Machinery top stories

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Contractor builds tine toolbar drill

Trivett and Sons’ tine toolbar drill has been highly commended. After battling several challenging autumn campaigns, Lawrence Trivett, brother Alistair and dad Andrew decided to rethink their drilling fleet. That…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Planter cover keeps seed spuds dry

Charlie Beattie has won third place in our simple category. One of the many challenges facing Charlie Beattie when planting 250ha of potatoes in Perthshire’s unpredictable weather is keeping seed…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Tramline sprayer kills green wheelings

Andrew Myatt is winner of our simple category. Like many growers, Andrew Myatt has stopped putting in conventional tramlines with the drill, instead using his sprayer’s RTK guidance to follow…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: ATV-towed calf catcher improves safety

Aaron Scott has won second place in our simple category. Tagging newborn calves in the company of cranky mothers is now a safer affair at Lilburn Estate in Wooler, Northumberland,…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Mobile race built on a modest budget

Alastair Hall’s mobile race has won third place in the intermediate category. Armed with an old Ifor Williams stock trailer purchased for £700 on eBay and a healthy dose of…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Cow sledge helps move ailing animals

Neville Kirkham has won first place in the intermediate category. Leicestershire dairy farmer Neville Kirkham built a telehandler-mounted cow sledge to quickly get down cows back on their feet without…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Moo-mover encourages cows into parlour

Albert O'Neill has won third place in the complex category. Having invested in a new DeLaval rotary parlour last year, County Tyrone dairy farmer Albert O’Neill faced the challenge of…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Hej Harvester wins complex category

Jim George has won first place in our complex category. Hedgetrimming needn’t be an unprofitable job loathed by farmers and contractors across the land, reckons Jim George, who has devised…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: John Carrick's novel feed hopper filler

John Carrick has won second place in our complex category. In need of a more efficient method of topping up large in-field sheep feed hoppers, John Carrick hatched a plan…

SLURRY TANKERS

SlurryKat goes high-end with feature-packed Elete tanker

SlurryKat has launched its most sophisticated tanker series to date, packing a redesigned chassis, integrated drawbar and anti-surge baffle system. By reworking the bones of the machine, engineers have managed…

SPRAYERS

Stihl SGA 60 knapsack sprayer gets battery-powered pump

Stihl has ditched the hand pump on its latest knapsack sprayer, opting for the convenience of battery power instead. This setup gives the SGA 60 a working pressure of up…

MOWERS

Acre-eating GreenTec Tiger rotary mower can work at 11mph

The Tiger rotary mower from Danish outfit GreenTec is geared up for high-output vegetation taming with a speedy working range of 9-11mph. And yet power requirements are modest, with a…

MACHINERY

Kuhn trims Multi-Longer telescopic hedgecutter reach to 6.1m

Large farms and contractors who like the versatility of a reach mower with a telescopic arm have a new model to consider in Kuhn’s Multi-Longer range. The 6157 e-TPAL trims…

MACHINERY

Bron tracked mulchers tackle heavy-duty farmland reclamation

Canadian heavy equipment manufacturer RWF Bron has shipped its first land reclamation mulcher to Britain under a distribution and product support agreement with Devon-based Conagri. Weighing in at around 13t,…

TRACTORS

AgXeed develops more powerful tracked driverless tractor

A more powerful version of the tracked AgBot self-guided driverless tractor has been developed by Dutch specialist AgXeed to cater for growers who like the concept but want more muscle…

MACHINERY

More slew for mid-range McConnel 62-Series reach mowers

An increase in slew angle to 120deg to ease manoeuvres in field corners is among a number of enhancements to McConnel’s mid-range 62-Series Power Arm reach mowers. The broader scope…

MACHINERY

More slew for mid-range McConnel 62-Series reach mowers

An increase in slew angle to 120deg to ease manoeuvres in field corners is among a number of enhancements to McConnel’s mid-range 62-Series Power Arm reach mowers. The broader scope…

MACHINERY

Biggest machinery dealers ranked as economic headwinds bite

As one director recorded it in the company’s annual report, 2024 was “one of the most challenging years for the business.” And it’s a common theme among dealerships posting full…

CEREAL DRILLS

Versatile 3m He-Va G-Drill sows grass and grain

Farmers looking for a do-it-all drill might find what they’re looking for in the latest He-Va catalogue, which now includes the 3m G-Drill. It comes with two rows of versatile…

ROOT CROP EQUIPMENT

Standen tweaks UniPlus stone separator for easier maintenance

Standen Engineering reckons to have cut the time and hassle involved in replacing the first four star rotors on its big capacity UniPlus clod and stone separator. Instead of easing…

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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…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

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

New Hollands are gradually superseding Zetors at Jonathan Hutchinson’s growing Yorkshire dairy business. Farmers Weekly's machinery editor, Oliver Mark, heads over to Whitby to check out what farm kit is…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a progressive Hants arable farm

Buy quality kit and make it last. That’s the machinery policy at 1,250ha Neatham Manor Farm, near Alton, Hampshire. Farm manager Matthew Ashton talks through the Neatham fleet. See also: On…

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TOOLS

On test: Battery powered pruning saws - which is best?

A relatively new breed of compact, battery powered chainsaws promises to make light work of pesky branches that clatter combine cabs, whack wing mirrors and unseat sprayer nozzles. Avoiding the…

401+HP

First impressions: New cab major progress for Claas Axion 9

Claas can rightly revel in its top-dog status when it comes to combine harvesters and foragers. But 22 years after swallowing Renault Agriculture, its tractor division continues to lag behind.…

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…

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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…

TRACTORS

Driver's view: Tom Mixture's John Deere 6R 250

Sitting at the apex of John Deere’s “mid-size” tractor line-up, the 6R 250 offers a healthy slug of power in a modestly proportioned chassis. Its versatility in tackling jobs both…

Contractor Comment

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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…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Horsch Pronto tests 724 to the max

Who’da thought it? Some of the hardest hours at JO Straughan this year have come not on the combine or forager, nor in tractors racing to get ground tilled and…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Rob Chapman enjoys life forager-free

Same money, less stress. Isle of Wight contractor Rob Chapman has no regrets about ditching his 1,600ha foraging enterprise back in the spring. End-of-year profitability is likely to be on…

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…