Tractor test

Deutz-Fahr 7250 TTV

Mean, green machine

Deutz-Fahr may not be the biggest player in the UK or Ireland, but the 7-series range is starting to get talked about — a 180-250hp tractor in a relatively lightweight and powerful package. We put the flagship 7250 TTV model under the spotlight

Practical test

Six 10m tedders compared

Six of the best

In northern Europe it’s hard to make good silage without a good tedder. And it’s equally hard to base buying decisions on spec sheets. So, last spring, men and machines met in The Netherlands to compare some of the most popular wide-working models. Next month we assess machine adjustments and prices

Six 10m tedders compared — part I

Six of the best

In northern Europe it’s hard to make good silage without a good tedder. And it’s equally hard to base buying decisions on spec sheets. So, last spring, men and machines met in The Netherlands to compare some of the most popular wide-working models. Next month we assess machine adjustments and prices

Claas Tucano 570 combine harvester

Top hinged and top notch

When Claas introduced the Tucano back in 2007 it was a case of right place, right time, as a profitable cereal harvest saw many smaller farms grab the opportunity to replace their old combine with a new machine. For the coming season the Tucano family has had a major shake-up. We caught up with a pre-production 570 model to find out the details

Fella 11008 Trans

 

Claas Volto 1100 T

 

Krone KWT 11.22-10

 

Kuhn GF 10 802 TG II

 

Lely Lotus 1020

 

Pöttinger HIT 10.11 T

 

Driving impression

Dinktec loader quick-attach carriage

Please remain seated

Swapping loader attachments can be a frustrating task. While hitching a bucket on and off is easy enough, any tool with a hydraulic require-ment clearly complicates matters. Now Dinktec has developed an auto coupler for both the implement and its hydraulic functions

Dinktec loader quick-attach carriage

Please remain seated

Swapping loader attachments can be a frustrating task. While hitching a bucket on and off is easy enough, any tool with a hydraulic require-ment clearly complicates matters. Now Dinktec has developed an auto coupler for both the implement and its hydraulic functions

New Holland CR10.90 combine

A busy bumblebee

Last harvest New Holland presented its new flagship combine model — the CR10.90 — to the European press and its own dealer network. To find out how it performs we got stuck into a heavy-yielding crop of German wheat. The high-power engine, monstrous grain tank and other changes to specification make for a seriously hungry harvester

Dieci Agri-Pivot T60 pivot-steer loader

Change is in the air

Dieci may not be the first name to pop into a buyer’s head when it comes to thinking of a replacement telehandler. Yet the Italian firm is now starting to appear more often on farmers’ radar, thanks to its 50-strong dealer network in the UK. Reason enough, then, to take a closer look at Dieci’s rigid- and artic-chassis loaders

Kubota M7001 series tractors

Orange on the rise

With its acquisition of Kverneland in 2012, Kubota made no secret of its intention to expand its activities in European agriculture. Not convinced? Well, take a look at its new 130 to 170hp M7001 series tractors, which will include the option of a continuously variable transmission. Could this be the beginning of a fresh assault?

Livestock equipment

Technology helps with stock handling

Touch of a button

Being able to regularly monitor weight gain in a beef fattening enterprise means stock are not kept longer than they need to be. To make this task as stress-free as possible for both man and beast, one Derbyshire-based business has put a lot of thought into its handling set-up

Used machinery

KRM Bogballe M-Line fertiliser spreaders

Don’t let choice confuse you

Branded KRM, Bogballe fertiliser spreaders have been imported from Denmark by Yorkshire-based Keith Rennie Machinery since 1986 and have since gained a loyal following. Fast forward to 2004, when Bogballe introduced the M-Line. Key elements of these models have altered little over the years, but that’s not to suggest they’re all the same: they go from entry-level through to variable application

Workshop

From the workshop

Simple solutions to perennial problems

Easing the tough task of long distance slurry pumping, giving an old Vicon broadcaster a hydraulic helping hand and a versatile, low-cost tillage train are all part of the workshop-created package featured in this month’s ‘Simple solutions’. Your scribe is Mike Donovan

Machine management

Putting the plough first in Warwickshire

Full metal jacket

When we first visited Hadley Farms in 2007, the family business was committed to traditional farming practices that relied on the plough. Eight years later, has the strategy worked for the Warwickshire-based farming operation?

Around the world

Sixty years of success / UAVs hit the skies in Australia / Kinze advances Autonomy Project for multiple combines / Not this one

Report

LAMMA 2015

Chill in the air at LAMMA

Given the current low prices faced by all farming sectors, you’d have expected a chilly atmosphere at LAMMA to match the finger-numbing conditions. None of it. Exhibitors were still thinking positively for 2015 despite the slow-down in sales

Technical

Hydraulics — part I

Fluid power

Welcome to a short series in which we explore the basics of machine hydraulic systems. Thanks go to John Liposits, technical trainer at John Deere’s Langar, Notts HQ

How SCR works

Reduced to clear… the air

By now most people will have come across SCR in the context of exhaust emissions. But just what goes on inside those big boxes that sprout from the exhaust systems of modern tractors? And why are they there?

Italdesign Giugiaro, Italy

Get the right look

Though tractors may be workhorses that operate in a tough environment, exterior and interior styling still play a key part in many customers’ buying decisions. Italian-based Giugiaro is responsible for the sharp lines of the latest SAME Deutz-Fahr tractors so the Dutch Trekker magazine paid it a visit — to find out what’s involved in creating a beauty

Electronics

GPS section control, Sulky X50 Econov spreader

Sulky’s slice ‘n’ dice

Reading our report on the Sulky X50 Econov spreader (profi 01/15, p22), you probably wondered how much GPS control actually boosts application accuracy. So did we. Which called for a spot of field testing

Vehicles

Jeep Grand Cherokee vs Land Rover Discovery 4

Large and larger

We revisit heavyweight territory this month with big 4x4s from Jeep and Land Rover. Does the Brit or the American come out on top?

Under the hammer

Brightwells plant, machinery and HGV sale

Strong start to 2015

The first Brightwells plant and machinery sale of the year took place on the 16th January. On sale day the big tackle sold particularly well, including an impressive selection of grassland equipment from Krone — namely a big square baler, silage wagon and twin-rotor rake

 

Harvesting hemp

Double Dutch

A John Deere W-series combine forms the basis of a novel technique to harvest hemp stalks and seed at the same time — two very different processes

 

 

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 70p/litre. Prices will vary according to UK region, size of job, type of equipment used etc