Machinery highlights: On-site at this year’s National Ploughing Championships

Ursus might not be the first brand-name that springs to mind when you’re considering a round baler. Well; check this out: This modern-looking unit produces bales with a 1.2m (4ft) diameter. It has a chopper, a net-wrapping system, a 2.2m-wide pick-up and centralised lubrication. Asking price is €22,500. Can it compete with more firmly-established brands?

Cross Agricultural Engineering imports these German-built Kuxmann trailed fertiliser and lime spreaders. Maximum spread width is up to 36m; capacities stretch from 5,300 to 14,000L. List prices start at about €32,000 (excluding VAT). The 12m³ model at the show (above) is equipped with a hydraulic cover, over-run clutch, wide-angle PTO, front catwalk, ball-and-spoon hitch, weigh cells and commercial axles

Manitou’s MT 420 H is new to Ireland this year. It is just 1.9m tall and 1.49m wide; overall length is a very manageable 3.67m. Nonetheless, it can lift 2t to a maximum height of just over 4m. The cab comes from the slightly-larger MLT 625; the 49hp engine comes from Kubota. The transmission is a hydrostatic unit

The Avant 420 can lift 550kg to a height of 2.8m, thanks to its 20hp engine. This pivot-steer machine is somewhat unusual; the driver’s seat is located on the front, rather than the rear, articulating section. Since 1991, Avant Tecno has manufactured more than 45,000 loaders at its factory in Finland. These machines are imported into Ireland by Pat O’Donnell & Co

It was refreshing to see a broad and varied mix of equipment dotted about the stands at this year’s ‘Ploughing’. Equipment extended beyond farm machinery, to include items of interest to contractors that have diversified into all manner of work

This shovel, from Westmeath-based Manitech Loaders, is available at a special show price of €38,000 (excluding VAT). The 920 Pro, which is built in China, has an Isuzu engine, a 4-speed transmission and a 2t lift capacity. It weighs 6t. It comes with a 7ft bucket and pallet forks

Samco’s Field-Lift is claimed to alleviate soil compaction; it breaks sealed subsoil down to a depth of 18in. This three-leg machine (pictured) incorporates a hydraulic-release system on the legs; they can also pivot left or right. It’s one of a range of machines from the Adare-based company, which was founded back in 1997

Italian manufacturer Dieci is one of the more recent entrants to the pivot-steer (articulated) telescopic handler sector. The smaller machine (on the left) is a T60; it weighs just over 6t and can lift 2.25t. Importantly, for use in and around farm buildings, the top of the cab is less than 2.5m high. Maximum lift height is 4.7m. It’s powered by a 73hp Kubota engine

A ‘tour de force’ from Bredal: Irish distributor Atkins has lined up an army of Danish-built Bredal trailed fertiliser spreaders for this year’s ‘Ploughing’. There is also a considerable number of Bogballe mounted machines on-site too. Atkins is currently moving its wholesale Bredal and Bogballe business to Co. Offaly – to a premises on the outskirts of Birr. This facility will also serve as a retail dealership for Fendt tractors and machinery, covering a significant chunk of the midlands

Fendt is busy broadening its range of products, thanks to ongoing acquisitions by parent company AGCO. Expect to see a broader range of implements (from Fendt) appearing on the ground in 2018

McConnel is showing its first ever self-propelled crop sprayer at this year’s event. The ‘low-ground pressure’ Agribuggy A280 is designed and built by McConnel’s sister company – sprayer specialist Kellands. Kellands is known not only for the Agribuggy, which it has built and sold for some time, but also for machines such as the Multidrive – a multi-purpose load carrier that is often configured as a high-capacity, self-propelled sprayer or fertiliser spreader

Why lift when you can just push? More and more manufacturers are starting to build ejector-type trailers. This K Two Roadeo (Compact & Push) 2000 has a rated capacity of 35m³ (or 41m³ with silage sides). It comes with a sprung drawbar, 10-stud commercial axles, a hydraulic tailgate and LED lights. It is on Clarke Machinery’s stand

This Cargos 8300 is the smallest in a three-model silage wagon line-up from German giant Claas. These wagons are marketed as ‘dual-purpose’ machines. By removing the pick-up and rotor system (thus shedding 2.5t) in ‘just a few minutes’, it can be converted into a ‘sturdy’ transport trailer

Compact loading shovels are being taken more and more seriously around the country. These machines are deceptively capable. For example, this pint-sized Weidemann 1880 can lift over 1.8t; the machine itself tips the scales at just 3.4t. It is just over 1.2m wide and is powered by a 4-cylinder, 49hp Perkins 404D-22 engine. Prices start from about €35,000 (excluding VAT) upwards, depending on specification

This Deutz-Fahr C7205 TS is one of very few combines on-site at this year’s ‘Ploughing’. The market for new combines is best described as ‘challenging‘ at present; uncertainty in the tillage sector is taking its toll

This bale transporter is suitable for an ATV. It’s manufactured by Northern Irish company Quad X and is apparently suitable for silage, hay and straw. According to the firm, it’s ‘well balanced’ to reduce the weight on the drawbar. In fact, says Quad X, you can even ‘easily position the transporter by hand, while its loaded with a bale of hay or straw’. Asking price is €1,375 (excluding VAT)

This Gehl V270 ‘Gen 2’ is a 70hp skid-steer loader. Rated operating capacity is 1.125t; maximum lift height is 3.3m. Gehl equipment is handled here in Ireland by EMS (Embankment Machinery Sales) – also the main agent for Doosan

The latest batch of SIP mowers was recently launched onto the Irish market by its distributor Farmec Ireland. SIP is headquartered in Slovenia but describes itself as having a ‘German mentality’. Pictured (above) is a front-mounted, 3m-wide unit, which lists at €13,000 (excluding VAT). It’s the first official outing for this new model in Ireland

Irish manufacturer Smyth Trailers recently released a new, high-capacity 25ft silage trailer (pictured left) to ‘service the needs of modern day agricultural contracting’. It employs a ‘forced steering’ tri-axle chassis (with front and rear axle steering) – to keep the new trailer’s manoeuvrability in line with that of a smaller, ‘standard’ 20ft unit. This system not only steers while travelling forward but also in reverse

This Metal-Fach (Falcon) N276 rear-discharge muck spreader has a capacity of 8t (9.5m³). It has a chain-and-slat floor conveyor, like most of its competitors. It needs at least 90hp at the PTO though, in practice, a fully-laden machine will need more muscle up front. Metal-Fach is based in Poland; it was founded in 1989. It now employs around 800 people. It manufactures nearly 60 different types and models of agricultural machinery. It also produces truck trailers (under the Nova brand-name)

The M38, from Manitech Loaders, is fitted with a 6-cylinder, 180hp Cummins engine. That’s coupled to a 4-speed ZF transmission. The machine weighs 12t and is firmly aimed at the contracting sector. List price is €60,000 (excluding VAT)

Chieftain manufactures and sells a wide range of trailers – from agricultural-spec units to commercial models and from waste handlers to fuel bowsers. Its ‘Fast Tow’ dump trailers are specifically designed for use behind ‘high-speed’ tractors, such as JCB Fastracs. These trailers are fitted with commercial axles, 420mm X 180mm brakes (plus air and hydraulic systems) as standard. This apparently enables travel speeds of up to 100kph

This 3m-wide 300T trailed mower-conditioner, from Keltec, comes with a spring floatation system and LED lights. It lists at €18,500 (excluding VAT). A limited number were manufactured for the 2017 season; wider availability is expected next year. This machine made its official debut at the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show in Punchestown earlier this year

Grass Tech is launching a ‘contractor’ version of its 120 ‘Grazer’ (pictured right) at the ‘Ploughing’. The ‘contractor’ spec is available not only on the 120 model, but also on the 80, 140 and 160. The 120 has a rated capacity of 25.5m³; it can apparently hold up to 5.5t of fresh grass. Cutting width is 2.3m. It features a new rear door design. The overall package includes a camera and LED lights. A ‘standard’ 120 lists at €42,000 (including VAT); opting for the ‘contractor’ spec adds a further €6,000

McConnel’s ‘all-terrain’ Robocut is a remote-controlled mower; it can supposedly tackle slopes of up to 55º. It has a 1.3m-wide cutter, a range of 150m and is equipped with a 40hp powerpack (other outputs are optional). It lists at €49,500

MCM was established in 2004 by owner David McMurray; he started off fabricating farm buildings but soon embarked on the manufacture of trailers and, later, tankers. The business is based in Dungiven (Northern Ireland). Asking price for this tandem-axle, 4,000-gallon model (with a rear-steering axle and air/hydraulic brakes) is just £18,000 (excluding VAT)

MG Plant & Machinery Sales is the exclusive Irish dealer for Eurocomach equipment – covering both north and south of the border. This E 245 K is home to a 4-cylinder, 48hp Kubota engine, which is mated to a hydrostatic drive system. This pint-sized backhoe loader has an operating capacity (for its front loader) of 1.6t

A bulldozer – but it’s not a CAT or a Komatsu! This is a Dressta; it hails from Poland. According to the company, it has grown to become a ‘global manufacturer of heavy construction equipment’. All of its machinery is built at its factory in Stalowa Wola (Poland) – a town literally translated as ‘Will of Steel’. In 2012, Dressta was acquired by LiuGong Machinery and renamed LiuGong Dressta Machinery. Through access to the Chinese market and fistfuls of cash, it marked a new chapter in the company’s history