Tractor test

Tractor test: Kubota M135 GX

King Kub on the prowl

Building an annual 180,000 tractors and 700,000 diesel engines, there’s no denying the massive scale of Kubota’s manufacturing operation, especially in Japan and Asia. And it’s still growing. The global giant has plans in place for a 170hp tractor within the next two years, though for now the largest model in the range is the 103kW/138hp M135 GX — the subject of this month’s profi tractor test

Practical test

Great Plains Simba SLD 460 cultivator

Top tickle, bottom lift

Over the past decade — and more — the Simba Solo has proved a popular tool for many UK arable farmers taking their first steps into min-till, with its large conventional discs mixing soil and trash, and deep-working tines treating any compacted layer beneath. The featured SLD represents a progression on the same theme: its smaller, narrower spaced discs work shallower and also make machine set-up

Driving impression

New John Deere 7R tractors

Cleaner engines, better cabs, more power

Changes, upgrades — Deere’s 7R tractors get a fresh gearbox, smaller engines for some models, a re-jigged cab and, up the road, will use SCR and AdBlue. Here’s a look at what’s in store

New Holland Roll-Belt 180 CropCutter baler

Belt baler on a roll…

Having revamped its fixed-chamber round baler range in 2012, New Holland whipped the wraps off its latest variable-chamber machines at last year’s Cereals Event. Now ready for sale, two models are badged ‘Roll-Belt’ as a nod to the tech they employ

Maschio Toro Rapido power harrow

More metal, more output

Maschio has been a player in the power harrow market for a staggering 50 years and today presents interested parties with a choice of more than 80 models. In the UK the DM rigid and Aquilla folding units have traditionally been the most popular machines, yet the Italian manufacturer has recently added the Orso and Toro lines, largely to cope with increases in tractor hp

Massey Ferguson Delta 9380 combine

Colour games

In Europe you can drive a red Massey hybrid combine or a green Fendt one, but under the paint the machines are the same. There’s no such Doppelgänging for the UK, though, where it’s Massey all the way

Livestock equipment

Multi-robot dairy unit in the UK

Many robots make light…

… work. Or so it would seem for Shropshire dairy farmer Adrian Robinson, who operates a total of five robotic units to milk his 320 cows. Perhaps, then, the perceived threshold betwixt robot and rotary investment is now starting to move upwards, so that robots are no longer seen as the preserve of the smaller dairy herd. Andy Collings takes stock

Used machinery

JF FCT 1050 trailed forage harvesters

A cheap way to chop up to 90t/hr?

To dismiss trailed forage harvesters as old hat is to ignore parts of not just the UK but also the much larger Irish market, where trailed machines remain the forage-making tool of choice. Here James de Havilland reviews the evergreen JF-Stoll FCT 1050 model and outlines some pointers to check on a second-hand buy

Workshop

Diaphragm carburettors: Strip and service

Maintaining your carbs

The second part of this series sees Andrew Pearce strip, inspect and rebuild a typical diaphragm carburettor, all under the gaze of Stihl Technical Services Trainer Mark Hellewell

From the workshop

Simple solutions to perennial problems

Livestock movement is one of the themes of this month’s ‘Simple solutions to perennial problems’. So, if you’re one of those poor souls who regularly enjoys the frustrations of this particular job, then sit back and see what you make of our featured backing gate tip on p51. As usual, your ‘solutions provider’ is Mike Donovan

Machine management

Multi-use handler on dairy farm

Streamlined fleet

Some say livestock farmers and machines simply don’t get on, don’t gel. That, of course, is quite a generalisation and certainly doesn’t apply to North Yorkshire dairy farmer Tim Gibson, as Howard Walsh discovers

Around the world

Kit sales looking up in Oz / Still going strong / Room to grow with precision ag adoption / Strong wind does the job

Report

A lot of LAMMA

A new home and a bigger than ever LAMMA show had plenty to offer punters. Nick Fone and Mervyn Bailey provide this machinery round-up from the East of England showground, where conditions were a little moist underfoot

Contractor price guide 2014

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.

No-till in the Southern Hemisphere

Less time in the tractor seat

By adopting no-till over min-till establishment methods, one South African farming company has managed to halve tractor hours and stem the effects of soil erosion. Emily Padfield finds out more

Technical

Claas Jaguar 960 Stage IIIA versus 950 Stage IIIB

Fuel for thought

For some while now Claas has used SCR-equipped Mercedes engines in its sub-700hp foragers to meet Stage IIIB emission requirements. So, how do these engines stack up against their Stage IIIA predecessors?

Vehicles

Dacia Duster vs Fiat Panda 4×4

Bargain basement

Want a new five-door 4×4 but don’t care to spend too much? Then one of this pair might fit the bill. Andrew Pearce sees how much bang comes for your buck…

Under the hammer

Halls Shrewsbury Machinery Collective

Huge attendance at collective

Held almost every month at Stone and every other month at the Shrewsbury livestock auction site, Halls Auctioneers collective machinery sales always attract a decent selection