Based in a village called Grange, halfway between Sligo town and Bundoran, Marty Lenehan runs a calf-to-store system, alongside an agricultural contracting business. Marty is currently rearing 300 calves on behalf of Teagasc and ICBF, which he will hold until they are 20 months of age, with payment based solely on weight gain per kilo.
Starting off with no land, Marty is today farming 260 acres, mixed between owned and leased ground. In 1993, he started off his own contracting business, initially offering a round baling service with a Krone Mini Stop round baler.
It wasn’t until 2008, when Marty ventured into pit silage, that he bought a new Krone R54, alongside hiring a second one for his first season. Today, Marty offers a complete contracting service, with the exception of reseeding, and covers a 40km radius.
Moving to Strautmann
“We bought our first wagon in 2008, a Krone L54. We ran that Krone wagon for 11 years, deciding to upgrade it in 2019,” said Marty. “The Krone wagon was a good machine; it didn’t give us much trouble outside of the normal wear and tear. The only problem we really had with it was it had a tendency to break knives from time to time.
“Some seasons it could break up to 10 or 15 knives, which wasn’t stone related either. When we decided to upgrade, we looked at Krone and Strautmann. We didn’t see a whole pile between them, but a neighbour of ours had since started selling machinery for Johnston Farm Equipment in Longford, who are Strautmann dealers. In the end, we opted for a new Strautmann Zelon 2901.
“The Zelon 2901 proved to be a great wagon. It arrived in 2019, and we still have it, although we have it traded for a new Super Vitesse 3102 for the season ahead. The wagon was used to lift 500 to 600 acres each season, and in the course of that time, it only broke three knives.
The 3102 is fitted with a 1.8m wide camless pick-up reel.
“The wagon only ever gave us one issue, on the drive side, when big pressure came on, it sheared the bolts on the drive wheel several times. We rebored it and bolted it in stronger the final time it broke, and it never caused an issue since. We found the wagon to be compact, and easy to drive. We have been very impressed with its chopping system, with the wagon well fit to lift 500 acres between every knife sharpening. It did an average of 1,300 loads per year for us, and was very much trouble free,” explained Marty.
Super Vitesse 3102
For the 2025 grass season, Marty purchased a new Strautmann Super Vitesse 3102, pushing his fleet to two forage wagons. With this, the business workload also jumped by an additional 500 acres. The 3102 is fitted with a camless pick-up reel. The 1.8m wide reel features plastic bands. It has six rows of tines which are in a V-shape to help feed the grass evenly.
Strautmann use a CFS (continuous flow system) roller, which is situated behind the pickup and under the rotor to disperses the forage across the working width of the rotor. This roller features welded grooves, to carry and distribute the grass.
The wagon features a 39-knife double-cutting unit, offering a theoretical chopping length of 39mm.
The wagon features a 39-knife double-cutting unit. The manufacturer claims this offers a theoretical chopping length of 39mm. The knives can be changed without the use of tools.
The ‘slip-proof’ floor of the wagon runs on 11mm round steel chains with a breaking load of 15t each. The floor chains are fitted with automatic chain tensioners for minimum amount of maintenance. The wagon is fitted with the optional two-speed transport floor drive, for quicker unloading.
The bogie tandem chassis features parabolic suspension with an axle load of 16t. Marty opted for the passive steering axle over the forced steering system, which he says is simple and straightforward, and is working very well. His 2025 3102 is fitted on 620mm tyres, where he has opted for 710mm tyres for his 2026 3102.
Verdict
“I’m very happy with the 3102, it was bulletproof last season. We pick-up 26ft swaths of grass, which the 3102 and the Case IH Puma 240 are well fit for. We probably would get away with a smaller tractor, only for the ground we work on. We work on a lot of hilly ground, some of which can be tricky so we need the extra horsepower.
“We are really happy with the camless pickup reel. The staggered pickup reel tines and fluted CFS roller which runs underneath the rotor and behind the pickup is a great job. It helps even out the flow of grass across the width of the pickup, meaning there is no power surges. The wagon has a super intake capacity”, said Marty.
“I think the two most impressive aspects of the machine is its chopping system and load carrying capacity. We genuinely only sharpen the knives every 500 acres, and it holds a consistently short chop length.
“The only changes I would love to see is the option of a pullout knife bank, just to make it that bit easier to take out and sharpen the knives. Other than that, I genuinely can’t fault the wagon.
“For a compact machine, it’s fit to pack in a huge load. It takes us around 90 seconds to unload, which is impressive”, added Marty.
Likes
Chop consistency.Very compact machine for the size of a load it carries.Very reliable.Spec
Model: Super Vitesse 3102.Year: 2025.Capacity: 29 cubic metres.Knives: 39.Axles: Passive rear steer .Pickup width: 1.8m.Weight: 6,900kg.List price: €144,000 plus VAT.
Based in a village called Grange, halfway between Sligo town and Bundoran, Marty Lenehan runs a calf-to-store system, alongside an agricultural contracting business. Marty is currently rearing 300 calves on behalf of Teagasc and ICBF, which he will hold until they are 20 months of age, with payment based solely on weight gain per kilo.
Starting off with no land, Marty is today farming 260 acres, mixed between owned and leased ground. In 1993, he started off his own contracting business, initially offering a round baling service with a Krone Mini Stop round baler.
It wasn’t until 2008, when Marty ventured into pit silage, that he bought a new Krone R54, alongside hiring a second one for his first season. Today, Marty offers a complete contracting service, with the exception of reseeding, and covers a 40km radius.
Moving to Strautmann
“We bought our first wagon in 2008, a Krone L54. We ran that Krone wagon for 11 years, deciding to upgrade it in 2019,” said Marty. “The Krone wagon was a good machine; it didn’t give us much trouble outside of the normal wear and tear. The only problem we really had with it was it had a tendency to break knives from time to time.
“Some seasons it could break up to 10 or 15 knives, which wasn’t stone related either. When we decided to upgrade, we looked at Krone and Strautmann. We didn’t see a whole pile between them, but a neighbour of ours had since started selling machinery for Johnston Farm Equipment in Longford, who are Strautmann dealers. In the end, we opted for a new Strautmann Zelon 2901.
“The Zelon 2901 proved to be a great wagon. It arrived in 2019, and we still have it, although we have it traded for a new Super Vitesse 3102 for the season ahead. The wagon was used to lift 500 to 600 acres each season, and in the course of that time, it only broke three knives.
The 3102 is fitted with a 1.8m wide camless pick-up reel.
“The wagon only ever gave us one issue, on the drive side, when big pressure came on, it sheared the bolts on the drive wheel several times. We rebored it and bolted it in stronger the final time it broke, and it never caused an issue since. We found the wagon to be compact, and easy to drive. We have been very impressed with its chopping system, with the wagon well fit to lift 500 acres between every knife sharpening. It did an average of 1,300 loads per year for us, and was very much trouble free,” explained Marty.
Super Vitesse 3102
For the 2025 grass season, Marty purchased a new Strautmann Super Vitesse 3102, pushing his fleet to two forage wagons. With this, the business workload also jumped by an additional 500 acres. The 3102 is fitted with a camless pick-up reel. The 1.8m wide reel features plastic bands. It has six rows of tines which are in a V-shape to help feed the grass evenly.
Strautmann use a CFS (continuous flow system) roller, which is situated behind the pickup and under the rotor to disperses the forage across the working width of the rotor. This roller features welded grooves, to carry and distribute the grass.
The wagon features a 39-knife double-cutting unit, offering a theoretical chopping length of 39mm.
The wagon features a 39-knife double-cutting unit. The manufacturer claims this offers a theoretical chopping length of 39mm. The knives can be changed without the use of tools.
The ‘slip-proof’ floor of the wagon runs on 11mm round steel chains with a breaking load of 15t each. The floor chains are fitted with automatic chain tensioners for minimum amount of maintenance. The wagon is fitted with the optional two-speed transport floor drive, for quicker unloading.
The bogie tandem chassis features parabolic suspension with an axle load of 16t. Marty opted for the passive steering axle over the forced steering system, which he says is simple and straightforward, and is working very well. His 2025 3102 is fitted on 620mm tyres, where he has opted for 710mm tyres for his 2026 3102.
Verdict
“I’m very happy with the 3102, it was bulletproof last season. We pick-up 26ft swaths of grass, which the 3102 and the Case IH Puma 240 are well fit for. We probably would get away with a smaller tractor, only for the ground we work on. We work on a lot of hilly ground, some of which can be tricky so we need the extra horsepower.
“We are really happy with the camless pickup reel. The staggered pickup reel tines and fluted CFS roller which runs underneath the rotor and behind the pickup is a great job. It helps even out the flow of grass across the width of the pickup, meaning there is no power surges. The wagon has a super intake capacity”, said Marty.
“I think the two most impressive aspects of the machine is its chopping system and load carrying capacity. We genuinely only sharpen the knives every 500 acres, and it holds a consistently short chop length.
“The only changes I would love to see is the option of a pullout knife bank, just to make it that bit easier to take out and sharpen the knives. Other than that, I genuinely can’t fault the wagon.
“For a compact machine, it’s fit to pack in a huge load. It takes us around 90 seconds to unload, which is impressive”, added Marty.
Likes
Chop consistency.Very compact machine for the size of a load it carries.Very reliable.Spec
Model: Super Vitesse 3102.Year: 2025.Capacity: 29 cubic metres.Knives: 39.Axles: Passive rear steer .Pickup width: 1.8m.Weight: 6,900kg.List price: €144,000 plus VAT. 
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