with 1.54m (61”) diameter rotors that are equipped with seven tine arms that all support a double-hooked tine. Once again, McHale has opted for the heavy-duty hook tine. Operators have the ability to adjust the angle and height of the rotors if required.

When tedding the headlands or around obstacles, the optional headland management system can be hydraulically folded into position by the operator in the cab.

The grass will then be raked using the R68-78 rake, with an adjustable working width of 6.8m to 7.8m, an ideal mid-range solution for both farmers and contractors. The rake uses a sealed cam track system for smooth tine movement. Rotor height adjustment and indicators allow accurate ground clearance. The rake features a steering axle, pivoting headstock, and six-wheel bogies ground following.

Baling

When it comes to baling, McHale will demonstrate two of its most trusted machines; the Fusion 4 Plus, a fully automatic integrated baler wrapper with film binding technology, and the F5-550, a robust fixed chamber baler equipped with a 15-knife chopping unit.

Launched at the Ploughing in 2023, the Fusion 4 range features three models. Buyers can choose between a five-tine bar cam track pickup or the optional six-tine bar camless pickup which has also increased in width.

The Profi-Flo pickup features a tapered feed channel to encourage the crop to flow from the pickup towards the rotor and into the bale chamber. McHale also fitted the pickup with a heavier driveline to reduce chain loading. It also features the Adaptive Intake feature.

This was designed to allow the intake area to automatically adjust up and down to changes in material flow. It automatically adjusts the intake area to better handle uneven and lumpy rows, while reducing the chances of a blockage occurring.

The bale chamber is comprised of 18 rollers, manufactured from high-grade tubular steel. Single sprocket rollers on the chamber drive side are equipped with 50mm shafts and bearings. Rollers under the most load are fitted with double row bearings. All rollers fitted with double sprockets are equipped with 55mm shafts and double row 55mm bearings.

The non-drive side of the bale chamber is also fitted with heavy-duty 50mm bearings. McHale carried over the proven vertical wrapping ring used in its previous generation of Fusions. The wrapping unit is fitted with two 750mm dispensers and wrapping speed has been intensified. McHale says four layers of wrap can now be applied in approximately 18 seconds.

The new F5 range also features the newly designed Profi-Flo pickup with enhanced throughput, and McHale said that bale density and bale binding has increased in performance to produce higher density bales. To maximise performance, the new range come with the option of a 1,000rpm gearbox. All F5-550 machines also have a bale size adjustment capability to enable the operator to alter the bale size for different crops. Bale size can range from 1.25m to 1.30m.

The F5-550 will be followed by the Orbital round bale wrapper, the brand’s highest output wrapper.

According to the manufacturer, by utilising the proven vertical wrapping ring technology from the Fusion range, this machine can keep pace with multiple balers, wrapping between 80 and 100 bales per hour.

In addition to the live demonstrations, McHale will also showcase a range of products on its static stand. The company’s sales and service team will be on hand throughout the event to discuss the latest products and technologies.