The Tullamore Show is without doubt the premier show in Ireland for livestock farmers and those with an appreciation for cattle judging. The perfectly presented cattle are a credit to their owners and those who spend days, if not weeks, preparing them for the parade ring.
Equally, the ever-increasing number of machinery companies and dealers make as much of an effort to show their wares to the public.
More and more companies are realising the benefit of attending this exhibition, so I decided to take a look at some of the machinery companies that plan to exhibit on the day.
WR Shaw
WR Shaw is taking the opportunity to launch the New Holland T5.105 Utility tractor to the Irish market. The 105hp tractor is aimed at livestock farmers as a yard tractor and comes with a 40km/h Dual Command™ transmission as an option.
The five models in the range are from 75hp to 114hp, with power coming from the 3.4-litre FPT engine.
Optional extras available ex-factory include SuperSteer™, front linkage, MegaFlow™ high volume hydraulic pump and New Holland’s range of TL front loaders.
The low cab height of this tractor range, combined with the large front windscreen and roof panel, is aimed at those farmers who want to operate with a front loader.
WR Shaw is also a main dealer for PÖttinger machinery. It will have a selection of grassland and tillage equipment, including mowers, rakes and power harrows, on display.
Desmond Condell Engineering
Desmond Condell Engineering is launching its new Feed All Grass Grazer at Tullamore; the difference from previous incarnations being a disc mower bed in place of the traditional drum mower.
Speaking to Nigel Condell, this is a first for the company. The 8ft (2.4m) bed is an exciting new venture for them. The machine is shod on 550/45R22.5 tyres and is available in a number of sizes up to the 27m3 tandem-axle machine.
Also on show will be a free-standing beet chopper and feed-all tub feeder with a 15m cubed capacity.
This machine is capable of handling all types of feed, including both pit and round bale silage.
Seat Systems
John Newman of Seat Systems will have a full range of seats and replacement parts on display for any machine on the farm. He specialises in whole seats for most manufacturers on the market, with a large catalogue of parts available also.
John can provide seats for tractors, combine harvesters, telescopic loaders and most self-propelled machinery on Irish farms.
Alstrong Engineering
For farmers who want to establish or reinvigorate a grass sward, Alstrong Engineering is bringing its new Auctus T reseeding machine along.
The 4.5t trailed machine aimed at contractors is designed to work into burnt-off pasture or ploughed/disced soil.
The machine is fitted with a Delimbe pneumatic seeder for distributing grass seed through a network of applicator heads. These are located in front of the rear prisma finishing roller.
Alstrong will also be exhibiting their aerators for those who want to undo some damage to ground or reinvigorate thin grass swards.
These machines use 15mm hardened steel blades to aerate the top layer of soil, but can also break up a hard pan to a depth of 30cm if required.
Minimum horsepower requirement for the 3m 940T is 110hp and the machine can be ballasted up to 5,500kg when filled with water.
This machine can be operated at up to 20km/h in the field. A soft ride transport system makes moving between fields more comfortable.
McHale
McHale will show its latest developments in mowing, baling, wrapping and straw-blowing technology. On the stand will be the F3100 front- and R3100 rear-mounted mower conditioners. The Fusion 3 Plus round baler-wrapper only uses film to wrap bales.
Normally, where a roll of netting would reside in a baler, there is a full width roll of film. The advantage being better preservation of bales and no need to separate the bale wrap from the net for recycling afterwards. McHale also claims better bale formation is a key feature of this system.
The orbital high-speed round bale wrapper and the C460 straw blower, capable of handling round and square bales, will also be present.
The orbital wrapper can wrap a 1.25m bale (4ft) in approximately 18 seconds when applying six layers of film.
The trailed C460 straw blower can handle up to 1.25m (4ft) round bales at a time and can feed over barriers or on to the ground outside a feeding barrier.
A key feature of this machine is its two-speed gearbox with 280RPM for feeding hay or silage and 540RPM for blowing straw for bedding, which is claimed can travel up to 18m.
The three-stage feed chute can rotate through 300°.
To handle those bales, there will be a number of loaders on view. Among them will the articulated M16, M20 and M38 from Manitech Loaders Ltd. The M38 has 180hp and comes with a 12-month warranty.
Cross Engineering
Cross Engineering is exhibiting a range of products at this year’s show to appeal to all farming systems. These are to include muck spreaders, scarifiers, slurry tankers, post drivers, ring rollers, the Zebra beet washer and a small roller mill for those wanting to roll their own grain.
Brogan Tractors
Michael Brogan of Brogan Tractors, Co Offaly, is showing two tractor brands – ArmaTrac and Tumosan.
The two smaller ArmaTrac tractors are the 50hp 504 and 63hp 504 Turbo. Both tractors come with 4WD and a 30km/h transmission powered by a Perkins engine.
The larger ArmaTrac 1104 comes with a 113hp Perkins engine, ZF transmission, Bosch electronics and a two-year parts and labour warranty.
A turbo-charged model of this tractor is also available with 120hp, optional cab suspension and 40km/h transmission.
Also available from Brogan Tractors is the Metal-Technik range of front loaders, along with attachments including buckets, grabs and pallet forks.
Abbey Machinery
Abbey Machinery is bringing three popular products aimed at livestock and dairy farmers. T
hey include a vertical diet feeder, a slurry agitator and a slurry tank with their Tri-App slurry applicator.
The Tri-App is a folding 7.5m trailing shoe applicator mounted on the rear of the slurry tank.
It is designed to get better utilisation of slurry by parting the crop canopy and placing it in concentrated lines on the ground.
It can also be configured to work with an umbilical system, with the ability to carry up to 600m of hose on an optional A-frame at the rear of the machine. It comes fully galvanised for a prolonged working life.
To limit blockages the Tri-App is fitted with an Exacut Maserator and for safety comes with full LED lighting kit.
Malone Machinery
Farmers or contractors planning on upgrading or changing their silage-making equipment can see a full range of products on the Malone Machinery stand.
Malone will be showing its tandem axle 42m3 MT42 silage wagon and its recently launched Malone Tedd-Air range of tedders.
The four-rotor 5.7m and six-rotor 8.4m mounted tedders come with hydraulic stabilisation to prolong the life of the tractor and tedder. These keep the machine centred when it is raised out of work.
Also on show will be the ProCut 800 and ProCut 900 mounted disc mower with 2.4m (8ft) and 2.8m (9ft) width respectively.
The mowers come with a multi-band belt drive, galvanised curtain frame to reduce corrosion, heavy-duty cutter bar, topping skids and bronze bushing on the main pivot point.
Tom Shaw Farm Machinery
Tom Shaw Farm Machinery is targeting farmers who want to maximise grass use that may not be readily accessible to cows or cattle with the Belair 2740-2 self-loading grazer.
The machine on display has a 2.1m twin drum cutting head and is pulled via an offset drawbar.
Other features on this machine are hydraulic adjustment of the cutter head and hydraulic suspension system to contour-follow undulating fields. This helps reduce contamination of the grass.
To pull this, Tom is bringing a range of Deutz Fahr tractors. These include the 126hp 6165 RC and 113hp 5125.
For those farmers interested in disc cultivators, the 3m U-30 disc cultivator will be on display.
The machine comes with 24 discs arranged in two rows and can be specified with either 560mm or 610mm discs.
The operating depth is controlled via a pin system on the rear steel-toothed packer roller.
For those interested in farmyard manure spreading, Tom Shaw Machinery will have the Jeantil 1411 vertical-rotor rear-discharge spreader. This is a single-axle machine with a 14m3 capacity
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Rainbow Engineering
Rainbow Engineering from Ballysheil, Co Offaly, is bringing a number of machines to the show. Among them are a galvanised post driver with side tilt option and a log splitter.
Two trailers will also be on display: a single-axle tipping trailer for transporting feed or meal and a vegetable trailer for pre-processing of vegetables in the field.
Bridgeway Engineering
Displaying its extensive range of silage and bale-handling equipment, Bridgeway Engineering will also have a selection of grassland aerators at this year’s show.
Complementing this range, Bridgeway will have cattle-handling equipment and a one-pass tine harrow system with pneumatic seeder fitted for those customers with autumn reseeding plans in mind.
TFM
TFM will be showcasing John Deere’s latest tractor offerings. At 159hp, the John Deere 6155 will be displayed. This is a high-specification tractor with many different options, including DirectDrive, CommandArm with generation 4 CommandCentre and Autotrac.
For the farmer looking for something smaller, TFM will also have the 6110M on display.
This 111hp tractor is suited to yard work due to its small size and short wheelbase. Triple-Link front-axle suspension and cab suspension are both optional on this tractor as is factory fitted front-loader, front linkage and front PTO.
Agrigear
For those farmers just not ready to change their tractor but could do with some new tyres, Agrigear will have a large selection to choose from. As retailers of BKT and Nokian tyres, among others, it will have a selection of rims and tyres suitable for tractors, trailers, loaders, slurry tanks, etc. Of particular interest to sprayer operators and those operating in row crop conditions will be the three-piece Agrigear row crop wheel.
This configuration allows for numerous track widths and the flexibility to be fitted to various machines by just changing the centre piece of the three-piece rim. The tyre on display at Tullamore will be the 420/80R46, but other tyre sizes are also available. Agrigear also offers a rim reconditioning service for those who may have a damaged or cracked rim that is not beyond the scrap heap just yet.
Irish Farmers Journal
For those farmers who wish to visit the Irish Farmers Journal stand to discuss anything machinery-related, we would be more than happy to meet you at stand number 95 across from the pedigree and commercial cattle section.