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Machinery top stories

FORAGERS

The perks and pitfalls of owning ageing foragers

The prospect of entering a silage campaign armed with an ageing, out-of-warranty forager would leave the nerves of many agricultural contractors in tatters. But for Will Bright of Devon-based WM…

TOOLS

Makita cranks up the power of its cordless combi drill

There’s a new flagship combi drill in the Makita portfolio, capable of putting out a mammoth 180Nm. The HP003GZ01 is designed to run one of the firm’s 40V Max XGT…

ROOT CROP HARVESTERS

Grimme adds MultiSep option to potato receiving hopper

A comprehensive potato store intake and cleaning setup from Grimme brings together the manufacturer’s RH 24 receiving hopper and MultiSep roller cleaning unit, the latter previously available on trailed and…

MOWERS

Pottinger automates Novacat Collect swath placement

Tractor drivers who get confused with their left and right have salvation at hand with the automated swath placement system available for Pottinger’s Novacat V butterfly mowers equipped with Collect…

TELEHANDLERS

Ultimate guide to buying a telehandler 2026

Rising machinery costs remains the dominant theme in the latest Ultimate Guide for telehandlers. Overall, compact machines have increased in price by between £1,000 and £4,000, with larger rises on…

TRACTORS

Massey Ferguson extends 20-65hp compact tractor range

Massey Ferguson’s revamped compact tractor range now extends to nine models in all, covering power outputs from 20-65hp with hydrostatic and all-mechanical transmissions, and open platforms or air-conditioned cabs. The…

GRAIN STORAGE EQUIPMENT

Monitoring equipment options to ease grain store management

Clambering over heaps of grain armed with temperature probes and sampling spears can be a relentless chore for anyone storing crops over time. But there is another way. A raft…

MACHINERY

Franchises swap hands as machinery market squeeze drags on

Our latest roundup of dealer movements includes significant changes by CNH, Manitou and Merlo continue to reshape dealer networks throughout the UK. See also: Bushel Plus offers quick-change concaves for JD…

TRACTORS

Ultimate guide to buying a tractor 2026

The year’s Farmers Weekly Ultimate Guide to tractors is notable for the first-time listing of a mainstream electric model and a driverless tractor range, and the removal of two familiar…

CEREAL DRILLS

Pottinger downsizes Aerosem F seed drill with new 3m toolbar

Dividing the weight of a seed drill by carrying the hopper up front and the coulters out back produces a more balanced and manoeuvrable outfit than when everything is concentrated…

TRACTORS

Trelleborg offers 5,000-hour guarantee for Fendt front tyres

Monitoring of front axle tyre wear is behind the decision of agricultural tyre maker Yokohama TWS to offer a 5,000-hour performance guarantee for selected Trelleborg tyres when factory-installed on the…

TRACTORS

Mitas creates Granterra tyre for low-speed, high-torque needs

A heavy-duty tyre developed by Mitas is designed for larger tractors, from around the 200hp mark upwards, undertaking heavy cultivation. The Granterra meets the criteria for the industry’s VF category.…

4X4S

On test: Defender Hard Top is comfortable all-rounder

Say what you like about the “new” Defender but the omnipresence of 90s, 110s and, to a lesser extent, 130s on UK roads suggests it has been a hit for…

TRACTORS

Nexat wide-span tractor sows 200ha per fill with 28m drill

German manufacturer Nexat and its gantry-style field tractor continue to make headlines as the machine gets new capabilities and early adopters discover its potential. The wide-span vehicle uses a growing…

4X4S

Denza takes on established 4x4s with 677hp B5 hybrid

Chinese brand Denza will test the resolve of Toyota and Land Rover when it officially launches its heavy-duty 4x4 later this year. The chunky Land Cruiser lookalike, dubbed the B5,…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a fledgling contracting business

In the latest in our What's in your Shed? series, we visit Harry Kennedy’s fledgling Hants-based contracting operation, HK Agri. The business relies on second-hand kit bought for sensible money…

UMBILICAL

Retrofit Borger Flowsep extracts small particles from slurry

Borger has developed a new separator to remove sand, grit and small glass specks from slurry and digestate. The German firm’s compact and fully enclosed Flowsep assembly is designed to…

MACHINERY MAINTENANCE

JCB launches website for spare parts, lubricants and fluids

Owners of JCB machinery can now submit out-of-hours orders for service items and genuine spares through a new Parts Online platform. The website allows customers to search for bits, add…

TRACTORS

First impressions: Fresh Fendt 832 puts power to the ground

Fendt has finally cut all ties with engine manufacturer Deutz. Its new 800-series is the latest to get a heart transplant from sister company Agco Power, and with it comes…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Static Orkel baler arrives at R&L Anthony

Farmers Weekly heads to the Vale of Glamorgan to meet up withoutfit R&L Anthony Contracting, fronted by David Anthony and wife Emma. We find out about the contractor's main enterprises,…

COMBINES

Bushel Plus offers quick-change concaves for JD X9 combines

Canadian firm Bushel Plus reckons its new retrofit combine concave system could be just the ticket for John Deere X9 owners considering grain maize as an alternative break crop. With…

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What's in Your Shed?

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WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a fledgling contracting business

In the latest in our What's in your Shed? series, we visit Harry Kennedy’s fledgling Hants-based contracting operation, HK Agri. The business relies on second-hand kit bought for sensible money…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a mixed-fleet Gretna contractor

The diverse range of machinery littering the yard of Dumfriesshire outfit G Rae Contracting includes five of the UK’s top 10 tractors brands. Farmers Weekly puts the questions to frontman…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Surrey straw contractor

Straw and forage contractor Church Farm Services operates both within and beyond the M25 ring. Farmers Weekly ambles around the Surrey-based firm’s machinery sheds, guided by proprietor Nick Fuller, son…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Cornish family farm

Five generations of the Keat family have worked the land at Tremayle Farm near Bodmin, Cornwall and three are still actively involved. Alan Keat gives Farmers Weekly the fleet lowdown.…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Cornish dairy farm

A hoard of ingenious home-made kit and a clutch of noughties Massey Fergusons are just some of the treasures hiding in the sheds of Cornish dairy farmer Andrew Carbis. It's…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Staffordshire contractor

Staffordshire farmer/contractor Matt Brewster was just 21 when he took over the home farm tenancy. Seventeen years on, he walks Andrew Faulkner around the machinery sheds at Brewster Farms. See also: First…

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4X4S

On test: Defender Hard Top is comfortable all-rounder

Say what you like about the “new” Defender but the omnipresence of 90s, 110s and, to a lesser extent, 130s on UK roads suggests it has been a hit for…

TRACTORS

First impressions: Fresh Fendt 832 puts power to the ground

Fendt has finally cut all ties with engine manufacturer Deutz. Its new 800-series is the latest to get a heart transplant from sister company Agco Power, and with it comes…

TRACTORS

First impressions: John Deere's 8RX 540 breaks new ground

American heavy artillery of a friendlier type will be shipped across the Atlantic later this year when the first battalion of Europe-bound 8Rs and RXs departs John Deere’s Iowan factory.…

LOADING SHOVELS

Driver’s view: The good and bad of JCB’s 435S loading shovel

JCB’s self-proclaimed “king of the clamp” underwent some subtle surgery last winter, giving it more power, more torque and a nifty new lever-steer system. An early example of this latest…

Driver's view

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LOADING SHOVELS

Driver’s view: The good and bad of JCB’s 435S loading shovel

JCB’s self-proclaimed “king of the clamp” underwent some subtle surgery last winter, giving it more power, more torque and a nifty new lever-steer system. An early example of this latest…

TRACTORS

Driver's view: Lee Henzell's Fendt 728 Vario

Fendt’s 700-series overhaul was big news in the summer of 2022, with the ever-popular 724 downgraded to mid-range status and a new 728 thrust to the apex. It strayed well…

TRACTORS

Driver's view: William Heslip's New Holland T7.300

A new cab was the stand-out improvement on New Holland’s “long-wheelbase” T7s when they were introduced at the Sima show in Paris three years ago. There are five Auto Command…

TRACTORS

Driver's view: Tom Dirom's Valtra Q285

Valtra’s long-awaited Q-series finally broke cover in 2022, filling a void between its existing T and S ranges. Second biggest in the five-strong line-up is the Q285, which matches the…

Contractor Comment

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CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Static Orkel baler arrives at R&L Anthony

Farmers Weekly heads to the Vale of Glamorgan to meet up withoutfit R&L Anthony Contracting, fronted by David Anthony and wife Emma. We find out about the contractor's main enterprises,…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Diversification key for DRA Fabb

First in the hotseat for this new series of Contractor Comment is Dan Fabb, proprietor of eponymous Cambridgeshire outfit DRA Fabb. Q: How did you get into contracting? I worked…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: New ploughs arrive, Lexion next

A new Lexion combine had been top of Stuart Wilson’s shopping list this winter, but it’s sky-blue implements rather than a green-and-white leviathan currently taking pride of place in his…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Second Jaguar mops up late-season grass

The arrival of a second Claas Jaguar 950 forager couldn’t have come at a better time for Josh and Helen Collins, who found themselves facing a formidable autumn workload. Just…

Video

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HARVEST

Video: Classic machinery brings in the spring barley harvest

A fleet of British-built classic machinery dating back to the early 1970s was bringing in the spring barley harvest at a farm on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border this week. Two Ransome…

WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: Leicester farm trials weed seed unit on Fendt combine

Europe’s first Redekop seed control unit (SCU) fitted to a Fendt Ideal 10T combine, aimed at controlling weed seeds, is being put to the test this harvest in Leicestershire at…

FORAGE WAGONS

Video: Lely revolutionises zero grazing with autonomous Exos

Dutch firm Lely has put the finishing touches to its self-propelled grass harvester and feeder, which is set to go on sale in the Netherlands next year. The battery powered…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

WIYS: Contractor ditches new kit for retro fleet

Mark Bowran, 2003 winner of Farmers Weekly’s Tractor Driver of the Year competition, opens the doors of his MBC Services contracting business. Machinery editor, Oliver Mark asks the questions and…

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