Farmers at the Royal Welsh Show who braved exceptional heat to tour the machinery stands were presented with new ideas and options to help mechanise farm operations. 

We take a look at some of the highlights.

See also: What’s in Your Shed? visits a Carmarthenshire contractor

Davies mixer-feeder

Young engineer Stephen Davies presented his loader-mounted mixer-feeder for preparing and dispensing small batches of silage-based rations.

He reckons the device, which holds about 1cu m, would be handy for dairy units wanting to put a fully mixed ration in front of youngstock without resorting to the farm’s full-size mixer.

It could also suit a growing number of sheep farmers feeding rations who could not justify buying a diet feeder to regulate silage intake.

“My background is in loader sales and installation, and it struck me that the existing solutions are unnecessarily complicated and very expensive,” he says.

“Having spent a lot of time thinking this through, I left my job at MX loaders in January this year to pursue the idea.”

Mr Davies learned how to use computer design software, constructed the prototype himself and has set up Davies Technology at Llanymynech, Powys, to put the implement into production.

It operates like a shear-grab to load with silage, then other ingredients can be added before setting the mixing paddles in motion on the way to the feeding location.

Opening the grab section exposes an outlet, and reversing the rotor then dispenses the prepared ration to one side.

To keep things simple, the machine can be operated using just one double-acting auxiliary hydraulic service, with plunger valves and adjustable triggers automatically switching between grab and rotor functions, and rotor direction.

Up to 12 bolt-on paddles can be fitted to the rotor, arranged at opposing angles to get a good mixing action, and silage-slicing knives can be added to reduce the length of clamped or baled silage or straw.

The device is 2.2m wide, weighs just over a tonne and is expected to retail for about £12,000. A weighing system and a rear linkage-mounted variant are planned.

Extra load security for AW Trailers

With the spotlight increasingly falling on safe and secure transportation of bales, potato boxes, bulk fertiliser and seed bags on public roads, Hereford-based AW Trailers showed its take on mechanical load securing for the first time at the Royal Welsh.

“Tractor drivers are coming under much closer scrutiny with regard to trailer load stability,” says the firm’s Andrew Watkins.

“A solution such as our Ultima bale trailer with hydraulic wings not only secures the load, but does so a lot more easily and quickly than using numerous ratchet straps, with significant time saving, especially on longer trailers.”

The 16t, 28ft unit on show is priced at about £21,000 with hydraulic and air brakes, commercial axles with parabolic leaf spring suspension and 560/60 R22.5 flotation radials.

But the range starts at £12,000 for a 10t, 22ft version and goes to 36ft on tandem or tri-axle running gear.

“The wings are constructed using tubular steel top and bottom to resist twisting, and we have a telescopic option at about £2,000 that adds an extending third rail for taller loads,” Mr Watkins adds.

M4 Trailers offers quick-coupling hoses

A handy hydraulic hose quick-coupling device is a standard feature of another load-securing hauler making its Royal Welsh debut from M4 Trailers.

Phillip Rees, whose business is located at Foelgastell, near the end of the M4 motorway in Carmarthenshire, includes the over-centre coupling to save operators getting the four outflow and return hoses muddled.

“You still have to separately connect the lighting cable and hydraulic brake pipe, but all four hoses for the wings stay on the tractor and are connected to the trailer in a flash,” says Mr Rees.

Another refinement is the use of galvanised steel for the load-securing wings, as these get the most wear and tear, he points out.

The 23ft unit exhibited is a typical size for M4’s customers, and is priced at just under £17,000 with hydraulic and air brakes, and 560/45 R22.5 tyres. Flexible welding facilities mean any bespoke size can accommodated.

Commercial axles are recommended because of the load weight potential but lower-spec “standard” axles are also available.

Teagle joins forces with DCM

Having parted company with previous supplier Peeters Group and its Tulip fertiliser spreaders (formerly the Lely Centerliner), Teagle Machinery is forging a new partnership with Italian manufacturer DCM.

Teagle sales manager Paul Curnow says: “We wanted a more advanced spreader with up-to-date electronic control features, because that’s the sort of machine most farmers want now to ensure they can apply fertilisers as accurately and efficiently as possible.

“We’ve been very thorough in assessing DCM, its backup, the spreaders and the technology available, and have come away confident that we have a package that fits our philosophy of sound engineering and solid customer support.”

The M42 Iso 3700 on show typically works at 18-36m with adjustable vanes, but can be set-up for 24-45m working widths, and is available in capacities up to 4,000 litres.

The twin discs are pto-driven and brush “skirts” between the hopper outlet and discs are designed to maintain a consistent drop-on point as the spreader tilts and pitches over undulating ground.

Also part of the package – priced in this instance at £20,590 – are Isobus electronics and satellite guidance providing 16-segment section control and other precision farming applications.

“Machines assessed for us by Spreader Calibration Services [SCS] came out towards the top of the ‘excellent’ scale for coefficient of variation, across the spreading width,” says Mr Curnow.

“Teagle staff are being trained up on tray testing and, for the first couple of years, we plan to have SCS install the spreaders on farm to ensure customers get the best performance from day one.”

LM Bateman develops width-adjustable race

Livestock handling equipment specialist LM Bateman has come up with a width-adjustable race to stop smaller individuals turning and causing havoc when cattle are being run through a crush.

The side panels of the 2.4m-long V-Race are suspended from the top vertically in the standard position. But they can be unlocked and pushed from the bottom into one of four further positions to narrow the internal width.

The bolt-in central rail along each panel can be replaced by ratchets for a back-up bar, there are anti-jump rails overhead and, should an animal go down, one side of the race can be pulled outwards to release it.

One or more of the £3,500 units can be bolted into a handling system.

Automatic sheep drafting from Clipex

Australian manufacturer Clipex, best known for its metal fencing stakes, revealed the new Auto Sheep Drafter.

This uses two overhead optical sensors to detect a sheep entering the squeeze clamp; the first triggers closing the gate from the pre-catch section, and the second engages the adjustable squeeze clamp itself.

“The individual is then weighed and one of two drafting gates activated to direct the sheep straight ahead, or left or right according to the operator-programmed weight categories,” explains Clipex Europe sales manager Rosie Anglim.

“We use underfloor pneumatic actuators, which can be operated using a modest air compressor, and it’s fast, with a fully automatic capacity of up to 1,000 sheep an hour.”

The £12,500 static unit, which stands on manually adjustable jacks, joins the “Contractor” wheeled sheep handling and tilt table mobile unit and Clipex “low-rattle” cattle crush.

Avenger tractors debut

“Tough build at low prices” is how Matthew Davies and Michelle Ridley characterise the Avenger compact tractors they started importing from India late last year.

Built by Preet Tractors, the former Solis dealer MD Plant & Tractor Sales, based near Carmarthen, is currently bringing in the four-wheel-drive Avenger 20 and 26, with model numbers matching horsepower.

Both are propelled by three-cylinder Mitsubishi engines, with the Avenger 26 also available with a four-cylinder VST diesel based on a Mitsubishi design.

Both engines drive through a three-speed, high/low 6×2 transmission with synchro on second and third.

Rear linkage with top link draft control is rated at 1,000kg and there is a dedicated steering pump and oil supply.

“If you look at the back-end, it’s a beefier structure than you see on other tractors of this size, and the same goes for other components,” says Mr Davies.

“We’re very confident about supplying the Avenger 26 with a Cochet loader giving 550-600kg of lift, and we do this in a package for £9,995 that includes rear wheel weights, the first service and a service kit, and road registration.”

The Avenger 26 alone is priced at £7,995 and the Avenger 20 costs £6,995. Dealers are being appointed.

Weidemann displays 7m-reach telehandler

Best known for compact wheeled loaders, Weidemann has an expanding portfolio of telescopic handlers and showed its first 7m contender.

With a 4.2t lift capacity, this machine and its 3.5t sibling compete in one of the most hard-fought handler categories. They come with a choice of 122hp and 136hp engines and hydrostatic drive.

Despite being built in sister company Kramer’s factory, only the boom structure is shared.

The Weidemann T7042 and T7035 are powered by a 3.6-litre Perkins 904-series four-cylinder diesel mounted sideways in the chassis, with its compact emissions-control package and exhaust all contained beneath a cover shaped so the operator can see all four wheels.

Yet there is space for a large, vertically positioned radiator and fan, and good access to service points.

Weidemann’s PowerDrive 255 hydrostatic transmission offers different modes for full-power, revs-reducing Eco and separated engine and ground speed control.

A 138-litre/min gear pump motivates the hydraulics and the switchable vertical stacking system automatically extends and retracts the telescopic boom as it is raised and lowered so that the attachment follows an almost vertical lift path.

A windscreen that curves upwards from the dash to beyond the driver’s head gives a generous view forwards and upwards, while the rear three-quarters view is helped by the absence of thick rear pillars, which are positioned roughly in line with the operator’s shoulders.