Tractor test

Zetor Proxima Power 110

Life is simpler with a Czech

You’d think that Zetor customers would have welcomed the introduction of an electrohydraulic powershuttle. That’s not the case, however, as most buyers have stuck with the simpler Proxima and Proxima Plus models, which make do with a simple mechanical direction change. Intrigued, we decided to put the powershuttle, three-step semi-powershift Proxima Power 110 through our tractor test

Practical test

Kuhn SW 4004 bale wrapper

Parcel express

Two years ago Kuhn announced the SW 4004 wrapper. Produced after the company’s takeover of Kverneland’s Dutch facility, it’s now an all-French machine. We see how it copes with packaging up a range of crops

Electric UTV vs diesel UTV

Sparky and Co on the South Downs

With mainstream maker Polaris firmly established in the electric UTV market and lesser names coming and going, buyers have an alternative to diesel as a fuel. Andrew Pearce explores the creditability of the electric option

Driving impression

Massey Ferguson 7615

Down on numbers, up on choice

Massey Ferguson has been stirring its model pot yet again and bundled the 130hp+ 5400-, 6400- and 7400-series tractors into the one 7600 line-up. Just as on the 180hp+ 7600 units we looked at in our May 2012 issue, there’s now a wider spec choice. Keep reading to find out more

Spread-a-Bale Mini shredder

A bit of sideways action

Straw bedder/feeders are not without their faults, with the blower tending to create an unpleasant dust cloud and foreign objects being launched across the yard like bullets. A more gentle approach is taken by Spread-a-Bale, which uses a pair of beaters to tease and spread the straw. We look at the firm’s latest machines to see what’s changed

Four by three = 500

Fendt 500 Vario

Four models, three versions: Fendt’s new 500 Vario range will replace the current 400 series. Technology marches on even in smaller tractors, as we discover aboard assorted members of the 500 family

Livestock equipment

Rotary milking parlour in west Wales

Milking on the Magic Roundabout

For those really large dairy herds, rotary parlours appear to be the milking system of choice. Andy Collings spoke to a dairy farmer based in west Wales, who has been using a rotary parlour for the past five years

Used machinery

Väderstad TopDown cultivator

TopDown — from the bottom up

Anyone thinking that a second-hand Väderstad TopDown will save huge sums over buying new might be in for quite a shock. The TopDown is a fashionable bit of kit, with used demand typically outstripping supply — in other words, the perfect formula for strong second-hand prices. James de Havilland reports

Workshop

From the workshop

Simple solutions to perennial problems

With memories of the Christmas turkey, and all of its scrummy embellishments, long since flown, perhaps you’ve already been back in the farm workshop, putting metal to ideas conjured during the festive break. If so, please let us know. And in the meantime, here’s another batch from the Mike Donovan collection

Machine management

Contracting in the Czech Republic

The magnificent seven

A seven-strong fleet of self-propelled spreaders is key to the success of Czech Republic contractor Agropodnik Hradec Králové, writes Steven Vale. The only use for conventional tractors is to haul input materials out to the firm’s spreaders

Around the world

Composter contributes to healthier pastures / National Farm Machinery Show ready in the US / Economical oil burner / Electrification of agriculture

Report

Question and answer session with AGCO

On a roll in Russia

With AGCO looking to increase its presence on the Russian market, we question Eric Raby, AGCO’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Commercial Development, on the US firm’s current strategy

Contractor price guide 2012/2013

UK contractor charges

This is the National Association of Agric.Contractors’ charge guide, based on info 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

Technical

John Deere DirectDrive

A change of generation

Greyer haired readers will recall when ‘dual clutch’ meant two units worked from a single pedal — the first pressure disengaged the pto, the second disengaged drive to the wheels. Established in the car industry and now brought to farming by John Deere, today’s dual clutch set-ups are rather different

Measuring hydraulic output

How the gold stuff flows

With so many hydraulic motors now powering different areas of machinery — like a drill fan or floor conveyor — a tractor’s hydraulic output has become increasingly important. Here we see how the DLG test station measures performance at the spool valve outlets

How the gold stuff flows

Measuring hydraulic output

With so many hydraulic motors now powering different areas of machinery — like a drill fan or floor conveyor — a tractor’s hydraulic output has become increasingly important. Here we see how the DLG test station measures performance at the spool valve outlets

Vehicles

Great Wall Steed vs Mitsubishi L200 double-cab pick-ups

Cheap as Chinese chips…

…but is the Great Wall Steed up to a life in agriculture? Andrew Pearce pits an Oriental newcomer against Mitsubishi’s base model 4Work L200