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Grassland & maize equipment

Advice and tips

DIET FEEDERS

Guide to buying used paddle-type feeder wagons

Following last week’s look at second-hand tub-based feeder wagons, this time around we’re focusing on the perks and pitfalls of used paddle-type machines Keenan has been a dominating force on…

DIET FEEDERS

Tips for buying a second-hand tub feeder wagon

Livestock farmers might be notorious for their aversion to machinery maintenance, but that’s no reason to completely disregard the chance to snap up an older feeder wagon on the cheap.…

MOWERS

Front mowers on test – is pushed or pulled best?

If you are shopping for a new front mower, aside from the brand, there’s one big decision to make – whether you want a push or a pull front suspension…

MACHINERY

Tips and advice for planning and building a new silage clamp

Tucked away in a corner of the yard and inherited from a previous generation, silage clamps are often at the bottom of the priority list. But given how important forage…

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Case studies

MACHINERY

Dorset farmer opts for old-school auto-feeding silage tower

It’s not unusual to see ranks of tower silos standing across the rural North American skyline, but the sight of one in Dorset is far more rare. Tower silos started…

FARM MAINTENANCE

Round-bale chaser slashes haulage costs

An farmer in Ireland has designed and built a potentially revolutionary machine that makes collecting hard-to-handle, tricky-to-stack round silage bales a doddle.  Chasing square bales at great speeds with high…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE

One-pass Wecan reseeder cuts workload for Devon contractors

Based in the heart of dairy country in North Devon, Battledown Contractors concentrates specifically on servicing the needs of the region’s many livestock enterprises. The company is run by the…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE

Unusual mix of reseeding systems gives L&J Bennion the edge

Over the last couple of decades Middlewich contractor L&J Bennion has gradually honed its grassland reseeding and rejuvenating techniques to suit its customers’ requirements. Now the team’s 1,000ha workload is split between full…

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Insights

FORAGERS

Stalkbuster hacks down maize stubbles while harvesting

Header maker Kemper has developed a chopping system that fits beneath a regular maize header to cut stubbles tight to the ground. The Stalkbuster is designed to obliterate the habitat…

MACHINERY

Non-stop round balers: a glimpse of the future?

Many manufacturers have had a stab at producing a credible non-stop round baler, but as yet none have managed to do so with any real commercial success. The combination of…

How hedgecutter maker Bomford Turner became a UK success story

The Bomford company’s pioneering approach to power farming dates back 150 years or more to the early days of steam cultivation when Benjamin Bomford bought a set of cable ploughing…

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News

MOWERS

Grass Tech to fit Kuhn PZ mowers to zero-grazers

Future Grass Technology has agreed a deal that will see it use Kuhn’s popular 2.2m-wide PZ drum mower on all four models in its zero-grazing range. The PZ220 mower unit…

FORAGERS

JD 9000-series foragers get monster V12 engine

John Deere has launched a range of high-output choppers powered by a hefty Liebherr V12 engine, which it hopes will provide stiff competition for the likes of Krone and Claas…

FORAGERS

Krone unveils monster 1,156hp Big X forager

Krone has raised the power output bar with its new 1,156hp Big X 1180, offering large-scale farmers and contractors its most formidable forage harvester yet. The machine sits at the…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE

Bluetooth Platemeter gives instant grass results

A bright-orange Platemeter was launched at the Royal Welsh Show last week and claims to be the most advanced unit of its type in the world by using Bluetooth to…

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Test and reviews

MOWERS

Early 2000s Krone Big M mower still going strong

When faced with 2,500ha of grass to cut a season, many contractors would invest in set of shiny new kit covered by the welcome reassurance of a manufacturer’s warranty.  But…

FORAGERS

Forager makers aim to raise milk yields with long-chop maize

There has been plenty of chat in the industry of late about the benefits of long-chop maize on cow health, milk yield and quality. The theory is the bulkier forage…

LIVESTOCK

Buyer's guide to brushcutters

When it comes to keeping farm fence lines clear of overgrowth, there is no substitute for brushcutters. These machines are so good that it’s hard to find a bad one.…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE

Driver’s view: Contractor rates his Krone Multibale

When Kent contractor David Burden went in search of a reliable summer job to supplement his no-till drilling business, big baling seemed the obvious answer. Armed with a £50,000 budget,…

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Video

MOWERS

Video: US farmer smashes eight-hour world mowing record

A Colorado-based farmer has smashed the world record for grass cut in an eight-hour period. Tate Mesbergen from Mesbergen Farms, Greely, Colorado, set about the challenge on 1 July and…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE

Video: Best kit from Grassland & Muck 2017

This year’s Grassland and Muck event was the place to see all the latest and greatest kit in the world of forage production in one place. A thick grass crop…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE

Heavy-duty Holaras silage compactor set to work on UK clamps

Norfolk-based dealer WM Agri has taken on the Holaras franchise, with an eye on selling its silage clamp equipment across the UK. The MES Leveller comes with two hydraulic independent…

Video: Grassland UK show highlights

Last week’s Grassland UK event took place on 7 May at Bridge Farm and Bagborough Farm, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and was the place to see the latest grassland and muck-handling…

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