Table of contents for January 2022 in Profi

Sitting at the top of recently-launched 7S range, the new 210hp flagship is powered by the same 6.6-litre six-pot AGCO Power block as the rest of the range. EPM automatically boosts the power up to 220hp for transport, pto work and to meet high hydraulic demands. Equipped with Dyna-VT as standard, both Exclusive (includes suspended front axle and mechanical cab suspension) and Efficient (active mechanical cab suspension) specifications are available for the 7S.210, which shares much of the rest of its spec with the other four models. This includes the new cab, armrest, Multipad controller, Datatronic 5 terminal, air conditioning system, air-suspended seat (heated option), and LED lights (up to 16). The options list is also the same with extras such as the Visio roof and E-Loader. With a 14.0t GVW,…

The three-model Rostselmash DT (Delta Track) range comprises the 3485 (492hp), 3535 (542hp) and 3575 (583hp), which is claimed as the most powerful Russian-built tractor. We know the Delta Track from the Canadian-made Versatile tractors. Otherwise, the Russian-built models share the rest of the spec, including the 15-litre Cummins QSX block and 16 forward, four reverse powershift, with the wheeled RSM 3000 tractors. Rostselmash is building a new tractor factory at a 14ha site close to the main plant at Rostov-on-Don. Expected to be up and running late 2022/early 2023, the 62,000m² production building at the new site will have the capacity to produce 5,000 tractors a year. Rostselmash plans to produce a full range of tractors at the new facility from 170hp to in excess of 600hp. The Russian manufacturer…

Benefits of the Varipower 2 transmission in the small frame Claas Scorpion 635, 732, 736, 741 and 1033 include a longer service life, improved drive efficiency and reduced noise levels. The new box, which comes from the Jaguar harvester, comprises two hydrostatic motors inside a compact housing which share a common shaft and swash plate. Transferring the same torque to the wheels as the previous transmission, the operator can still select three ranges: 0-15km/hr, 0-30km/hr and 0-40km/hr. The transmission in the large frame Scorpions is unchanged, the 746 continues to work with Varipower and the 756 and 960 Varipower Plus. New options for all models include the latest generation cameras. These can be mounted at the rear and on the boom or hitch frame. Integrated heating inside the new camera housing…

All our test machines proved perfect for hopping on and getting a small job done quickly. They proved to be versatile helpers, their low cab, compact dimensions and test performance all winning high praise (see profi 12/2021). When working a long day, however, we did start to miss a few of the creature comforts of their bigger siblings, although we are not suggesting they are not good to operate. Machine handling ratings are summarised in the table ‘Five telehandlers compared’. We also have a summary for each machine. Compact and straightforward? Compact dimensions are one thing, but to exploit this in narrow and confined areas you also need good visibility. A key factor here is the height of the boom mount from the chassis, so we got out the tape.…

Following in the footsteps of the larger 7, 8 and 9 series, the 6R is now getting a makeover. As part of Deere's latest revamp, the 110 to 250hp range is growing from 10 to 14 models. The 6R140 and 6R150 are the firm's new four-cylinder additions, while the 6R165 and 6R185 units have been added to the six-cylinder short-wheelbase line-up. These two new bigger six-pots could well hit the spot for British and Irish owners wanting more oomph. One industry pundit reckons Deere made around 2,000 of the 6155Rs in 2019, and roughly 800 of these found a home in the UK and Ireland. That same year Deere registered 3,800 tractors in the UK and about 410 in Ireland, so the 6155R accounts for just shy of 20% of…

Poorly maintained equipment and a lack of safe animal handling facilities have been the leading cause of the majority of farm fatalities. However, constant drives by farming groups and safety organisations are showing progress in addressing the issues. When 27-year-old beef farmer and agricultural contractor James Kennedy needed to build a new beef house on his farm he decided the design should prevent humans and livestock getting in direct close proximity to each other. By creating a safe space for both man and beast, his new 30.5m by 22.2m shed does exactly that and is full of simple yet clever solutions to make handling livestock much easier, even for one person. James farms close to the village of Rasharkin in County Antrim and usually buys store beef cattle in the…

Tractor and sprayer cabs have long since used seals, filters and fan(s) to lift cabin pressure over that of outside air. The notion is that dust can’t easily get in, so the operator breathes clearer air. It works; at least until seals age and/or maintenance standards drop. Yet even most factory-fresh conventional systems have limits. Their relatively simple intake filters can’t handle very fine dust. Neither can they extract gases; vapours (that is, molecules from a liquid or solid diffused in air); aerosols (solid or liquid particles suspended in air), or stinks in general. There’s a Standard for that Before seeing how Seka’s system might help, consider BS EN 15695 1-2. This little number is in two parts. The first splits machine cab type into categories 1-4, with Cat 4…

You find me sat at the kitchen table all on my lonesome … and with good reason bearing in mind the ungodly hour that inspiration to write has hit. An equally plausible reason for my solitude is my current aroma gained from refurbishing a yard scraper a few hours ago. Despite a thorough scrub, fears of fetching home a little bovine taint were confirmed when the six-year-old refused a bedtime story from Mr Cow Poo. Anyway, a little alone time is no bad thing, clearing the mind and allowing matters in hand to be well and truly pondered. The problem is that farm workers tend to spend far too much time alone. Some prison sentences were nothing but long hours of hard toil, but at least you weren’t on your…

Described as an ultra-shallow machine to shred, cut, mix surface residue and reconsolidate the land, the Cobra is available in working widths of 6.0m (6000-2TX) and 7.0m (7000-2TX). Both are designed to work depths from 4-13cm. The staggered arrangement of the six rows of tines is said to ensure a good throughput of organic matter and soil. Available with a wide range of tools, tines, following rollers and harrows, a double harrow can be fitted to the rear as an alternative to the roller. This option is said to be useful for the second or third pass to bring cut weeds and volunteer cereal regrowth to the surface to dry out. Options include spring-mounted tines behind the tine unit for consolidation and the Cobra is available with a front knife roller…

Application rates in the new integrated silage additive dispenser on Krone Big Pack balers are automatically varied from 0.5-6.5l/min to match crop throughput volumes. Also suitable for installation on other silage harvesting equipment, the system comprises a 400-litre tank with fill level sensor. The current volume is shown on the cab-mounted terminal, and operators can preset whether and at which the level issues an alarm. Installed behind the pick-up, additives are sprayed onto the material by four nozzles. The total amount of additives applied is logged to the customer memory and Task Controller. The pump assembly can be removed at the end of the season.…

Bar the subtle change in colour, the Lemken Polaris 14 is identical to a Sulky X40+ Econov, the flagship line from the French fertiliser spreader maker. Incidentally, Lemken also markets the Spica (DX20) and Tauri (DX30) models. Cumbersome transport wheels The 3,000-litre capacity Polaris 14/3000 has Cat II lower links, with a choice of two height positions for attaching the lift arms. We think they are both too low, making it a bit awkward when hitching up. However, the flipside is that these positions do provide extra clearance when top dressing later in the season. The optional transport wheels (£790) are of little help in increasing the coupling height. These, too, could do with improving, as each wheel has to be separately manoeuvred into its work position, with fiddly lynch…

Three years ago JCB started to make its intentions clear that it was set on moving towards zero-emissions machines. The first example was a battery-powered 1.9t mini-digger claimed to be capable of matching the performance of its standard diesel-fired sibling. Next came the news in mid-2020 that the Staffordshire firm was working on something with far more explosive potential – an electrically-powered 20t excavator equipped with hydrogen fuel cells. A year later the company announced it had alternative plans for hydrogen – its engineers had developed a version of its conventional DieselMax internal combustion engine capable of running on the universe’s most abundant element. In the meantime JCB’s R&D teams have been working away in the background to develop more battery-powered machines – a Teletruk fork-lift, access platform, dumper and…

While the Dutch and Germans seem to love a forage trailer with a chain-and-slat moving floor, most British and Irish contractors have largely stuck with the versatility of a tipping trailer for handling everything from grain to grass. Krone is now introducing the GX, which relies on a belt system to get cargo not only 'out' but — with the likes of bales and pallets — also 'into' the trailer body. While belt-based moving floors are certainly not new, the engineering team at Spelle has also incorporated a number of interesting features. Krone will offer the GX trailer in two sizes: the tandem-axle GX440 with a 44m³ body and the monster tri-axle GX520, which has a capacity of 52m The GX is anything but a carbon copy of the 46-56m³…

JOHN DEERE 6250R ULTIMATE Year 2018 Hours 3,875 Condition Good Comment: 50km/hr, Ultimate seat, five-post cab, front pto and linkage, 160l/min hydraulics, PowerGard Warranty, 80% front 600/70 R30 and 60% 710/70 R42 rear tyres Price £120,000 JOHN DEERE 6250R ULTIMATE Year 2017 Hours 4,740 Condition Good Comment: 50km/hr, four-post cab, front pto and linkage, 160l/min hydraulics, power beyond, PowerGard Warranty, 50% front 600/70 R30 and 40% 710/70 R42 rear tyres Price £110,000 JOHN DEERE 6250R ULTIMATE Year 2020 Hours 250 Condition Good Comment: 50km/hr, four-post cab, front pto and linkage, 160l/min hydraulics, power beyond Ultimate seat, PowerGard Warranty, 90% front 600/70 R30 and 95% 710/70 R42 rear tyres Price £128,750 JOHN DEERE 6250R ULTIMATE Year 2019 Hours 500 Condition Good Comment: 50km/hr, four-post cab, front pto and linkage, 160l/min hydraulics,…

First and foremost, Horsch AgroVation Knežmost is a normal farming business, and it has to be managed profitably, says Constantin Horsch, who has been running the business in the Czech Republic with his brother Lucas since 2017. The Horsch family bought the farm at Knežmost, 70km northeast of Prague in 2012. At the time Michael Horsch commented: “It is well known that the mechanical engineering runs only as a sideline business in our family. We all live to the adage ‘farming with passion’. So, in recent years, we've been able to acquire farms and do arable farming.” While his two sons look after the Czech farming operation, Michael, together with his wife Cornelia and brother Philipp, runs Horsch Maschinenbau at Schwandorf in Bavaria. An allarable farm After the Horschs purchased…

No cabs and bright paintwork – certainly draws attention. A recent demonstration of a batch of autonomous machines at a Chinese experimental farm. The details are limited, but all are apparently designed and built by Haoyun Technology, a subsidiary of Guangdong-based property development company Country Garden. The power of the 300hp engine in the tablet-controlled prototype combine and tracked tractor can be increased to 400hp. Managed via a cloud-based platform, all machines are fitted with object detection systems.…

German spreader maker Rauch has developed a prototype that deposits granular fertiliser in the ground between crop rows at depths from 10-25cm. Called the DeePot 25.1, the 2,000-litre hopper (extensions possible to 2,500 litres) is the same as the one the German company makes for the Kuhn Megant drill. The four fertiliser units are attached to a folding coulter bar and the track width of the gauge wheels is adjustable. A Turbo-S unit blows fertiliser to the ‘injection’ units which are designed around a parallelogram. The ground is cut by a leading disc. The narrow blade then parts the soil and fertiliser is deposited. The surface is sealed by a pair of sprung press wheels. Suitable for working in maize, OSR, potatoes, sugar beet and vegetables (minimum row spacing 37.5cm), fertiliser is…

Added to the top end of its Omega OO-FL range of universal seed drills, the 8000FL (8.0m) and 9000FL (9.0m) comprise a front packer/levelling board, disc section, coulters, packer and seeding frame. Sitting above the current widest 6.0m model, the two newcomers have the same coulter spacing (12.5cm/16.7cm). Coulter pressure is a maximum of 130kg and the diameter of the 5mm discs is 460mm. The main difference is the larger 4,000-litre split and pressurised hopper (3,500 litres on the 6000 FL). Recommended tractor power requirement is from 290hp-360hp for the 11.3t 8.0m model and 320hp-400hp for the 12.3t 9.0m version. Both fold to a transport width of 3.0m and the two new models can be fitted with Bednar’s 400-litre Alfa seeding unit for applying microgranules or cover crops.…

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With German farmers having a little bit more experience with growing cover crops, it means the nation also has more home-grown talent when it comes to incorporating the green manure, not to mention chopping maize stubble so it can't provide overwinter accommodation for the hugely destructive corn borer beetle. One of the latest makers to come up with a knife roller is Eidam, a machinery dealer and engineering business from the east of the country. The MW series comes in working widths of 3.0m. 5.0m, 6.0m and 7.0m. First impression is that it seems well thought out. Each pair of front and rear rollers is mounted on a bogey that is suspended from a trailing arm, and it has counter rotating knives as well as an offset between the rollers…

Would you like to run just the one drill that can be used to plant everything, from sugar beet to maize, to cereals? And what if each coulter was carried on a parallelogram for consistent depth control, featured precise seed singling and could also put fertiliser down the spout … all in one pass? Väderstad is well on the way to offering such a drill, and we were able to catch up with one of the prototype concepts this autumn. It is still at least two years away from going on sale, but here's a brief outline of what it has to offer. Many of the main components have already appeared on other Väderstad machines. For instance, the 3,000-litre pressurised hopper is the same unit as used on the Central…

Basically, there are two ways to view out-of-season mower maintenance and repairs: either to just simply keep the machine running safely and reliably or possibly to improve performance and cutting quality. In order to be able to assess the scope of the repair and maintenance job, you should keep three factors in mind: the age, the general condition and the use of the disc mower. Is the mower a flagship machine in the fleet or is it only used occasionally? The answer could dictate whether it’s better to repair or consider investing in a well-maintained used machine or even in a new mower. What is clear, though, is that regular attention pays off. This can significantly increase the service life of expensive wearing parts. The mower bed Checking for leaks…

Used machinery prices have been hot for a number of months now. But how about this for a jaw-dropper? £20,000 for a ten-year-old 20t grain and potato trailer. Granted, we’re talking the highest of trailer specs, including Scharmuller hitch, hydraulic drop-side, rollover sheet, 650/50 R22.5 tyres, air suspension, air brakes and ABS. No matter where you’re from, though, that’s pretty serious money for a wagon that’s already completed a decade of harvests. Similarly hot in terms of its value on sale day was a two-year-old, 7,000-litre/36m Horsch Leeb trailed sprayer, which went for £77,000, although the tag was perhaps less of a surprise bearing in mind the lead times when buying this type of equipment new. Being only a 2019 example and fully loaded with what is increasingly becoming a…