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MACHINERY

Cereals 2024: Horsch rejigs Avatar no-till disc drill

It’s almost as though drill makers had to have a mounted toolbar model in their line-up in order to get a stand at this year’s Cereals event. One of the…

MACHINERY

Burke Trophy up for grabs in Normac innovation competition

The prestigious Burke Trophy for machinery innovation will be up for grabs at this month’s Royal Norfolk Show. A clutch of mainstream manufacturers will be competing for the prize, which…

MACHINERY

Cereals 2024: Case IH Axial Flow offers greater automation

Cereals 2024 was one of the first opportunities to catch a glimpse of Case IH’s latest single-rotor 260-series Axial Flow combines. Mechanically, these are near identical to current 250 series…

MACHINERY

Cereals 2024: Latest NH CR10 twin-rotor combine packs 635hp

Hot on the heels of its flagship twin-rotor CR11 combine launch, New Holland has introduced a lower-powered CR10. Specs are almost identical to that of its bigger sibling, apart from…

MACHINERY

Cereals 24: Boss Box toolbox offers 3.5t of ballast

Front weight toolboxes don’t come much bigger or heavier than the new Boss Box from GT Agricultural Engineering. Empty, the hulking unit tips the scales at 1t and the addition…

MACHINERY

Cereals 24: Smartlift adapts combi-drill to one-pass seeding

Spotting a gap in the market for a simple, lower cost toolbar, Yorkshire firm Smartbox introduced the Smartlift. It’s primarily designed to mount in front of a combination drill to…

MACHINERY

Cereals 2024: Revamped John Deere 6M 185 gets 200hp plus

Buyers hankering after a lightweight 200hp John Deere that isn’t festooned with layers of complex technology have a new toy to consider – the 6M 185. Wheeled out for a…

contractors combining

NAAC contractor price guide 2024-25

See the latest NAAC latest survey of contracting prices.

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MACHINERY

Top accolade for Oxfordshire-based sprayer operator

Oxfordshire-based Gordon Whittingham has been named winner of this year’s Syngenta Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year in recognition of his technological excellence and willingness to share his knowledge. Mr…

ROOT CROP EQUIPMENT

New potato facility reduces costs and allows longer storage

After a store-ravaging fire destroyed his older buildings and boxes in 2016, specialist potato producer Philip Smith invested in a new super-efficient facility that is cheaper to run and maintains…

GRASSLAND AND MAIZE EQUIPMENT

Pottinger harvest app offers route maps for silage carts

Troubled by seasonal silage workers getting lost on long draws between field and clamp? Pottinger’s Harvest Assist app now has the solution, with navigation both to a field and back…

MACHINERY MAINTENANCE

Latest technology for putting out harvest machinery fires

It’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,…

TRACTORS

Nokian unveils high-performance Soil King VF tractor tyres

Convincing DLG test results for traction, output and fuel consumption underpin performance claims for a new range of tractor tyres from Nokian. The Soil King VF design marks the Finnish…

BALERS AND WRAPPERS

Harvest Tec parts company with UK distributor PFC Agri

Harvest Tec, the US manufacturer of forage preservatives, moisture sensors and application systems, and its distributor PFC Agri Solutions, have parted company. A dedicated support team for the UK is…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits Massey-mad YouTuber Tom Lamb

Farmer, digger fleet owner and budding YouTuber Tom Lamb gives us the lowdown on his business. See also: Owner rates Massey Ferguson 8S.265 tractor with Dyna E-Power transmission Farm facts A…

MACHINERY

Boumatic launches autonomous BVS Robot slurry scraper

Milking kit maker Boumatic has unveiled a new autonomous scraper that trundles through shed passages sucking up slurry. The BVS Robot has plenty in common with the recently updated Discovery…

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What's in Your Shed?

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WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits Massey-mad YouTuber Tom Lamb

Farmer, digger fleet owner and budding YouTuber Tom Lamb gives us the lowdown on his business. See also: Owner rates Massey Ferguson 8S.265 tractor with Dyna E-Power transmission Farm facts A…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What’s in Your Shed? visits a Cumbrian farming family

Tractor paint colour matters little to Cumbrian farmers and contractors Vaughan, Karl and Ryan Hodgson, who run a mixed fleet of Fendts, JCBs and John Deeres. See also: Direct drills revisited:…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? Dorset contractor Will Box reveals all

This time What's in your Shed heads over to Dorset to visit contractor Will Box. We hear how he built up his business and customer base and why hiring in…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Yorkshire arable farm

Lifting the lid on their machinery shed high and lows are Yorkshire arable farmers Michael and Will Scholey. See also: How to adapt cut-price cultivators for low-disturbance system How brand loyal…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits FW 2023 Contractor of the Year

Kevin Heywood, Farmers Weekly’s 2023 Contractor of the Year, reveals the best and worst decisions he’s made in assembling a distinctly green machinery fleet.  We head over to Cornwall to…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

What's in Your Shed? visits a Cornish livestock farmer

Martin Harris, a 24-year-old Cornish livestock farmer, fencing contractor and sheep shearer, is the latest to open his shed doors. How did you get started? I went to Duchy College…

contractors combining

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4X4S

On test: Toyota's super-frugal Rav4 plug-in hybrid

Toyota reckons its latest Rav4 plug-in hybrid can return an impressively frugal 282mpg. James Andrews finds out if it delivers in the real world Comfortable, capable and practical they might…

SPRAYERS

First impressions: McConnel's bigger and heavier Agribuggy

At what point is a small, lightweight self-propelled sprayer no longer small or lightweight? The McConnel Agribuggy has defined this relatively niche segment since its inception in the early 1980s…

4X4S

On test: Ineos Automotive's debut 247hp Quartermaster pickup

Ineos has built what could be the toughest mainstream pickup on the market, but simple, solid engineering comes at a cost. With its snorting straight-six diesel, creamy eight-speed gearbox, and…

4X4S

On test: Bog-basic Isuzu D-Max Utility isn't cheap enough

If you’re the type of penny-pincher to wear hole-ridden pants, conjure two brews from a single teabag, and keep your house thermostat sub-double digits then, as new vehicles go, Isuzu’s…

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TRACTORS

Driver's view: Why Norfolk grower runs trio of Deutz 7250s

Deutz-Fahr tractors are now the go-to prime movers for Norfolk-based potato grower Ian Mason Farms, primarily because of their keen up-front costs and driver-friendly controls. The business runs four of…

201-300HP

Driver's view: Leics farm rates McCormick's 240hp X7.624

Shifting fewer than 100 tractors a year at the last count makes McCormick one of the lowest volume tractor brands selling in the UK. But what the Italian marque lacks…

TRACTORS

Driver’s view: McCormick X6.413 P6-Drive

Fitted with a 4.5-litre FPT engine and an in-house six-speed semi-powershift transmission, the X6.4 is McCormick’s premium offering in the four-cylinder sector. This means buyers have access to a host…

TRACTORS

Driver's view: Case IH Maxxum 125 ActiveDrive 4

A recent reordering of Case IH’s smaller tractor ranges has resulted in a slimming down of the popular Maxxum series to a trio of models. But with three transmission options…

Contractor Comment

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CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Lots of plans but not enough staff

The final members of our 2024 Contractor Comment cohort are Suffolk-based Derek and Linda Keeble. See also: Contractor Comment: Infuriating weather sees new kit sit idle About the contractor Straw is…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Infuriating weather sees new kit idle

Third in this year's Contractor Comment hotseat is James Townley, who runs JD Townley & Son with his father Roy. See also: Contractor Comment: Interest rates a threat for Cropmech About…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Interest rates a threat for Cropmech

For this year’s Contractor Comment it’s all change, as we visit a fresh batch of four contracting firms located in different regions of the UK. Second up is our new…

CONTRACTOR COMMENT

Contractor Comment: Beet lifting headaches in the Borders

Our second season of Contractor Comment kicks off with the first of four new contributors – Daniel Freeland-Cook of Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. See also: High kit prices and…

Video

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WEED MANAGEMENT

Video: Leicester farm trials weed seed unit on Fendt combine

Europe’s first Redekop seed control unit (SCU) fitted to a Fendt Ideal 10T combine, aimed at controlling weed seeds, is being put to the test this harvest in Leicestershire at…

FORAGE WAGONS

Video: Lely revolutionises zero grazing with autonomous Exos

Dutch firm Lely has put the finishing touches to its self-propelled grass harvester and feeder, which is set to go on sale in the Netherlands next year. The battery powered…

WHATS IN YOUR SHED

WIYS: Contractor ditches new kit for retro fleet

Mark Bowran, 2003 winner of Farmers Weekly’s Tractor Driver of the Year competition, opens the doors of his MBC Services contracting business. Machinery editor, Oliver Mark asks the questions and…

TECHNOLOGY

Video: Retrofit Mojow tractor kit automates arable fieldwork

Mojow may have found the holy grail of fieldwork autonomy by devising a means of controlling tractors of any sensible vintage with state-of-the-art driverless technology. Better still, the Canadian firm’s…

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