Tractor test
Transport testing gets the green light
Powermix takes to the road
Many modern tractors spend about half of their time on the road, so clearly it would be useful to know how the various makes and models compare at this important application. With this in mind we’ve been working with the DLG’s engineers to create a Powermix test that measures fuel consumption during haulage work. It’s all part of profi’s exclusive tractor-testing service
Tractor test: Fendt Vario 516
Return of the famous ‘5’
Fendt may have reintroduced the 500 name, but the firm’s latest mid-hp line is a very different beast to the 500-series that ceased production 15 years ago. The four-model family spans 125-155hp and incorporates four-cylinder engines, Vario transmissions and VisioPlus cabs. So, it’s very much the modern-day Fendt. Test candidate here is the flagship 516
Practical test
Compact Loadmeister
Lely Tigo XR 65 forage wagon
Back in 2012 Lely started a small revolution by adding a moveable bulkhead to its Tigo XR forage wagon (profi 04/13). Over last season we put an early example of the smallest XR to work behind an uprated 197hp John Deere 7720
Driving impression
Polaris Sportsman Forest 570 ATV
Ready for the road
With its road-ready lighting and standard spec winch, the Polaris Sportsman Forest 570 has no 12hp restriction foisted upon its 44hp 567cc twin-cam power unit. Add a sticker price that pits it against lower capacity CVT auto ATVs from rival makers, and it certainly looks an attractive package. So what, if any, are the compromises?
Amazone ZA-TS 4200 Profis Hydro spreader
Wide and fast
Amazone’s new ZA-TS range is the company’s seventh generation of twin-disc fertiliser spreader. Backed by a legacy of time-proven technology, it promises to bring a raft of efficiency-enhancing features
More width, less fuel
Pöttinger Novacat S12 mower combination
With its new S12 rear mowers, Austrian machinery firm Pöttinger moves up in width and out towards lighter, potentially more efficient machinery. We knocked down a thinnish grass crop to see what’s changed. Mower host for our test combi was a 138hp Claas Ares 697 ATZ
Livestock equipment
Keep safe with livestock
Easier life for staff and stock
A Scottish Borders estate is investing in near-identical cattle handling set-ups on three different sites. Detailed risk assessments are said to have played an important part in developing the systems, which were designed in-house
RS Agrimix Evolution 40 feeder
Grub’s up, girls
Large dairy herds need large mixer wagons to provide them with large amounts of feed. We take a tour of a new tri-axle, 40m³ machine that was recently delivered to a 1,400-head dairy farm in Kent
Used machinery
Krone BiG X 700, 850 and 1100 foragers
Big Krone has the ‘X’ factor
It’s been a long time coming — the used BiG X. First featured in this magazine way back in 2000, it’s only relatively recently that numbers of Krone’s forage harvester in the UK have reached a level that makes them worth considering as a potential second-hand buy. Up until now the park of pre-owned units simply hasn’t been big enough. Here we focus on the BiG X 700, 850 and 1100 models
Workshop
From the workshop
Simple solutions to perennial problems
What’s in store in this month’s collection of ‘Simple solutions’ from tip master Mike Donovan? It will come as no surprise to learn that he has assembled his customary mixed bag, with ideas as diverse as an additional chaff spreader for Axial-Flow combines to an effective form of protection for hydraulic motors
Simple vehicle electrics: Lay out the groundwork
Light in the darkness
Wiring extra electrical equipment into a vehicle looks like a pretty simple job, but there are good and not-so-good ways to go about it. In this basic guide, we look at how to add a pair of work lights
Machine management
Bigger booms
Go wide
Granular fertiliser can be the fly in the ointment that prevents many farmers from shifting to wider boom widths. Not H J Collen & Son. For this Suffolk business the solution to the wider working dilemma has been to upgrade its pneumatic fertiliser spreader, allowing the trailed machine to follow the same tracks as the farm’s 36m sprayer
Around the world
Plot planter from Monsanto / Pennsylvania to Perth / Designed for speed / Dutch take on the low loader
Report
Grassland and Muck 2014 preview
The grassmen cometh
There are high hopes for the 2014 Grassland and Muck event after last year’s disappointing wash-out in the south-west. Not that exhibitors and visitors fared much better at the cancelled demo in Scotland the year before, when the grass was in very short supply. So, to be blunt, we’re overdue a good one. Here’s a quick round-up of what to expect at Stoneleigh in mid-May
Contractor price guide 2014
UK contractor charges
This is the National Association of Agricultural Contractors’ charge guide, based on information supplied by its members last spring. The figures are only a guide and assume a red diesel price of 70p/litre. Prices will vary according to UK region, size of job, type of equipment used etc
Go East
A man, a machine, a mission
The man is J-C Hoffmann, the machine is a Fendt 936 Vario and the mission is to Go East. Through mid-summer 2013, Hoffmann and his Fendt covered 4,250km from Marktoberdorf, Bavaria — home to fine beer, fine sausage and Fendt — passing through the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. The ultimate destination: Ukraine
TUNING
Self-propelled foragers
Gearing up for grass
There is still a bit of time — but not a lot — to fettle the forager before the 2014 grass harvesting campaign kicks off and the clamps start to fill. Sent in by profi readers, here’s a selection of tips to hopefully make things run a little smoother
Vehicles
SsangYong Korando, Korando Sports, Rexton W
New faces, same value
Korean maker SsangYong has reworked its low-cost 4x4s for 2014. We take a quick spin in the newcomers and highlight what’s changed
Under the hammer
Castle Hill Farm, Cricklade
Demand continues to outweigh supply
Cheffins held yet another comprehensive sale of kit from a 1,200ha farm on the 26th February in Wiltshire. Again, the level of business exceeded expectations
