Grass farmers and contractors that like the look of Pottinger’s big 7000- and 8000-series forage wagons, but can’t justify their size or cost, now have a smaller range of 5000s to consider.

There are six “compact” twin-axle models in all, ranging in capacity from 32 to 54cu m.

The standard configuration includes a 1.89m, six-bar pick-up, though this can be upgraded to the Profi version that adds an extra tine bar and a further 46cm of working width.

See also: Driver’s view – Lely Tigo 50R Profi forage wagon

Both floating assemblies run on steel cam tracks, with the tines set at a slight trailing angle to avoid them digging into the ground and disturbing the sward.

Material collected by these is fed into an 800mm-diameter, 1.58m-wide loading rotor, which then stuffs it through the 45-blade Powercut chopper.

This delivers a theoretical chop length of 34mm, and can be had with an electro-hydraulically driven Autocut knife-sharpening kit.

The forage box features a moveable headboard as standard, which Pottinger reckons has increased capacity by 4.3cu m compared with a rigid-fronted version of the same length.

This automatically compacts the crop during loading.

Options include two or three discharge beaters to loosen material and unload it evenly, and a dry forage setup that adds a top cover to prevent lighter material such as hay and straw spilling over the sides as the box fills.