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Kongskilde Stonebear 2.6 (above)
The Stonebear 2 comes with a working width of 6.2m. Stone picking rate is quoted at 1.3t per minute by Kongskilde. The Stonebear can handle stones of up to 500mm in diameter and it has a hopper tipping height of 3m. The manufacturer says that 400mm stones are ideally the biggest size. It works on the gathering principle where the two collections arms are unfolded for work in the field. Heavy-duty spikes, made of high-tensile steel in a spiral arrangement, draw the stones to the centre of the machine on to the sieve. The stones are sieved by tines on a rotor over the exchangeable sieve after which tines lift the stones into the hopper. When the storage hopper is full, a hydraulic dumping system gives a tipping height up to 3m directly into a dump trailer, truck or pile. With the high-tipping feature, stones can be dropped straight into a truck. The hopper size can carry loads of up to 5t of stones. The working depth in the soil is recommended to be 7cm for effective cleaning of stones. The main rotor of the machine collects rocks into the hopper moved to the middle by the side rakes. The feed forks to the hopper brush the stones over the screen sieve available in sizes 30mm, 40mm, 50mm and 65mm. Small stones, soil and debris pass through the sieve and back to the land.
New NC dump trailer
Norman Nichol and his team at NC have a clever solution for the solo operators in the plant industry. The 600 series dump trailers are available in 10-16t carrying capacities, with a hydraulic rear door, folding flat to floor.
The side panels are manufactured from 5mm thick steel and supported by a continuous horizontal bulge bar to ensure strength. There is an option of 4m aluminium ramps with maximum carrying capacity of 6,950kg. The storage trays for aluminium ramps integrate into the chassis.
Inside the trailer there are four floor hooks in the body for securing loads. The floor on the trailer is made of 5mm hardox steel. The trailer is fitted with a commercial specification axle with air and hydraulic brakes. The brakes come with load-sensing and auto-slack adjustors as standard.
NC uses a hydraulic breakaway system. With LED lights and coming on 560 BKT tyres the trailer costs €18,500 plus VAT.
John Deere 5125 R
Making its debut at the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show was the compact 5R series from Deere. John Deere summed this tractor up in three words – comfort, compactness and performance.
Aimed at mixed farming operations, the range offers tractors from 90hp to 125hp. The tractor has a wheelbase of 2.25m and the new 5R family combines a one-piece curved frame design. John Deere says that this provides the tractor with a low centre of gravity to facilitate front loader installation on the go, while still maintaining manoeuvrability with a turning radius of 3.75m, when fitted with a front loader. This makes the tractor very useful in the farmyard.
The new 90hp 5090R, 100hp 5100R, 115hp 5115R and 125hp 5125R models are equipped with fuel-efficient, Stage IIIB/iT4 compliant 4.5-litre John Deere PWX engines. These diesel-only four-cylinder engines deliver an extra 10hp for transport applications via their transport power management (TPM) system. This kicks in when the forward speed goes over 15km/h on the road.
Three transmission options are available. These include the entry level 16/16 CommandQuad manual transmission, which features four ranges and four powershift gears within each range; the 16/16 CommandQuad; and the 32/16 Command8, with eight powershift gears and an ECO mode that enables a top speed of 40km/h at only 1,759 rpm.
All these transmissions offer a fully automatic clutch, individual startup gears, individually settable speeds and an electric park lock.
The premium level 32/16 CommandQuad8 also features an automatic shifting function as standard. The latter feature is also an option on the 16/16 CommandQuad transmission. List price for the tractor is €98,000 plus VAT.
Cross changes focus to fertiliser
Cross Engineering surprised us at the show with a new product portfolio – a range of trailed bulk fertiliser and lime spreaders.
The spreaders are designed and tested by German manufacturer Kuxmann and built in Ireland by Cross. The 12t model on display featured a hydraulic folding cover, and a full commercial 50km/h axle.
According to Jason Cross, one of the real advantages is the machine has three weight cells, two on the axle and one on the drawbar, for accurate readings unaffected by the tractor. The machine has good clearance underneath for established crops. For the boundary spreading, the discs are hydraulically driven with a lower rotation speed.
The machines are available from 6t to 22t in size, with spreading widths from 12-36m. The machine displayed with all the extras is priced at €48,500, while the low-spec option comes in at €31,000 plus VAT for the 12t model.
Latest Kverneland plough
The first of a new generation of mounted reversible ploughs from Kverneland made its debut. On ‘i’ versions of the 2500 series, configurations for hitching up, marking out, working and transport can be stored and recalled with a tap of an Isobus display. With four- to six-furrow sizes for tractors up to 280hp, and a choice of 85cm and 100cm point-to-point spacing, the plough allows the operator to alter two skims simultaneously with a spanner. It also has a sleeker, more rounded leg design with increased offset from the landslide to minimise trash hang-ups; it is used on auto reset as well as shear bolt versions, giving 80cm under-beam clearance on both. An articulated headstock allows the 2500 series trail behind the tractor like a semi-mounted implement. After moving into the butterfly transport position, hydraulic cylinders shift the cross shaft to a position where it can pivot through 45° and withdraw locking pins that allow the top link headstock to split to create a horizontal pivot. The plough has the manoeuvrability of a mounted implement in the field with the transport characteristics of a semi-mounted, supported on the tractor linkage and the depth wheel.
The hydraulic depth wheel, Isobus technology, Tellus GO Screen, and furrow control are all included on the ‘i’ Plough spec. It is expected that this technology will add €4,000 to the cost of the EG 300 range from Kverneland.
FTMTA Machinery Show 2017 highlights – part 1
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