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TECHNOLOGY

Claas rolls out new look Connect digital platform

Farmers who are signed up to a new “digital ecosystem” being rolled out this year by Claas will be able to add tractors and other machines to their account simply…

4X4S

Isuzu unveils souped-up special edition D-Max pickups

Isuzu has pimped up its D-Max pickup with two special edition models. The first is the Steel, which adds more bling to the top-of-the-range V-Cross but is otherwise identical underneath.…

PLOUGHS

CNH sells off Overum plough business

During a period of seemingly never-ending acquisitions, CNH Industrial has gone against the trend by selling off the Overum factory in Sweden, which makes mouldboard ploughs. This business was acquired…

TECHNOLOGY

Lemken-Krone VTE autonomous tractor gains front links and pto

Engineers developing a driverless tractor for arable and grassland field work say they are now moving from the early prototype trials stage to deployments on commercial farms with a near-finished…

BALERS AND WRAPPERS

Novel Staheli West baler attachment adds moisture to dry hay

With a prolonged hiss and machines briefly shrouded in vapour, a US commercial hay grower’s baling outfit is ready to get to work. Conditions may not be ideal; it’s a…

MACHINERY

NAAC contractor price guide 2024-25

The National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) has released its latest survey of contracting prices, which shows a general rise in the charge rates submitted by members. They are battling…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

How to set up a farm machinery sharing syndicate

As farmers transition to more resilient systems, greater scrutiny is applied to fertiliser, seed, herbicide and other agronomy costs, but is that same degree of analysis applied to machinery outlay?…

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NAAC contractor price guide 2023-24

See the latest NAAC latest survey of contracting prices.

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CULTIVATION AND DRILLING

Pottinger hoes get slicker Profiline isobus control

Easier implement setting up and operation is promised with the addition of an isobus control option for Pottinger’s Flexcare precision hoes and Terrasem cultivator drills. The Profiline setup gives the…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE EQUIPMENT

Dutch dairy installs powered silage clamp cover rollers

There can’t be many jobs in farming more dreaded than sheeting and unsheeting silage clamps, with mere mention of the task sending friends and family scuttling off to other “more…

SLURRY TANKERS

Tramspread launches quick-build slurry storage tanks

Tramspread has introduced a new range of steel storage tanks that can be erected relatively quickly without laying a concrete base. The Butek Tank stores instead sit on a ring…

TOOLS

Makita 40V pressure washer allows cordless cleaning

Cleaning needn’t be confined to the yard with the latest HW001G cordless pressure washer from Makita. Power is provided by a single 40V XGT battery, but there are slots to…

TELEHANDLERS

Ultimate guide to buying a telehandler 2024

The 2024 edition of Farmers Weekly’s Ultimate Guide to telehandlers and telescopic wheeled loaders of all shapes and sizes features a number of new and updated models – as well…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

How a Wiltshire-based mechanic built his own hedgecutter

Luke Compton likes a workshop challenge, so when he needed a new hedgecutter he decided it would be far more satisfying to build rather than buy one. Complex geometry and…

FARM MAINTENANCE

Techneat launches low-cost spinning bird scarer

Techneat Engineering has added a spinning bird scarer to its range as a cheaper and quieter alternative to a gas gun. The Rotorscare device has a red-and-white vane designed to…

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What's in Your Shed?

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WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? Dorset contractor Will Box reveals all

This time What's in your Shed heads over to Dorset to visit contractor Will Box. We hear how he built up his business and customer base and why hiring in…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Yorkshire arable farm

Lifting the lid on their machinery shed high and lows are Yorkshire arable farmers Michael and Will Scholey. See also: How to adapt cut-price cultivators for low-disturbance system How brand loyal…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits FW 2023 Contractor of the Year

Kevin Heywood, Farmers Weekly’s 2023 Contractor of the Year, reveals the best and worst decisions he’s made in assembling a distinctly green machinery fleet.  We head over to Cornwall to…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Cornish livestock farmer

Martin Harris, a 24-year-old Cornish livestock farmer, fencing contractor and sheep shearer, is the latest to open his shed doors. How did you get started? I went to Duchy College…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits an Oxfordshire contractor

The search for a neater high-horsepower tractor prompted Oxfordshire farmer and contractor John Walker to make the switch from John Deere to Fendt. We head over to Oxfordshire to find…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? Used kit key for Hampshire arable farm

‘Buy used kit and maintain it well’ is the machinery fleet principle applied by Hampshire farmers Bob Ives and his son, Dan. Diversification is also important to the business and…

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4X4S

On test: Nissan X-Trail gets new practical hybrid powertrain

Worried that a fully electric car could leave them conked out miles from a charger, thousands of buyers have played it safe and bought a hybrid instead. A sensible move…

TRACTORS

Driver's view: Why Norfolk grower runs trio of Deutz 7250s

Deutz-Fahr tractors are now the go-to prime movers for Norfolk-based potato grower Ian Mason Farms, primarily because of their keen up-front costs and driver-friendly controls. The business runs four of…

201-300HP

Driver's view: Leics farm rates McCormick's 240hp X7.624

Shifting fewer than 100 tractors a year at the last count makes McCormick one of the lowest volume tractor brands selling in the UK. But what the Italian marque lacks…

TELEHANDLERS

First impressions: Kubota's diddy debut KTH telehandler

Twelve years on from its multimillion-pound acquisition of Kverneland that yielded new mower, baler and fertiliser spreader ranges, Kubota has now nosed in on the world of materials handling –…

Driver's view

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TRACTORS

Driver's view: Why Norfolk grower runs trio of Deutz 7250s

Deutz-Fahr tractors are now the go-to prime movers for Norfolk-based potato grower Ian Mason Farms, primarily because of their keen up-front costs and driver-friendly controls. The business runs four of…

201-300HP

Driver's view: Leics farm rates McCormick's 240hp X7.624

Shifting fewer than 100 tractors a year at the last count makes McCormick one of the lowest volume tractor brands selling in the UK. But what the Italian marque lacks…

TRACTORS

Driver’s view: McCormick X6.413 P6-Drive

Fitted with a 4.5-litre FPT engine and an in-house six-speed semi-powershift transmission, the X6.4 is McCormick’s premium offering in the four-cylinder sector. This means buyers have access to a host…

TRACTORS

Driver's view: Case IH Maxxum 125 ActiveDrive 4

A recent reordering of Case IH’s smaller tractor ranges has resulted in a slimming down of the popular Maxxum series to a trio of models. But with three transmission options…

Contractor comment

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CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Interest rates a threat for Cropmech

For this year’s Contractor Comment it’s all change, as we visit a fresh batch of four contracting firms located in different regions of the UK. Second up is our new…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Beet lifting headaches in the Borders

Our second season of Contractor Comment kicks off with the first of four new contributors – Daniel Freeland-Cook of Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. See also: High kit prices and…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

High kit prices and falling profits pinch contractor margins

The rains and winds of Atlantic depressions Isha and Jocelyn may have wreaked short-term havoc, but two metaphorical storms are causing South Lanarkshire contractor Jim Watt greater angst. Squeezed on…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Workshop and building projects maintain contractor's cashflow

Most agricultural contractors need a strategy for keeping the workforce busy and the bank account ticking over during the leaner winter months. And for Graham Hayllar, this is involves running…

Video

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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…

TECHNOLOGY

Video: Retrofit Mojow tractor kit automates arable fieldwork

Mojow may have found the holy grail of fieldwork autonomy by devising a means of controlling tractors of any sensible vintage with state-of-the-art driverless technology. Better still, the Canadian firm’s…

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