Table of contents for June 2022 in Profi

Welcome to the June issue of profi, complete with a new look but the same great content. Every couple of years the magazine gets a bit of a design tweak to keep it fresh. Inspired by the work of our colleagues at German profi we have applied some of the styling to your profi international. We hope you like the new style — let us know what you think. Last month we published a comparison of classic tractor parts. This item produced some interesting results, not just in the prices but also, for example, in that a thick coat of paint isn't as good as a thinner layer of heat-resistant paint on an exhaust stack. As usual with these comparisons there is nearly always a bit of a conversation afterwards…

FEWER NEW TRACTORS REGISTERED The 3,047 new tractors registered in the UK in the first three months of this year were around 7.0% lower than in same quarter last year. In terms of the power of machines registered, the AEA reports solid growth in the 51-80hp range, with registrations up by nearly half, compared with a year earlier. However, that range still accounted for just 6.0% of total registrations and numbers were down for most other power bands. The sharpest decline was in the 241-320hp range, where registrations were down by more than a third, compared with January to March 2021. The AEA reckons this might be down to delivery delays rather than a shift in underlying demand. NEW PARTS WAREHOUSE FOR KRONE Krone is investing €40m in a new…

The Optimer L1200 and L1200XL min-till stubble cultivators are the first 12m Kuhn machines fitted with Steady Control. Designed to maintain a uniform working depth at speeds up to 15km/hr in all conditions and exert equal pressure across the full working width, the system compensates for ground contours by adjusting the pressure across the five sections to ensure the discs all cut to a consistent depth. “This will help larger farmers and contractors to cover the ground faster and more consistently with approximately 18ha possible in an hour,” says product specialist Edd Fanshawe. Available in mounted and trailed models from 3.0m-12m, the Optimer XL models have independent 620mm diameter discs which can work at depths from 5.0-15cm. Tractor power requirement is from 70-600hp. Fitted with 510mm diameter discs, the Optimer…

Most compact disc harrows are developed as cultivation tools that more frequently have seeder units bolted on for establishing cover crops. With its regenerative agriculture hat firmly in place, Sky decided to approach its entry to the shallow disc market from a crop establishment perspective. So, say hello to the Methys, which is available in working widths of 6.0m and 8.0m, with a 12m version coming later this year. A level surface Keen to find out a bit more about the machine, we caught up with the TW8000, the 8.0m version. This relies on 515mm diameter discs (64 on this machine) that work at a shallow depth of 4-7cm. The corrugated discs provide an aggressive tilling action even at these fairly shallow depths. Recommended forward speed is in the region…

The power harrow drill combination still has its legion of fans, especially in locations where weather or soil conditions can make cultivator drills risky to rely on. Finding a truly integrated power harrow drill combination can be a challenge. Italian manufacturer Alpego has a long history with the system, founded by the Pegoraro family – which is in its third generation of engineers – in the 1980s. After working with various importers, Alpego spa decided to invest in a wholly owned subsidiary, Alpego UK in 2019. From the top The DK Top power harrow is designed to be especially suitable for partnering with a seed drill, coming with wiring and hydraulic hose support in readiness and in three versions – 4.0, 4.5 and 6.0m folding for transport to 2.5m. Modern…

A trailing shoe applicator may produce sausages of slurry when the liquid is very thick. Depending on the application rate and amount of rain, organic material such as straw residues, plant fibres and faeces will then dry to form a wide strip that can either ‘grow’ together with the grass blade or will stifle it. This residue can then contaminate the forage when a rake rows up the crop. How can you prevent this? Diluting slurry: There are initial attempts to dilute the slurry with a lot of water and thus improve infiltration into the soil. The disadvantages of this are the higher application costs, increased storage requirement and a lower application rate. Using a grass harrow: A tined harrow can break up and shred the sausages. For this method…

When starting any rebuild project, one element that is all too easy to overlook is the time it takes to disassemble and then assess exactly what will need doing to complete the job. After many hours of taking the tractor apart, the team at Lynx Engineering divided the project into six key elements: chassis, rear axle, gearbox, engine, front axle and cab. The list of items to be replaced, refurbished or discarded grew, as opposed to shrank, as the project has progressed. An ever-growing list of parts was drawn up, and orders placed, only to be stymied by lead times and supply chain problems. Time started to slip away, meaning the project is not quite where we expected it to be just a few weeks ago. The team are getting…

In much the same way as I carry a multi-tool capable of performing many roles, so too do I have a multi-shed. It's the setting for most undercover activities due to it being the only building on the farm with a concrete floor, doors big enough to accommodate most of my toys, and it also allows direct access to the home pasture and kingdom beyond. The 3,600 square feet sounds like ample room, but rarely is this the case … it often has to host a sheep handling area, various equipment requiring attention and a small, less combustible, corner for fabrication. For most of the year the respective zones may ebb and flow a bit, but on the whole the status quo is maintained. Come March, though, a mass eviction…

Last year will be remembered for its challenging maize silage harvest, especially for the headaches it caused Dutch contractors in the northern half of the country. The cold and wet start meant that many crops did not get planted until the second half of June, some as late as July. By the time these late drilled crops were ready to harvest the weather took a turn for the worst. Wheeled machines snaked their way through the pudding leaving deep ruts in their wake. Many others were forced to retreat leaving half cut fields. Desperate times require desperate measures, but the lengths taken by Hoekstra Flowers underline the fact that Dutch contractors have no qualms taking the gas torch and angle grinder to any machine, including a self-propelled forager. More wheels,…

TRACTOR TESTS. PROFESSIONAL. INDEPENDENT. UNIQUE Driving impressions Used machinery Workshop Management Vehicles For farmers and contractors THE PROFESSIONAL FARM MACHINERY MAGAZINE PRACTICAL TEST Krone Big Pack 1270VC Not only does the new generation of Krone Big Pack balers look different, but there have been changes on the inside, too. The 120x70cm chamber Big Pack 1270VC appears in the July issue. Launched in 2020, the 8280 is part of a new range of Deutz-Fahr tractors. Do the stepless transmission efficiencies promised live up to expectations? We give the 197kW/268hp model its most thorough test yet. Out on JUNE 3rd PRACTICAL TEST Bale handlers compared Versatility is the name of the game for our bale handler test, which assesses four grabs that can gently shift rounds and squares. WORKSHOP TopCon boom height…

The fully autonomous FarmDroid solar powered precision drilling and weeding robot brought to the UK by OPICO uses ultra-accurate GPS to record exactly where it places each seed. Then on each subsequent weeding pass, the Danish-made machine (see profi 6/2021) knows where the crop plants should be and works around them, hoe shares running between each row and blades slicing off anything between each crop plant, in the row. This approach means it does not need any high-definition cameras and complex computers to identify and target weeds, allowing it to start the weeding process before crop emergence. With in-row and inter-row action it does the complete job, working up to within 5.0mm of each seedling between the rows and 20mm in the row. The two Danish brothers, Jens and Kristian…

The SplitCut cutting system inside the latest Krone ZX forage wagons is designed to prevent uncut material from flowing over the rotor ends into the wagon. Other claimed benefits include greater precision, gentle crop handling and reduced input power. The material flow is split as it passes the first knife. It is then fed over the tines back to the front where two deflector plates guide the crop to the middle of the rotor where it is cut and then fed into the machine. The new cutting system benefits from beefier individual knife protection system components and the twice tempered blades are said to be more resilient to stress and strain. Optimised rotor rpm, a new ZX option, allows the rotor speed to be reduced when operating the wagon behind…

Lister Wilder is to further widen its Kubota territory by expanding into Somerset to support customers across south west England from its newest depot at Keynsham, Bristol. The business expansion plans of Lister Wilder, which was the first full-line Kubota dealer in Europe, have already seen the first of its new Kubota centres established at Meadowlands, Bibury in Gloucestershire. The second centre scheduled to open at Keynsham (Burnett Business Park) on May 3, 2022, will enable the dealer to support customers in north Somerset and the Mendip Hills, reaching south to Bridgwater and the Quantocks. “We’re pleased to be a part of this exciting journey with Kubota, but just as importantly, we’re looking forward to welcoming new and existing agricultural and ground care customers through the doors at Keynsham,” says…

Dating back some 25 years, Merlo’s Turbo Farmer telehandler range stands out from the crowd with its striking green livery and silkysmooth cab suspension system. Having operator comfort as a top priority, the Italian firm launched its latest, generation Turbo Farmer range in 2017, switching to cleaner Deutz engines and developing a new, wider and quieter cab. The manufacturer’s agricultural offering comprises 10 models, with capacities ranging from compact 2.7t machines to 6.5t hoisting brutes. Lift heights range from 6.0m to tripleboom 10.0m machines. Slotting straight down the middle of its offering is our long-term test steed, the 35.7-115 CS, capable of lifting up to 3.5t and 6.6m lift height. In fact, we got under the skin of this model in a practical test (see profi 02/2017), where it scored…

While the first generation of ISObus four-rotor rakes to come out of the Feucht factory still carried the Fella moniker, AGCO has since taken ownership of the grassland kit line-up so that it now falls under the Fendt and Massey Ferguson umbrellas. The Former 12545 Pro four-rotor, with a maximum working width of 12.50m, is part of the next generation of cropgathering kit. Standard hitching The rake has a Cat II compatible headstock. Our higher spec ‘Pro’ model came with loadsensing hydraulics needing three oil lines, and also had brakes, lights and the pre-mentioned ISObus plug. The wide-angle drive shaft is a Walterscheid type and is equipped with an over-run slip clutch. The frame is made of section steel, with the running gear positioned centrally underneath. A ram pushes the…

Even a few stars in the sky are enough to help cows see well (profi 3/2022). Cattle can't cope with a high contrast: for instance, abrupt changes of light when walking out of a bright milking parlour into a dark alleyway. Bovine eyes take much longer to adjust to a new level of light when compared to humans, and this often explains why cows stop for no apparent reason before moving on again once they have adjusted to a change in light. Based on this information, scientists like Dr Daniel Werner, from the Haus Düsse Research and Education Centre, recommend switching on half the lights in the barn about 30 minutes before milking. This gives stock enough time to grow accustomed to the brighter light of the ‘new day’. Nature…

Farmer Christoph Hanslmeier has developed a fan injector that splits the slurry flow into three streams. Christoph manages a 50ha farm and a 60-head herd of cows south-east of Munich in an area that is mainly grassland; up to six grass cuts per season are common. The windows between the cuts are understandably short. He was not impressed with the application from his trailing shoe and the contamination risk of the slurry sausages being brought back in with the silage. The young farmer considers a later fertilisation to be of little use for plant agronomic reasons, so, in order to apply as soon as possible to the silage stubble, he has developed the fan injector. This consists of a folded piece of sheet, which has Hardox runners and is completely…

Been to the dentist lately? If yes, and if a tooth rebuild was on the menu, then you’re probably wearing some UV-cured adhesive. Beyond that and other medical applications, glues that harden on exposure to ultraviolet light turn up in all sorts of industrial productions. Some major plusses are their ability to fill gaps, to remain liquid until required to set, potential flexibility/shock resistance, and very rapid curing without added heat. Part of the acrylics/cyanoacrylates family – which includes the thread locking fluids and ‘superglues’ – this particular set differs partly by including photo-initiator molecules. These split when exposed to specific light wavelengths, prompting the liquid adhesive’s long-chain polymers to cross-link and lock. Curing-on-demand means that components can be positioned or adjusted without time pressure. Typical UV light sources are…

The dispersal sale at Capesthorne, near Macclesfield, was staged by Rostons, who were pleased to have received instructions from S K and L D Bloor to sell off their entire range of tractors and machinery, following the relinquishing of the tenancy of Park Farm. Andrew Wallace and Tony Rimmer reported a very good attendance at the April sale, with plenty of buyers from Ireland who travelled across to get a chance to take home the well-presented and genuine kit. Highlights included a 2017 Merlo TF33.7-115 telehandler with just 2,600 hours. With boom suspension, a trailer hitch and pallet forks it went to a buyer for a very reasonable £31,500. A 2018 Honda TRX250 TE Fourtrax with ES transmission that had seen limited work at £2,850 seemed a bit of a…

Changes to environmental legislation look to restrict applications of muck and slurry to growing crops in order to minimise run off and the risk of pollution. This means tighter windows for spreading and more pressure on equipment and those supplying spreading equipment. One solution is to increase spreading capacity and thus the size of the equipment, but the downside of that is difficulties travelling, both from a road weight limit perspective and practicalities of negotiating narrow lanes and gateways in the areas of the country where there is the most livestock and thus the most muck produced. Even for a ring fenced farm, bigger is not always better, as terrain and ground conditions need to be taken into consideration. The existing challenges of matching spreading needs with the availability of…

We’ve made eight changes to this picture of a Kerner Eros EA 300 drill. 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 17th May 2022 and we’ll pick one correct entry at random. Don’t get too competitive — it’s just for fun! The differences spotted in last issue’s picture of a Case IH Farmall 115 U Pro tractor cab were correctly identified by: Ivan Chambers, Castleblaney, Co Monaghan. Congratulations! THE DIFFERENCES WERE IN THE FOLLOWING SQUARES: B4-B7, C2, C7, D3, D5, D6, E3, F3 ORIGINAL NEW To submit your answers, please visit profi.co.uk and look for the Competition tab. YOUR ANSWERS…

Merlo has recently bolstered its UK operation with brand new training and parts facilities at its headquarters in Ringwood, Hampshire. As part of a programme to support its dealers across Great Britain the Italian handler manufacturer says it has invested £750,000 in new buildings and infrastructure. “It’s great being able to sell shiny new machines but our ability to back them up is far more important,” explains Shaun Groom, general manager of Merlo UK. “One of the key parts of that is having fully trained dealer technicians who can diagnose any issues and rapidly deal with them, ensuring downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.” In that respect the new training workshop is hoped to provide all the facilities required with benches of transmissions components, hydraulic and electrical systems for…

Shelbourne Reynolds is replacing its 700 and 800 series flagship hedge trimmer ranges with the new 7000 and 8000 series models. The five-model 8000 series includes the 8060T with a retracted reach of 4.80m and maximum reach of 6.0m. Comparable figures for the 8070T and 8080T are 5.5m and 7.0m and 6.2m and 8.0m, respectively. There are also two VFRT models with variable forward reach as well as telescopic capability. The newly-developed S-Touch system combines joystick control for the immediate operating functions with a 6-inch touchscreen for altering settings and function responses and monitoring service requirements. There are two versions. While the operating screen is common to both, the standard S-Touch compact features a small fingertip operated joystick, while the optional S-Touch max incorporates a larger multifunction joystick. Standard 8000…

The M4 is the smallest standard tractor in the ever growing Kubota fleet, with outputs of 66hp and 74hp. We tested the M4-073, which has the firm’s own V3307-CR-TE4, four-cylinder 3.3-litre motor under the bonnet. As an intriguing historical side note, the firm’s founder, Gonshiro Kubota, acquired the licences for engine manufacturing from Germany. So, to give a nod to Rudolf Diesel, the company has stuck with a bit of German in its engine designation: ‘E’ for one-(ein) cylinder, a ‘Z’ for the two (zwei) pot model etc, have since appeared in the motor model name. Likewise the V in this tractor's engine represents V for vier or four. In total the Japanese giant pumps out nearly a million motors every year! Restrained output, great characteristics Now back to our…

The Qualidisc short disc harrow is made as a fully mounted, rigid version (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0m) or folding (4.0, 5.0 and 6.0m) or as a semi-mounted machine (4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0m). It comes in two flavours, Farmer and Pro, with the latter getting 600mm diameter serrated discs that are suitable for work at depths of 3 to 15cm. Jockey wheels take the lead We ran the 5.0m semi-mounted model, which is attached using a Cat III cross shaft with the option of upgrading to Cat IV. For those with a tractor on dual wheels or tracks, there is an extendable drawbar option (£864). The hose routing, including the holder, is top notch. Qualidisc can be stored in its folded position, and it's rated for 40km/hr on…

Back in our 2020 cultivator drill group test, the Lemken drill did really well in the seed placement and distribution categories, although it was let down by its higher power requirement and overall weight. And we weren't the only ones to notice these traits, as they've been addressed on the new Solitair DT (Disc Trailed) drill, which will start rolling out of the factory at Alpen towards the end of this year ahead of the 2023 season. The initial units will be 4.0m and 6.0m machines, but other widths, including a 9.0m version, are planned for next year. The sensible place to start is how the new drill connects up to the tractor. It can still be pulled via the lower links, though there is a top link that now…

Nearly all trailing shoe applicators work on a 25cm spacing, including those from Zunhammer, which has come up with the Duplo in response to demand from its customers in southern Germany. The idea is relatively simple: instead of applying slurry in bands at 25cm intervals, spacing is reduced to 12.5cm, which halves the amount of slurry applied in each row. Duplo injector The boot developed by Zunhammer is not just a Y-piece with two conventional shoes. The plastic outlets are shaped in such a way that the injectors in the Y-piece become wider and the outlet does not taper. The design has the advantage that the injectors rarely block, if at all. At the heart of the design is lasered plate that has two runners that form a 'Y'. This…

Before taking a look at the subject V660 and V6750 balers, a bit of a recap on McHale baler ‘history’. The starting point is the McHale Fusion Integrated baler wrapper, this arriving some 20 years ago with the stand-alone ‘F for fixed’ chamber F550 balers, which shared the key baling element with the original Fusion, arriving in 2004. The chopper rotor ‘V for Variable’ V660 was launched in 2009, its non-chopping sibling, the V640, arriving around a year later. By 2019, the V series had evolved into a new range of four models, the non-chop V6740 (bales of 0.60-1.68m) and V8940 (bales of 0.60-1.90m) and the 15-knife chopper feed rotor V6750 and V8950 that produce the same respective bale sizes. Although we consider the V660 and current V6750 here, much…

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