Grassland & Muck gets new machines and great weather

Grassland & Muck has established itself as the go-to UK event for working demonstrations of mowing, grass-handling, forage harvesting and clamping equipment, in addition to muck and slurry-handling apparatus. Despite the pressure for many farmers and contractors to attend during the onslaught of this year’s first-cut grass harvest, bumper crops and warm weather were the perfect ingredients to make this triennial event worthy of a visit, as manufacturers from all over Europe exhibited new machinery.

Lely Storm 300 Profi(above)

New in the trailed forage harvester market, the Lely Storm 300 and 300P Profi models feature a galvanised cam-less pickup design and a more aggressive feed roller system, with twin springs for an even feed to the chopping cylinder. A 1.3m flywheel with 10 blades and five paddles guarantees continuous flow-through, while chop length is controlled using interchangeable external drive-gears on the gearbox. The retail price is £51,495.

JCB Teleskid

Launched in the US earlier this year, JCB made the decision to use Grassland & Muck as the platform to introduce its new Teleskid loader to the UK market. Based on the current range of large-platform US-built JCB skid steer loaders, the Teleskid is powered by a 74hp JCB Ecomax engine driving a two-speed hydrostatic transmission. A fully enclosed cab with side-door access comes as standard. The retail price is listed at £58,350.

JCB 419S

Introduced as the successor for the JCB 418 wheeled-loader, the new JCB 419S introduces a Stage IV Final 6.7L Cummins QSB engine rated at 183hp, mounted in a longer rear-chassis to improve the new models payload. A six-speed ZF powershift (40km/h) transmission is used to power larger ZF axles, which are designed to handle larger (optional) 750/R26 tyres. Hydraulic power is provided by a 180l/min single-piston hydraulic pump. The 419S costs £140,000 and is available now.

Holaras Viking Grass Spreader

The Netherlands-based grassland equipment manufacturer demonstrated its 6m Viking grass spreader for the first time in Britain. Imported into Ireland by WM-Agri, the Viking is designed for applications where a silage wagon is used, to improve the ensilaging of long chop grass. Equipped with hydraulically adjustable side skirts and an optional hydraulic fork used to move clumps of grass, the Viking is designed for use with a Holoras Stego-Pro silage compactor.

Opico He-Va sward rejuvenator

Constructed using the existing 6.3m He-Va rolls chassis, this grassland improvement machine provides a scarifying action to the turf by using the combination of a hydraulically adjustable Shatta Board fitted with slicing plates, followed by a twin-row grass harrow. The soil is firmed by a Prisma roller combination, which uses the He-Va SAT system to ensure even pressure across the width of the machine. Opico claims the machine can be used not only to stimulate grass growth, but for restoring badly poached pasture.

Case IH RB 545 round-baler

The latest baler from Case IH boasts a Norwegian pedigree, CNH, having purchased the manufacturing rights from Orkel to produce its baler. The new 545 baler retains many of the Norwegian manufacturers original design features, with the addition of a 2.2m CNH pickup, similar in design to the unit used on the current variable-chamber 455 baler. The fixed roller design uses 18 rollers with 10 dimples per roller to increase bale contact and traction during bale formation. An Isobus control system is included..

John Deere C441R baler wrapper

John Deere’s new C441R baler introduces a premium specification machine, using the new F441R balers upgraded heavy-duty feeding system and bale chamber, combined with the improved capability of John Deere’s transport table system. Available in single or tandem-axle configurations, the new C441R baler shares the F441R’s 18 12-rib roller setup for improved bale traction, and a new net-wrap system, which uses a braking device to tension the net as it wraps the bale.

Joskin Xtreme 18500TS/John Deere manure sensing system

The demand for greater accuracy when applying liquid manure/waste was demonstrated by Joskin, which exhibited its Xtrem 18500TS tanker equipped with John Deere’s manure sensing system.

Using the same near infra-red (IFR) technology as John Deere’s HarvestLab sensor, NPK and dry matter levels are automatically analysed, as the slurry passes from tanker to the applicator.

Quicke Q-Series Loaders

Quicke’s new Q-Series is the first digital front-loader range on the market, offering increased torsional rigidity, thanks to the introduction of both cast and forged and steel components on critical load bearing parts, and a new boom profile providing 30% better operator vision. Options for the new range include a multi-coupler hydraulic connector, loader lights, hydraulic locking and two-tone paintwork. Prices for the Q-Series booms range from £4,660 to £12,905.

Malone

The former McHale engineer Michael Malone, is well-known for producing quality grassland equipment, including disc mowers and silage wagons up to 52cm3 in size. The latest products from the Malone stable include its new four- and six-rotor grass tedders, providing working widths of 5.7m and 8.4m, respectively.

Malone spreaders are fully equipped from the factory with a spare wheel and lights. Retail prices are £6,500 (four-rotor) and £9,250 (six-rotor), with a 12-month warranty.

Vicon Extra 687N

Vicon’s new lightweight Extra 687N butterfly combination is designed for farmers who want high-capcity without the weight and specification of a contractors machine. Demonstrated with the company’s existing Extra 632FN front-mounted mower, the new combo uses two 3.18m Vicon mowing units, featuring eight counter rotating triangular discs, and nylon conditioner tines.

Vicon’s NonStop Break Away system comes as standard. The list price for the Extra 687N is £35,626. The price for the front-mounted 632N is £14,092.

PÖttinger Impress baler

One of the key features in the design of the new PÖttinger Impress baler, is that the chopping rotor runs in reverse. As the crop is ingested, it passes over the rotor, where 32 knives hang down to provide a self-cleaning cutting action at a chop length of 34mm.

Using what PÖttinger describes as its Perfect-Flow system, the crop actually enters the chamber at the base of the bale as it is turning. Three models, the 125F (fixed chamber) the 155V and 185V (variable chamber) are will be available, the latter V-models in Master and Pro specification. Prices are to be announced.

Kubota grassland equipment

Kubota announced that it would be offering name-branded (Vicon and Kverneland) grassland equipment, through its established UK tractor dealer network back in January. The Grassland & Muck event gave the Japanese manufacturer the opportunity to demonstrate many of its new implements for the first time, including the TE4052 four-rotor 5.2m tedder, and a DMC mower-conditioner combination, featuring single front and rear mounted mowers. The range of equipment also includes twin-rotor rakes, fixed and variable chamber balers, turn-table wrappers, and fertiliser spreaders. All implements currently offered, are designed to suit the horsepower requirement of current Kubota M7/M5 and MGX III tractor ranges.

McHale Pro-Glide B9000

McHale had several new machines making their UK debut, including its Pro-Glide B9000 combination mower-conditioner. The Pro Glide mower design incorporates a unique patented break-back protection system, which allows the mowers to not only move back if they hit and obstacle, but also to move upwards. This allows the mower(s) to ride over smaller obstacles without activating the main break-back system. It also enables them to travel over undulating or rough ground at higher speed, while providing a more consistent and even cut. Mowing discs are fitted with 360-degree free-spinning blades to aid self-cleaning, and a wide overlap to ensure a clean cut between the discs.