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Know How / Farm maintenance

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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

Staffs contractor rates Shelbourne's 'head memory' hedgecutter

Crafting a pitch-perfect hedge is an art many attempt but not all master. Thousands of tiny tweaks must be made to keep the flail head at the desired angle as…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

£10,000 Wing Jet workshop mod forms 30m Avadex applicator

Upsizing from 24m to 30m tramlines meant Buckinghamshire arable farmer Charlie Edgley had a raft of machinery to either upgrade or replace, one of which was his Avadex applicator. In…

CULTIVATORS

How to adapt cut-price cultivators to low-disturbance system

When Michael and Will Scholey decided it was time to stop damaging their ground with high horsepower tracked crawlers and deep, intensive cultivation, they drafted in some expert help. This…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

5 home-built pieces of slurry kit which improved efficiency

Armed with a degree in mechanical engineering from Ulster University, Niall Murphy returned to the family farm and contracting business and set about making handy custom pieces of kit. His…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Northern Irish inventor reveals his best machinery creations

Since he was old enough to wield a welding torch, Albert O’Neill has been busy designing and building novel kit to improve the efficiency of his family’s dairy farm in…

Practical advice

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CULTIVATORS

Tips for picking the best cultivator wearing metal

Replacing cultivator legs, wings and points can be a depressingly regular and ruinously expensive pastime for those working in the nation’s most abrasive soils. But instead of hunting around for…

FARM MAINTENANCE

How to fix farm tracks with an adapted road grader

Bouncing along potholed farm tracks is an unpleasant business, putting unnecessary strain on tractors, implements and their operators.  But with input costs through the roof and margins tight, shelling out…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Guide to ensuring electric fences are stockproof

Checking electric fence systems for faults should be a priority ahead of spring turnout to make paddocks and fields secure. From testing the flow of electricity to locating where overgrown…

MACHINERY MAINTENANCE

How to get the best from a McConnel hedgecutter

Since the launch of its first Power Arm trimmer in the early 1950s, McConnel has been a dominant force in the world of flail hedgecutting. From a starting point of…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Top tips for upping the quality of workshop projects

Every year, the Farm Inventions Competition unearths a horde of impressive workshop builds that provide ingenious answers to some of agriculture’s recurring conundrums. Traditionally, farmers and contractors have sketched out…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Railway fencing safety: What livestock farmers need to know

Figures produced by Network Rail in 2019 show that incidents involved more than 800 animals through the year. Of these, about 80 were struck by trains. The downtime caused by…

Machinery maintenance

MACHINERY MAINTENANCE

Kubota unveils 210hp five-litre engine

Kubota has managed to squeeze 210hp from its biggest four-cylinder engine to date, the V5009. The Japanese maker hopes its relatively compact 5.018-litre turbo-diesel will offer an appealing alternative to…

TRACTORS

Valtra tractors: Common problems and how to fix them

When Valtra joined the Agco stable in the early 2000s, it brought with it dependable Sisu engines that have since been given the parent company’s branding. They are still solid…

TRACTORS

Claas tractors: Common problems and how to fix them

Amassing a sales tally of roughly 600 tractors a year at the last count makes Claas the eighth most popular tractor brand in the UK, just behind Valtra. And of…

TRACTORS

Fendt tractors: Common problems and how to fix them

It might be the premium brand of choice for large-scale farms and contracting businesses, but just like any other maker, Fendt’s tractors can suffer the odd mechanical gremlin. Engine problems…

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Workshop skills

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…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2024: Neat ideas for livestock farms

From crafty modifications to high-tech implements and self-propelled machines, this year’s Farmers Weekly Farm Inventions Competition had it all. We round up the best of the entries for livestock farmers.…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2024: Andrew Metson’s Vaderstad Carrier

By treating his 24-year-old 5m Vaderstad Carrier to a series of upgrades, Andrew Metson has created a multi-use cultivator that can double up as a cover crop drill. In its…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2024: Martin Buck's 'Slabmaster' bandsaw

Keen to make the most of fallen trees on his hill farm near Crickhowell, Powys, Martin Buck built his own “Slabmaster” track bandsaw to turn them into useful timber. A…

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Video

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MACHINERY

Video:Getting the best from a Master mobile dryer

The mobile grain dryer is clearly now a viable alternative to a fixed dryer – their capacities and drying outputs have increased over the years so that there are models…

MACHINERY

Video: Farm torches on test

Torch technology has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years. Emily Padfield and David Cousins gathered 15 torches on a snowy February evening in Warwickshire to…

MACHINERY

Video: 15 tools we wouldn't be without - part 3

Intro 12-240-Volt inverter Hole-saws Bearing fitting kit Auto-ranging multimeter We’ve been asking a few of our machinery-minded contributors to nominate their favourite get-out-of-a-fix bits of workshop kit. In part one,…

MACHINERY

Video: Fitting tractor air brakes

Fitting air to your tractor How does the system work? Optional extras Plumbing up a trailer with air-brakes might be almost as simple as tying your laces, but it’s a…

Insights

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MACHINERY MAINTENANCE

Keenan mixer wagon renovator offers repair tips

The daily chore of chomping through tonnes of abrasive feedstuffs mean a mixer wagon’s innards only have a limited lifespan. Added to that, the tight environments in which they work…

FARM MAINTENANCE

Mobile diesel tank options and prices for farm machinery

Options for getting fuel to thirsty machinery out in the field range from purpose-built trailed bowsers to a tank in the back of a pickup, strapped on to a flatbed…

TOOLS

Latest tools and workwear for the farm workshop

However well stocked a farm workshop becomes, there’s always space for a couple more tools. We look at some of the latest goodies on offer. See also: Video: On test –…