A wealth of machinery aimed at making life easier for farmers was on show at this year’s Livestock Event. 

The Birmingham-based exhibition, which ran on the 8 and 9 July, included kit to tempt producers from all types and sizes of farm. 

Farmers Weekly’s Machinery team has picked out a second batch of interesting models on display at the NEC.

See also: Livestock 2015: 7 new pieces of kit for stock farmers

1. Tatoma Feeder/Bedder            

Spanish firm Tatoma was on the look-out for dealers at the Livestock event.

It builds a pretty comprehensive range of vertical and horizontal auger mixers and feeders from 6cu m to 45cu m as well as a line-up of straw choppers.

At the moment the company’s main markets are Germany, Mexico and France (where it has a 20-25% market share) but it sees the UK as having strong potential.

The MV-20 Duplo model on display at the show differs from normal, run-of-the-mill feeder wagons in carrying an onboard straw-chopper up front of the twin-screw tub. 

A chunky gearbox balanced on the drawbar splits drive from the pto two ways – one shaft runs to the 90deg boxes running the augers while the other spins the flywheel chopper.

It adds about £9,000 to the price of any model in the range, taking a 20cu m machine to £48,000.

At the other end of the spectrum, a 6cu m mixer costs £18,500. 

2. Australian-made 3-in-1 feeders keep things simple

Looking much like any conventional hopper feeder, these Aussie-built 3-in-1 feeders are cleverly designed so that ad-lib feed intake is restricted in the simplest way.

Suitable for both cattle and sheep, the adjustable hopper outlets mean animals have to use their tongues to hook feed out.

Within five minutes of guzzling away, ruminants tend to run out of saliva and head off back out to graze again.

This restricts intakes, stops gorging and avoids any issues with acidosis, according to importer Farmline Machinery.

It can also be quickly converted as a creep feeder with either a bar for lambs or gates for calves and adjusted to vary feed rates from 100g to 2kg a head a day.

Prices range from £690 for 0.5t static three-in-one hopper to a £2045 for a 1.2t wheeled version.

3. Kitt Agri slurry pump cuts wear from sand

There is nothing better than sand cubicles when it comes to cow comfort but dealing with the slurry is something of a headache and takes its toll on machinery.

But with increasing number of herds wanting to separate liquids and recover sand for bedding there is a strong demand for handling systems capable of dealing with the abrasive material.

Somerset-based Kitt Agri believes the answer lies with a giant US-built piston pump to transfer the raw slurry direct to a separator.

Capable of sucking liquid up from 3m below and pumping it out to a height of almost double that, ideally it is positioned in a dry-well sump next to the lagoon to generate a head of pressure enabling it to process slurry at and even more rapid rate.

Apparently it’s much less prone to wear than conventional centrifugal and stator pumps and it costs £9,000.

4. Prodig makes a neat job of the clamp face

There are plenty of shear-grabs about, but getting one that can leave a smooth face on the clamp is more unusual.

County Carlow maker Prodig, which was making its first visit to the Livestock Event, reckons its Sheer Genius all-in-one unit can do a pretty good job of it.

You don’t have to drive into the clamp face, it says, instead you just offer the grab to the face and let the cutter shear into it. 

There are three models, the 1.5m model costs £3,450, the 1.8m model costs £3,750 and the 2.2m model costs £3,950.

5. Pyon Heatwave Milkwarmer wins top award

The winner of this year’s RABDF Livestock Machinery and Equipment Award were Herefordshire farmers Alan and Gill Dickson and their engineer son James.

Their Pyon Milkwarmer allows them to quickly prepare a bulk reservoir of cold milk once daily.

The milk is heated just before being delivered to the teat, giving the calf access to warm milk several times a day.

Having a once-a-day system that is available all day means that dairy heifers benefit and baby bull calves develop faster and can be ready for market earlier.

The system is also adaptable for lambs and goat kids.

The family launched the product through Wynnstay in November and sales have gone well in both the UK and Europe with more than 200 units sold.

Crucially, the £385 price makes it an affordable for all stock farmers.

6. Zero Grazer gets discs 

There were several different makes of zero-grazer at this year’s Livestock Event, most of them from either Italy or Ireland and most sporting drum mowers at the front.

The 14t Zero Grazer from Co Meath company of the same name looks like a robust, well-made machine.

It has sold 22 since designing the machine back in 2008

A 2.4m disc mower incorporating their own disc bed gives the option to chop with 150mm knives and a tractor of 120/130hp is needed to power it.

Two hydraulic motors power the floor chains and the mowing height is adjustable.

Back at the farm, rams on both sides of the machine tip up the back.

Total weight is 5.9t, somewhat less than a typical silage wagon which can often tip the scales at 10t.

Ground clearance is 300mm, so bumpy terrain should not be a problem and the tyres are chunky 710/45 R22.5 sizes.

Price is £46,000 but drops to £28,000 if you go for drum mowers rather than the discs.

7. Austrian-made hoof-trimmers look robust 

Austrian manufacturer Rosensteiner made its first visit to the Livestock Event this year, with a  couple of nice-looking hoof-trimming crushes.

The company was started in 1981 and is now reckoned to be the market leader in both Austria and Germany, with 400 hoof-trimming crushes and 1,000 transport boxes made in that time.

Some 140 units are already in use in Ireland and just three in the UK.

The Red 5 vertical model neatly opens up to allow the operator to walk through and adapts automatically to the size of the animal being worked on.

A natty service arm with grinders, power outlets and led lighting can move right round the unit. Cost is £6,300

The Red Q tipping model gives access to all four feet at the same time and there’s one central area for controls and levers, so there’s no need to run around the crush like a mad thing.

It is aimed at both contractors and farmers and there is space for tools at the front of the unit.

Cost is £11,000. Both models are available to go on a tractor or a truck/trailer.

Read more news stories from the Livestock Event.