Know How / Farm maintenance Must reads How to fix farm tracks with an adapted road grader Guide to ensuring electric fences are stockproof What to look for when buying and fitting a tractor dashcam How to build your own tractor autosteer system for £700 Case studiesSee all 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… FARM MAINTENANCEStaffs contractor rates Shelbourne's 'head memory' hedgecutterCrafting 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 applicatorUpsizing 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… Practical adviceSee all 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… GRASSLAND MANAGEMENTGuide to ensuring electric fences are stockproofChecking 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 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… MACHINERY7 common agricultural engine remapping questions answeredMore farmers are choosing sophisticated agricultural engine remapping technology to increase power, torque and work efficiencies from their tractors, combines and farm machinery. Avon Tuning HD has been offering professional… MACHINERY MAINTENANCERetrofit options for managing and securing diesel tanksControlled access, consumption records, fill-level alerts and protection against theft and contamination are all available to help farm businesses manage their fuel supplies this harvest. Farmers Weekly have rounded up… More articles Workshop skills WORKSHOP SKILLSFW Inventions Comp opens for entries with £2.5k prize potIt’s time for another season of Farmers Weekly’s long-running Farm Inventions Competition. With a back catalogue containing thousands of ingenious ideas, there’s nowhere better to read about workshop builds that have saved… WORKSHOP SKILLSWorkshop Legend: We visit master tractor fixer Martin PercyBased on a farm close to Blandford Forum, Dorset Tractors’ Martin Percy has built a reputation for repairing and restoring machinery of all shapes, sizes and shades for customers across… 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… CEREAL DRILLSFarmer combines Karat and Solitair for one-pass bean drillIt’s a Lemken drill, but not as you know it. The perfectly colour-matched Kinair, named after Craig and Claire Grant’s Kindrought Farm and the Solitair seeder on which it is… More articles VideoSee all WORKSHOP SKILLSConversion turns Discovery into off-road milk floatCharles Kinston’s off-road milk float took third place in the simple category of the Farmers Weekly Inventions Competition. Mr Kinston, a dairy farmer from Burton on Trent, is doing his… MACHINERYVideo:Getting the best from a Master mobile dryerThe 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… 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… 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 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… MACHINERY MAINTENANCERetrofit options for managing and securing diesel tanksControlled access, consumption records, fill-level alerts and protection against theft and contamination are all available to help farm businesses manage their fuel supplies this harvest. Farmers Weekly have rounded up… MACHINERY MAINTENANCEKeenan mixer wagon renovator offers repair tipsThe 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…
