Teagle straw blower feeding and bedding 500 animals in Tipperary

As the Irish Farmers Journal caught up with Luke Williamson and his father, David, the duo were busy pouring concrete for a new 40-cow cubicle shed. Based in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, the Williamsons milk 170 cows, 150 of which are spring calving, and the other 20 autumn calving.

The foundation herd is made up of British Friesian cows, with a lot of Fleckvieh breeding used in the past five years. All calves are kept on farm, and finished at 24 months.

In 2018, Luke and David made the decision to purchase a straw blower. During the winter months, 50% of the herd is straw bedded. This task was taking over three hours per day. When weighing up their options, Luke explained that they looked at several brands.

In the end, it was between Teagle and one other. He explained that the competitor brand used belts to drive the slatted floor.

Due to the large amount of pit silage they were planning to feed with the straw blower, they opted for the Teagle. He noted that they also have a good working relationship with Byrne Machinery in Roscrea, their local Teagle dealer.

Initially, the Williamsons opted for a new Teagle 8100. In 2020, this was upgraded to a new 8500, which was recommended as a better machine for feeding and chopping large quantities of silage.

An investment

“Since 2020, we are putting 250 round bales of straw, 500 round bales of silage and 80 acres of pit silage through the straw blower each winter” Luke said.

“Even with handling all this material, one sharpen of the serrated knives over the winter is all the machine requires.

“During the winter months, the bedding of three round-roof sheds and the bedding of the calves takes three hours daily. The use of the straw blower has cut this down to less than one hour per day.

“Because it doesn’t take near as long, the cattle are being bedded more often. We now take the little and often approach, which also helps us to reduce our straw usage,” he added.

“We reckon that with the straw blower, we are saving the use of 50 round bales of straw each year, which is a big cost saving. We find that we also have less waste with the silage when using the straw blower. The silage is fed out more often, which means its fresh, rather than feeding out blocks or bales in front of the cattle. So, without doubt, the straw blower is well worth the investment,” Luke explained.

Teagle 8500

The single cross beater 8500 series is available in two models. The 8500 which feeds pit or bale silage and spreads bedding materials and the 8555 which offers all the capability of the 8500, but features an additional ‘dual chop’ system for precision processing of short straw for feeding or bedding.

The Williamsons opted for a Teagle 8500. The design is straightforward: the PTO-powered machine is fed via a slatted floor, which is driven by a 12mm heavy-duty rotating chain, which feeds the feed/straw towards the cross beater, which in turn feeds the rotor and blows out the feed/straw. The floor speed, which is independent to the flywheel speed, can be monitored from the cab via a visual indicator that rotates at the same speed.

The auger/rotor-like cross beater teases straw from the bale through its ripper hooks positioned across its surface. To protect the driveline, a slip clutch is fitted as standard on the Walterscheid PTO shaft. The machine can be loaded by a telehandler etc, or for self-loading the tailgate is flared and supported by two hydraulic rams. Teagle says the machine can blow straw up to approximately 22m (72ft) through the hydraulically adjustable 280° spout.

The machine features a 4.5m3 capacity, which is the equivalent of two round bales, or one large rectangular bale. The minimum oil flow required is 35l/min and an 80hp tractor will easily handle the machine.

All Tomahawk models feature a high-spec gearbox, with high/low fan speed gear preselection. Luke noted that the machine is very simple from a maintenance point of view. It’s just a matter of keeping the self-lubrication tank topped up and adhering to the grease points. The machine comes with a full road lighting kit.

A feature which is unique to the range of Teagle machines is the Bluetooth wireless control setup which provides communication between the operator in the cab and the machine. It also features an external control box to control the tailgate, which is located towards the rear of the machine.

A clever safety switch requires both hands for operation, which keeps the operator out of harm’s way. This is useful for when net or twine has to be removed from the bale.

“We are now entering our sixth winter with the machine, and we’ve been very happy with the performance of the straw blower to date,” Luke said.

“With the exception of the floor chain breaking once – which we are putting down to overloading with pit silage – the machine hasn’t given a day’s bother, and it is doing a huge amount of work.

“With the exception of the knives, which we tend to get a few seasons out of per set, the machine is running on all original components. We run it on a McCormick MC130 and it handles it at its ease. It’s easy to drive and has done everything we’ve asked of it. We find that it’s a very efficient and user-friendly machine which has a huge output,” he added.

“The machine will feed out every bit as fast as you can manage it. For example, the floor speed is set on a dial from one to 10 – I never set it past five or six, or it will send the feed through the machine too quick for me to feed it out correctly.

The furthest we need to blow straw is into a 75ft deep round-roof shed, and the Tomahawk is fit to do this, but it’s at its limit in doing so.

“The control setup is simple and easy to follow; the machine is well put together and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Overall, we were very impressed with the machine day one, and this is still the case,” Luke said.