Know How / Farm maintenance Must reads 20-year-old John Deere telehandler gets perfect £20k refurb Guide to ensuring electric fences are stockproof Why farmers are installing ultra accurate CNC plasma cutters John Deere makes it easier for owners to repair tractors Case studiesSee all WORKSHOP SKILLSMade in Britain: Two UK ag engineering firms on the riseBehind many big-name machinery brands is the story of a fledgling engineering firm starting out from scratch. We meet two entrepreneurs with outfits on their way up. See also: High-end bespoke… CEREAL DRILLSYorkshire farmer assembles a pair of tine drills for £10kRecent autumn drilling campaigns have been a real slog for crop producers, with periods of extreme weather limiting work windows and leading to poor establishment. And that's all the more… FARM MAINTENANCEBorders farmer takes drainage in-house with DIY tile ploughChain trenchers, drain jetters and mole ploughs are quickly becoming the must-have accessories for arable farms contending with unrelenting rainfall events. But several UK growers intent on keeping their drainage… WORKSHOP SKILLSLincs grower’s bespoke harvester lifts 70k pumpkins a dayEach autumn, millions of pumpkins are plucked from their fields, carved into ghoulish lanterns and displayed with tealights flickering at their core. The process of getting these orange gourds from… FARM MAINTENANCEWhy Cambs farm invested in its own tractor-mounted trencherWhen a portion of their land began identifying more as lake than field during winter months, Stephen and Richard Mead were forced to invest in some drainage. Quotes were sourced… WORKSHOP SKILLSHow a Wiltshire-based mechanic built his own hedgecutterLuke 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… Practical adviceSee all FARM MAINTENANCEHow to build a quality machinery shed on a sensible budgetAs a general rule, farm machinery sits last in the pecking order when it comes to bagging precious shed space. And when it does get a roof over its head,… MACHINERY MAINTENANCE20-year-old John Deere telehandler gets perfect £20k refurbIt’s boom time for noughties farm machinery, with demand surging for mechanically sound workhorses devoid of the electronic and emissions-related aggravations of their successors. While John Deere, Case IH and… FARM MAINTENANCEWhat to look for when buying a farmyard CCTV systemAs the nights grow longer, darker and danker, so does the window of opportunity for unscrupulous ne’er-do-wells to pilfer from farmyards. Sadly, there’s no single answer to keeping undesirables out,… MACHINERY MAINTENANCELatest technology for putting out harvest machinery firesIt’s hard to imagine given the sogginess of the past 12 months, but there’s always a chance we could be in for a tinder-dry harvest, à la 2022. That year,… CULTIVATORSTips for picking the best cultivator wearing metalReplacing 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 MAINTENANCEHow to fix farm tracks with an adapted road graderBouncing 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… Machinery maintenance MACHINERY MAINTENANCEKubota, KV and Vicon to sell genuine parts through TerrakoOnline genuine parts purchasing is being rolled out for Kubota tractors and Kubota, Kverneland and Vicon implements in the Terrako marketplace, where registered users are shown stock availability across a… MACHINERY MAINTENANCEJohn Deere makes it easier for owners to repair tractorsAdditional resources making it easier for owners and independent workshops to carry out maintenance and repairs on John Deere equipment are being made available. The move largely expands repair options… MACHINERY MAINTENANCE20-year-old John Deere telehandler gets perfect £20k refurbIt’s boom time for noughties farm machinery, with demand surging for mechanically sound workhorses devoid of the electronic and emissions-related aggravations of their successors. While John Deere, Case IH and… MACHINERY MAINTENANCEAgricast and Kuhn develop longer-lasting metal optionsSpare parts specialist Agricast has launched a new low-disturbance grassland point, reckoned to be its strongest ever. The GLX Ultra is a tougher version of the standard GLX, which quickly… More articles Workshop skills WORKSHOP SKILLSHoward muckspreader transformed into bespoke glamping podYorkshire joiner Steven Nolan has transformed an old Howard muckspreader into a high-spec glamping pod, adding a trove of luxuries to one of agriculture’s crudest machines. His four-year, £10,000 project… FORAGE WAGONSTractor-mounted pick-up slashes forage wagon chop lengthPick-ups from a pair of fire-ravaged Kuhn balers have been given a new lease of life by Willie Dean of Clockeasy Contracting, as a means of shortening the chop length… WORKSHOP SKILLSDairy farmer converts bin lorry to dish out dairy rationsHaving spent his formative years driving HGVs, Niall Turley doesn’t always turn to tractors for powering implements on his family’s dairy farm near Camlough, County Armagh. So much so that… WORKSHOP SKILLSWorkshop Legends: Warwickshire College lecturer Tym MorganThousands of students, and many readers, will have learned how to operate, maintain and repair agricultural machinery – or come to appreciate their mechanical limitations – under the tutelage of… More articles VideoSee all MACHINERYVideo: Farm torches on testTorch 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… MACHINERY15 tools we wouldn't be without: Part oneIntro Inverter Welder Coolant Tester Bead breaker LED lamp Magnetic tray Like a favourite pair of slippers, most people have a few firm favourites on their tool rack (or kicking… WORKSHOP SKILLSVideo: On test – 20 workshop tools recommended by farmersOff the back of the low-cost tool, gadget and knickknack review we carried out last year, scores of readers got in touch with nifty suggestions of their own. Oliver Mark… MACHINERYVideo: 15 tools we wouldn't be without - part 2Intro Clever spanner Ratchet wrench Retrieval tool Nifty water pipe tools 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… InsightsSee all TOOLSWhy farmers are installing ultra accurate CNC plasma cuttersA growing number of farmers are opting to tool up with engineering-grade workshop equipment to produce their own machinery parts. And when it comes to carving out perfect sheet metal… TOOLSHandy tools and equipment to ease farm fencing jobsA rich bounty of tools and equipment awaits those keen to ease the process of erecting agricultural fencing. Here are some of the options. See also: How to make fence posts… MACHINERYMajor trimming hedges and fuel costsYou could say that when it comes to hedge-cutting, Michael Tomlinson is a bit of a perfectionist. He’s been doing it since 1982 and serves a wide range of agricultural…
