Tractor test
Case IH Optum 300 CVX:
Pretty in … red
Case IH absolutely nailed it when it came to styling its new high horsepower ‘lightweight’ tractor. But why call it Optum? Perhaps this most intriguing of titles equates to ‘Optimum’, or maybe simply ‘The best’. Anyway it certainly suggests Optum drivers are in for a treat. So, will they be disappointed?
Practical test
Merlo TF 35.7 CS-120 telehandler:
Going up in comfort
Hard times would appear to be over for Merlo operators, as comfort takes a higher priority for the Italian maker. We focus on one of the latest models in the UK — the TF 35.7 CS-120. Note: The machine featured on these pages is one of a limited number fitted with a 121hp Stage IIIB engine, and this data refers to that. Current models are powered by a 115hp Stage IV unit + AdBlue
Driving impression
New Holland BigBaler 1290 Plus baler:
A denser punch
New Holland’s square balers have been redesigned to deliver better bale weights and shapes as well as provide improved operator comfort. We test the BigBaler 1290 Plus in barley straw to see just how different the newcomer is
Cat TH3510D Ag Handler telescopic handler:
The farm cat
Caterpillar may well be a giant in industrial terms, but, despite having been on the UK agricultural telehandler scene since 1989, the company’s TH handler models have failed to make much of a dent in a sector dominated by the likes of JCB, Manitou and Merlo. Will the new Cat TH D series change all that?
Grimme Rexor 630 sugar beet harvester:
Gentle giant
It is fair to suggest that Grimme has a firm grip on the potato market. The company now wants to repeat that success in the beet harvester market and has introduced its Rexor 630 to appeal to both contractor buyers and AD plant operators
A denser punch
New Holland BigBaler 1290 Plus baler:
New Holland’s square balers have been redesigned to deliver better bale weights and shapes as well as provide improved operator comfort. We test the BigBaler 1290 Plus in barley straw to see just how different the newcomer is
Magnets and miracles
Kuhn/Rauch Axis H 50.2 EMC+W fertiliser spreader:
There’s something unusual about the second generation of Axis spreaders — and it’s not just lights alongside the discs to let an operator fathom what’s going on at night. Things are happening that the eye can’t see …
Livestock equipment
Sheep handling made easy:
Handle with care
Although sheep numbers have been reduced, there are still about 1,000 ewes plus their lambs to care for at Thimbleby Farms, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire. Reason enough, then, to invest in a new handling system
Used machinery
Claas Lexion 700 series combines:
Hybrid vigour
When Claas launched its new-for-2011 Lexion 600 and 700 models, the main changes over the outgoing 500 and 600 combines were the cab, the new performance enhancing CEMOS ‘optimisation system’ and engine/hydraulic tweaks. Our focus here is on the 2011-2013 first-generation Lexion 700s
Machine management
The benefits of running a mixed-age machinery fleet:
Mixing old with new
One Oxfordshire grower is mixing new kit with much older tackle in a bid to spread depreciation costs and keep hours off the younger prime movers as its farming business continues to grow
Around the world
Affordable air seeders/Record crop production Down Under/ndia spends millions on farm mechanisation/You don’t know jack/2016 AGCO Operator of the Year
Report
Danish chalk production:
Chalk talk
A selection of modified Danish-made Dal-Bo machines play an invaluable role at one of the country’s chalk quarries, where over 250,000t are extracted on an annual basis
Electronics
Autonomous tractors:
The future is now
We have read a great deal about autonomous tractors over the past few months. Future music to the ears? No, is the message from Dutch firm Precision Makers … because the music is already playing
When things get sticky
Terra Gator tracks through the maize jungle:
Four tracks are better than eight wheels according to German contractor Uwe Hinrichs when it comes to getting maize off sodden fields. And there’s certainly no denying that his modified Terrra Gator 2104 makes for a seriously impressive bit of kit
Tractor Guide: Six-cylinder models
Six cylinders for 2017
Our six-cylinder tractor guide shows max engine hp for draft work and, if available, max hp with boost. Other columns: shuttle (P/S = power shuttle, S/S = synchro shuttle); transmission (gears and powershift speeds); hydraulics (G = gear pump, P = piston pump, max output in litres/min, M = manual spools, E = electric spools); and linkage (capacity in tonnes, E = electric control, M = mechanical
Contractor price guide 2017
UK contractor charges
This is the National Association of Agricultural Contractors’ (www.naac.co.uk) charge guide, based on info supplied by its members last spring. The figures are only a guide and assume a red diesel price of 40p/litre. Prices will vary according to UK region, size of job, type of equipment used etc
