Profiの May 2022 の目次

CNH was lacking in the transmission department for its four- and six-cylinder T6/Maxxum tractors, with the rather long-in-the-tooth ElectroCommand lacking ratio overlap between ranges and the price jump to a CVT not suiting everyone. So, quite a lot has been expected of DynamicCommand, which could, in the future, also put in an appearance in CNH’s larger T7/Puma models. We've been chatting to a T6.175 user to see if the doubleclutch box is all it’s cracked up to be. Looking back over a mown or ploughed field always gives a sense of accomplishment. As you gaze through the cab glass you can think to yourself — I did that. Now for the tricky bit. Will we enjoy the same feeling of satisfaction when merely acting as the caretaker for an autonomous…

Agrifac sprayer dealers Agrifac UK has strengthened its aftersales footprint for its Condor and Condor Endurance self-propelled sprayers with the appointment of new dealers SOS Agricultural (Shropshire), Ridgeway Sprayers (Wiltshire) and Agri Service (Kent). The new dealers will provide product support and parts to Agrifac customers within their respective areas. New HE-VA dealer New HE-VA dealer Mike Garwood will sell and service the Danish-made arable and grass kit from its depots in Alton, Hampshire and Newport on the Isle of White. “We have new stock available in both our depots and are looking forward to getting out in the field and demonstrating to our existing and new customers this season,” comments dealer principle Mike Garwood. Extra €118m in Amazone bank Amazone Group turnover increased 22% to a record €655m last…

The load volume of the RamBody AS 750, Krampe’s first ejector-bodied version, is 41m³. Taking two years to develop, the new twin axle model combines BPW steering axles with overhead brake cylinders with parabolic springs (standard) or hydraulic axle compensation running gear. Power to the ejector blade comes from five hydraulic rams and the company says the narrow design of the housing protects them from damage. The ejector blade’s plexiglass window provides operators’ with a good view of trailer contents and adjustable seals around the blade edges allow it eject cereals. The bolted sidewalls can be removed and the rounded design of all sheet metal is said to help keep the trailer clean and the standard spec includes LED work and road lights. The first pre-production models are currently being delivered.…

Section control on Valtra tractors has previously been able to divide an ISObus-compatible machine, such as a sprayer, into 24 or 36 sections. The latest version increases this to as many as 96, while the Multiboom feature makes it possible to simultaneously control up to three different booms fully automatically. Said to be ideal for controlling ISObus-compatible seed drills, sprayers, fertiliser spreaders and row crop cultivators, sections on the new version can be controlled by separate feeders in one, two or three consecutive rows. Alternatively, one implement can be in front of the tractor and the other at the rear. Operated from the touchscreen on the SmartTouch armrest, the interface is similar to the existing one (the tractor must have auto guidance and ISObus implement control). Users of fourth and fifth…

Combining single and double knotting techniques into a single assembly, Krone says the V-knotter double knotter produces no scrap twine ends and is particularly suitable for tying high-density bales. Based on the design of the existing double knotter built into Big Pack balers, main features of the new in-house developed knotter assembly are the hook and disc. Also, the traditional knife on the scraper was replaced by a twine puller. The knife is now stationary and mounts on the twine retainer in front of the twine disc. Available from the autumn, the V-knotter can be retrofitted to earlier double knotter Big Pack balers of any chamber size.…

Developed for use in band application and on ridged crops, the two variants of angled/tilted sprayer nozzle caps are a grey nozzle with 17.5° angle for a 10cm tilt and a red nozzle with 8.75° angle for a 5cm tilt. Horsch says the combination of straight and angled nozzle caps offers a broad range of row width configurations. In band spraying application with a 25cm nozzle spacing the angled nozzles allow the row width to be adapted by 5cm (red nozzles) or 10cm (grey nozzles). A row spacing of 45cm is possible in sugar beet, and the combination of the main and secondary nozzle with a spacing of 25cm is said to provide highly effective wetting of ridged crops. Each cap is equipped with an Agrotop RowFan 40-02 E nozzle…

The new generation Terrasem will be available in working widths of 3.0-6.0m, in fertiliser specification or without; also as a D model variant with soil-working tools or as a Classic model without. The 8.0m and 9.0m wide machines will then follow in late-summer 2022. We tested the 6.0m wide Terrasem V6000 DZ for our driving impression. V stands for foldable and Z for its ability to handle fertiliser. No crabbing Pöttinger has stuck with the same 510mm diameter discs, which are available with a smooth or a scalloped edge. However, to eliminate lateral drag these are now arranged in an X-formation with the front row throwing the soil outward and the second row directing it back to the middle. The untouched soil strip that is left in the centre of…

There is a considerable choice of flail mowers already on offer in the UK and Ireland, but strangely German firm Dücker is not among them. As well as flails, the €30m turnover business lists hedge cutters and a bunch of other municipal machines on its website. Anyway, the reason we are here is to take a look at the UMG2800. What makes the new flail stand out, and justification for why we are writing about a machine not yet available on this side of the Channel, is the headstock that allows the UMG mower to oscillate. Ball couplings between the headstock and flail provide this degree of movement, which is controlled by a pair of dampers that have 8cm of travel (4cm up, 4cm down) — a figure that increases…

We’ve made eight changes to this picture of a Case IH Farmall 115 U Pro tractor cab. Simply locate our changes and then mark them on the gridline picture at the bottom of the page. Submit your answers (A1, B2, C3, for example) via our website profi.co.uk by the 19th April 2022 and we’ll pick one correct entry at random. Don’t get too competitive — it’s just for fun! ORIGINAL NEW The differences spotted in last issue’s picture of a Bressel and Lade silage grab were correctly identified by: Congratulations! THE DIFFERENCES WERE IN THE FOLLOWING SQUARES: B4-B7, C2, C7, D3, D5, D6, E3, F3 YOUR ANSWERS To submit your answers, please visit profi.co.uk and look for the Competition tab.…

The new-look exterior is not the only change on the latest version of the Omnipower autonomous vehicle, which Raven Industries reckons provides increased efficiency, capacity and uptime. Powered by a 200hp Cummins Stage V engine, the improved hydraulic system on the new 3200 model is claimed to put 50% more power to the ground to improve operating speeds from the two-speed hydrostatic transmission (0-6km/hr and 0-20km/hr). The North American company reckons the increase in power and improved hydraulics will allow the machine to run a little bit faster, allowing it to reach similar speeds to a tractor. Other attachments are in the pipeline, but for now the vehicle can work autonomously with a 10.0t capacity New Leader NL5000 G5 fertiliser spreader and a 36m Pattison sprayer with 6,000-litre tank. Providing two-…

The re-shaped paddles on the new Keenan MechFibre+ diet feeders are designed to further improve mixing quality and consistency. Set to replace the original MechFiber range by the summer, the paddles in the new models have a rounded top section and the increased rake angle allows for greater material movement in the chamber. This results in less material residing on the paddles, says Keenen, which means an improved tumbling action with reduced friction. Other claimed benefits include less wear to the machine’s mixing chamber and trials have shown a reduction in the machine’s power requirement. The freshly-styled exterior includes moulded black front covers and the collapsible tubular steel rear ladder is said to be more user-friendly and less prone to damage. Lights have been added to the feed-out door. Options include…

Power to the new entry-level articulated Torion 530 wheel loader comes from a Stage V 46hp Yanmar four-cylinder 2.2-litre engine. With an articulated tipping load capacity of 3.0t, lift height to the bucket pivot point is 3.18m. The mast and attachment are joystick operated. Alternatively, the two additional control circuits can be controlled using an additional lever or push button. Other Torion updates include a more powerful 75hp Stage V Yanmar 2.1-litre engine in the 535 and 639. Available with either standard or High-Lift Z-kinematics, the high lift option stretches the maximum lift height to 3.54m. The top speed of the hydrostatic transmission in all three models is 20km/hr (530) and up to 30km/hr (535 and 639). The redesigned cab provides more storage compartments and the glass entry door and the…

As you approach the RO1, it’s hard to pinpoint just how powerful it is; after all there’s no cab to give the customary sense of scale. Driverless driving The Horsch concept is undoubtedly smaller than a traditional tractor. All the creature comforts needed for the operator are gone: there is no cab with the various ancillaries such as air-conditioning… or even suspension for that matter. There’s also no need for the design team to fret about visibility. To be fair, though, the RO1 still looks slick enough, with its bonnet borrowed from the Horsch Leeb PT330 self-propelled sprayer. Before we dive into the machine it’s worth asking why the RO1 concept has gone from the drawing board to life in the field as an autonomous drilling machine. “We don’t join…

Has van man meandered a little off piste? Surely, a farm is no place for low-ground clearance, front-wheel-drive commercials, more typically found delivering assorted goods at breakneck speed along the country’s highways. It’s a fair point. But, as we’ve said before, a 1.0t van does have its upsides for farm life when compared with a 1.0t doublecab pick-up: the van boasts a secure and weatherproof rear load bay; plenty of occupant space; more comfortable seating position; and potentially lower running costs, especially on fuel use. The big flipsides, of course, are lower ground clearance; no four-wheel drive; and a towing capacity that’ll be closer to 2.0-2.5t rather than the pick-up’s 3.0-3.5t. Price-wise, they’re roughly on a par. So, here’s Ford’s short-wheelbase, 1.0t Transit Custom Trail Doublecab-In-Van with six seats, a…

Following two relatively dry autumns, the weather god’s were unfavourable again for last autumn’s Dutch maize silage harvest leaving many crops difficult to reach on saturated land. Unable to support the weight of wheeled machines the problem was compounded by the cold and wet start to the season. The delayed drilling dates meant that crops that would normally have been cut sometime mid-September took much longer to ripen. While creating misery for many contractors, for some others a difficult maize harvest provides an opportunity to brush off the cobwebs from their homemade wet-weather solutions. Five years on We reported on Dutch contractor Koonstra’s machine fleet during the wet maize harvest of 2017. To briefly recap, chopping power came from a Claas Jaguar 870. One of three foragers owned by the…

While based on the Jumbo 7000, all core components on Pöttinger’s new 8000 Jumbo range new models, including the chopping system and rotor, have been redesigned. Described as a cost-effective alternative to a self-propelled forage harvester and suitable for tractors from 230-500hp, the capacity of the new models; 8380 DB (38m³), 8400 (40m³), 8450 DB (45m³), 8470 (47m³), 8520 DB (52m³) and 8540 (54m³), is the same as the 7000 series. The main difference on the newcomers is the 850mm diameter rotor and the 65-knife (48 on the 7000) chopping system. With a theoretical chop length of 25mm (34mm on the 7000), Pöttinger says the 8000 can chop almost 30% shorter for just 15% more power. The shorter chop is said to result in 10% higher loading density, easier to manage…

Halifax-based contractor GVA is the first UK customer for Mulag’s new Eco 1200 plus mowing head. Designed to protect insects and other creatures, the new head will be used on roadside verges across northern England. Supplied by Brough-based South Cave Tractors, the 1.2m-wide head is fitted to a Mulag SB600 suction mower. The mechanical scourer ahead of the disc mower is there to chase up insects in the grass before the cut material is sucked up. The cutting surface of the new disc blades is approximately 50 times smaller than that of a flail mower. German university tests confirm that losses of spiders and most insects are reduced by 20-80% when compared to a standard mower.…

Service and spare parts will continue to be available, but four years after taking on the former Challenger Rogator 300 trailed sprayers, Fendt has just announced that production will be terminated during the second quarter of this year. Fendt, which is part of AGCO, took the decision to axe the trailed sprayer range after examining the changing market and upcoming regulations that will slash the use of plant protection products in Europe. Designed, tested, and built in Europe for the European market, the Rogator 300 was originally introduced in Challenger clothing in 2015. The trailed sprayer had a change of identity two years later, donning the familiar Fendt green and red when AGCO began phasing out the Challenger brand in Europe and the Middle East markets. The first Fendt branded trailed…

Having previously proved itself as a capable performer, and hoping to take a larger slice of the UK ag-telehandler market, Bobcat has given its handler line-up a major refresh with cleaner engine, redesigned cab and smart hydraulic systems. Rolling out of Bobcat’s South-West France Pontchateau factory, the latest R Series range comprises seven models, with capacities ranging from 2.6t to 4.3t maximum lift, and 6.0m to 8.0m maximum height. Within the range, a more compact chassis is available in the smaller three models, while we got to grips with the larger framed TL34.65HF. Logically, model numbering relates to lift capacity and height, while HF indicates high-flow, meaning extra muscle for ag-specific tasks according to the firm. Four spec levels are available, our test steed in top of the range Agri…

It’s that time of year when the sun is finally starting to win the fight against the moon, and thoughts turn to battleplans for the upcoming season and assessing the kit at your disposal. In the past, farmers were notorious for their reluctance to sell redundant tackle, usually as the buyer would be trying to practically beg it for nothing. Right now, though, there seems to be a healthy market for any old tat, which itself is propped up by good scrap metal prices. All the more reason to liquidate some dead weight. But what? Whilst moving house a few years ago I was given some very sound advice that, at the time, I should have paid more attention to. I was told to leave all non-essential items in their boxes…

PRACTICAL TEST Unia cultivators Are three rows really better than two? We compare tine cultivator models from Unia, to weigh up the pros and cons of having the tines spread across an extra row. WORKSHOP Tarp fixes Does the canvas cover on you mower have a tear? Well, now’s the time to get it fixed, and our guide to tarp repairs explains how you can do it. As good as new? Almost. WORKSHOP JD 6800 overhaul — Part 2 Now you've met Project 6800, it’s time to crack on with the rest of the Lynx Engineering overhaul of this classic Deere. TRACTOR TEST Kubota M4073A It’s been a while since we tested a 75hp tractor. Next month we fix that by giving the M4073A a thorough workout. SPECIAL Muck spreader…