Tipp contractor working two Fendt Tigos in tandem

Based in the Nenagh in North Tipperary, Eamon and his son John Gaynor are tillage and livestock farmers, growing in the region of 300 acres of corn and 90 acres of fodder beet, alongside rearing 130 dairy calves annually.

Agricultural contracting is another side of the business, offering a wide range of services from tillage operations to slurry spreading.

In recent years, as the tillage acreage dropped along with John becoming more involved in the contracting element of the business, the decision was made to expand their services and begin pit silage.

“We weren’t going to go down the route of a self-propelled forager for a number of reasons including the fact there are several foragers working in the area.

A wagon would also leave us offering something a little different. We had no guaranteed customers either which would have left a forager hard justified starting out,” Eamon says.

With the idea of a forage wagon offering more flexibility to zero graze and lift smaller acreage or lighter crops, Eamon felt it was the right decision. In 2023 a Fendt Tigo VR65 was bought from Atkins, Birr.

Why Fendt?

“We had looked at most of the brands on the market. For some reason we never thought about Fendt until one day I had happened to be down in Atkins in Birr.

“I saw their demo Tigo VR65 in their yard and was impressed. It appeared well-built and the moving headboard left it very compact for a 38m3 machine. I’m almost sure no other manufacturer had a machine of a similar size with a moving headboard at the time,” Eamon explains.

A deal was struck to buy the demonstrator model which to the lad’s advantage came equipped with lots of additional spec.

Having had a successful first season out and touching on 1,000 acres, the decision was made to buy a second wagon for the 2024 silage season.

“We were happy with both the machine and the service, so we bought another Tigo for 2024, this time an XR65.”

Tigo XR 65 and VR 65

Fendt offer three forage wagon ranges; PR, VR and XR. The main differences between the XR and VR models lie beneath the surface.

Since the Gaynors bought their two machines, Fendt has futher differentiated the standard specification of the VR and XR models.

Today the XR is marketed as a slightly heavier duty machine with a slightly wider pickup and extra knives.

The XR is now offered as standard uprated flat link floor chains and Fendt’s stability control (FSC) system.

Both of the Gaynors’ machines were ex-demonstrators so there is a slight difference in specification between the two, one of the more notable differences is the hydraulically driven pickup on the VR model vs the standard (at the time) mechanically driven pickup on the XR.

However, the hdyraulic puickup reel is now offered standard on all Fendt XR and VR models. The hydraulic alternative is a much superior job, Eamon says.

The FSC system works with the hydropneumatic suspension to ensure that the body is always level in order to improve stability on hills.

Pickup

The Tigo XR is equipped with a 2.2m wide pickup while the Tigo VR is fitted with a 2.0m pickup reel. As result the XR is fitted with five extra knives taking the total number of knives to 45.

Fendt opt to use a seven-tine row camless pick-up reel design with 54mm tine spacing. The majority of components within the reel are galvanised to protect against weathering and rust.

The hydraulic drive pickup is also equipped with plastic tine bands which Eamon and John both agree are a better job.

“The only small issue we’ve had is with an odd pickup tine coming loose due to the way in which they are mounted. Atkins are working on a modification for this which should sort it.”

“Having done two seasons with the mechanical pickup and one with the hydraulic, we’d definitely rather the hydraulic. It’s much quieter with fewer moving parts too which is a benefit from a maintenance perspective. When the pickup is lifted at the headland it cuts out, reducing wear and noise but helps avoid a lump of grass being swallowed up crossing a swath.”

“They’re a great machine to take in grass which has always been the case with any machine with Lely DNA. We rake 30ft swaths with a McHale R68-78 twin rotor rake even in heavy first cut which the wagons handle without any issue,” says Eamon.

Each knife is individually spring protected. In the event a foreign object passes through the pickup the rotor will push the object against the knife and cause the spring to buckle back and reduce the force against the knife.

“Last year we lifted a complete rake arm which passed through the knife bank without causing any damage to our surprise. Chop length is very consistent but the type of grass and how its presented to the pickup makes a lot of difference.

"We have five sets of knives so that a full set can be pulled out and replaced in under 15 minutes and avoid any early morning or late-night sharpening before a days work.”

A spare set of knives can be kept on board if needs be. To aid the sharpening process, Eamon bought a Göweil knife sharpener which he says is a handy tool.

The Gaynors like the fact all knifes can be lowered through the Isobus terminal if they find themselves in a field where there are lot of stones.

Headboard and body

Behind the pickup is an 800mm rotor on both machines and seven spiral tine rows made of Hardox steel which feeds crop through the chopping unit and up into the body.

The 250mm floor incline behind the rotor is said to reduce the power requirement and leave for a smoother loading process. Another feature Eamon liked from the start was the 3mm-thick galvanised steel floor instead of timbers. The moving bulk-head was another major selling point for numerous reasons. Mainly because it adds to the compactness of the machine helping reduce its overall length and yet still offer a 38m3 load carrying capacity. The headboard can move by 80 degrees automatically in auto-load mode (VarioFill) and manually via the Isobus terminal when the wagon is being loaded in manual mode. The additional weight over the drawbar improves tractor traction Eamon says.

“We use the auto-load and auto-unload settings the majority of the time unless we are doing a long draw and want to fill the wagons more. They both unload very quick; there’s no waiting around.”

Fendt claim its twin speed floor motor system can unload at 25m/min.

Other features

A feature on the Gaynors’ XR65 but not on the VR65 is the hydropneumatic suspension and the FSC system. The latter is an automatic leveling function run of load-sensing which Eamon hails as a game changer on hills.

“If there is any hilly ground to be lifted it’s the XR65 that will be sent to do it as the VR65 is on a bogie axle. The FCS leaves it much more stable.”

The system is designed to counteract rolling movements and keep the body parallel to the slope. The drawbar suspension leaves for a much more comfortable pull during transport too, Eamon explains.

Both machines are equipped with a steering and auto locking rear axles which automatically lock at a set speed and in reverse.

The wagons are shod on 750/45 R26.5 tyres offering plenty of floatation.

Both Gaynors’ machines are both Isobus control which they describe as having very well laid-out work screens.

Wagon advantages

While foragers are exceptional machines to get through work, both Eamon and John agree that there is a place for a forage wagon.

“In recent years we’ve seen a lot of the larger farms move away from baling paddocks that need took out of the grazing rotation to now lifting them with the wagon and pitting the grass instead. It avoids wrap and net and can work out a cheaper alternative. A few of the local farmers run a wagon of their own. If they’re under pressure to get their grass in or if the shoe is on the other foot an we are under pressure, then we help each other out which has worked very well so far.

“I’ve also seen us lift newly reseeded fields that nobody would attempt to put a forager into for the fear of lifting stones. We have the advantage of simply lowering the knives and driving on,” Eamon says.

Verdict

Now entering their third silage season, the Gaynor’s last year lifted in the region of 1,500 acres comfortably with their two machines.

“So far we are happy having went down the route of running the Fendt Tigo machines. They’re hard to fault really. Build quality, and performance is top notch. Service too has been great and a big factor in our decision to buy a second Tigo machine. The maintenance and lower running costs over a forager too were a selling point for us starting out at grass.

“They’re all big machines but, taking into account their capacity, they’re actually quite compact and more compact than some of their competitors,” says Eamon.

“Providing the slightly longer chop of wagon silage and 38m3 of grass arriving to the pit at any one time, it’s not as easily dealt with as precision chop grass. We knew from the start that a good loader driver and good loader was going to be critical. We’re lucky to have both, Brendan Kelly operates our JCB 435S and 14ft folding fork.

“Wagons do require not only power to drive them but a good frame of a tractor to handle the weight. Last year we ran them on a John Deere 6250R and 6215R. The 6215R just struggled a little at times for weight and power in comparison to the 6250R. We’ve traded both for two new 6R250s for the coming season,” Eamon says.