Last year at the National Farm Machinery Show, marketing campaigns coupled every facet of agriculture with “precision” – precision planting, precision tillage, precision application and precision anything-else-you-care-to-name. The agricultural industry was gripped and entranced with technology.
If I had one word to sum up the 2015 National Farm Machinery Show, I would use “speed.” Marketers used “speed” in nearly every piece of equipment literature. And who doesn’t want to go faster in the field to beat the weather? To accomplish more? To increase efficiency and save time? You do. So hang onto your hats; we’ll give you a speedy rundown of new, newly introduced or other interesting products we found throughout the show.
Kuhn SLC-126 ProTwin Slinger
(608) 897-2561
One of the problems with a rear-discharge spreader is that the manure has to be fairly solid for even discharge. With the SLC-126 ProTwin Slinger, the side-discharge feature makes it easier to spread more fluid slurry. This design eliminates the chain and chain case in the rear, leaving only a cover to protect the bearings. The SLC-126 has a capacity of 2,600 gallons.
Remlinger DC RollerHarrow Cart
jremlinger@remlingermfg.com
The double- and single-roller harrow cart offers options and combinations to handle a variety of applications. Anything with a rear hitch can pull it – by itself, behind spring tools or fall tools. Harrow options include angled spike teeth, spring tine harrow or straight spike teeth. Available in 12-foot, 14-foot or 16-foot base sizes, it comes with telescoping front hitch and can be painted red or green to match your tractor.
Krone ECR 280 Disc Mower
info.ldm@krone.de
Krone took their disc mower line one step further with a mower that can store in an upright position for compact storage in confined spaces. This rear-mounted 9-foot mower features cantilever guards to ensure smooth crop flow. And here’s a bonus – frictional driveline without belts. It’s a win-win.
Great Plains Short Disk
Barry Weiss (785) 823-3276
Hydraulically adjusting rollers from the tractor cab can increase or decrease consolidation pressure to firm the soil with the Great Plains Short Disk. The disk uses the European maneuverability of parallel gangs to provide consistent high-speed tillage on rugged North American terrain. Unlike other parallel gang machines, the Short Disc’s blades split center, throwing out from the front and in from the back to prevent “dog tracking.”
JCB TM220 ArticulatedTelescopic Handler
Jennifer Stiansen
Off-road, the new JCB articulated telescopic handler option of a 100 percent locking differential adds to the TM220 traction potential. More muscle in this handler provides 4,410 pounds maximum lift to a height of 15 feet 1 inch. When fully out-stretched to off-load a trailer or place silage in a feeder, maximum capacity is 2,535 pounds.
Schulte SMR-800Multi-rake windrower
Gary Ball
Kids left home? No one left to pick rock anymore? Designed to be pulled behind a skid steer, this tool has rototilling action that breaks lumps, roots and other debris while reclaiming rocks and laying them in uniform rows. It can be solid-mounted or hydraulic-lifted on forklift-grade tires for maneuvering.
Fliegl Gigant ASW 3101
Johann Fliegl
Germany-based Fliegl introduced the Gigant ASW 3101 silage bed with a holding capacity of 2,119 cubic feet. Having recently purchased a plant in Indiana, the company will be assembling the silage boxes in the U.S. Fliegl uses a “push-off” technology, as opposed to tipping, with a walking floor or bottom-chain system.
Because no tipping is needed, delivery can be made inside buildings with low rooflines for a variety of commodities. The load can be pushed off in 45 seconds. A range of attachments for compost spreaders and grain augers can be fitted to the rear to increase versatility.
WestendorfDual Changer Max
Todd Winkowitsch
Couldn’t pass this one up. Nobody likes changing tires, especially duals, so anything to make that job easier is worth a look. The Dual Changer Max is a loader attachment that picks up your dual, moves it into position for mounting and aligns the rim. What normally takes an hour’s worth of work can now be done in five minutes. Your back could use the break … great Father’s Day idea.
MDS Intimidator
(800) 658-4703
This is a 4-cubic-foot bucket with grapple. The name says it all. It’s the stuff nightmares are made out of … where “the thing” is chasing you with clamping claws and you’re about to be swallowed – except now you can be the claw.
Your trees, boulders, brush and other obstructions will be having nightmares instead. With a multi-coupler option for easy hydraulic disconnect and quick removal of the grapple with parking stand, the Intimidator makes land cleanup fun. Bring it on!
Aerway Titan CTS
Kristoffer Wright
Greek mythology held Titans as second-tier-deity giants with incredible strength. Aptly named is the Aerway Titan CTS with its 20-inch aggressive coulters with three working angles. The coulters are preceded by vertical-lift tines that fracture and vent soils 8 inches deep on 7.5-inch centers.
The coulters are followed by double-row 14-inch harrow baskets to break up lumps and firm the soil. Separate swing-arm adjustments for the tines and coulters let the user choose the degree of compaction relief, cultivation and residue sizing and incorporation.
Fransgard TI-Combi Rake
Allen Tardif
Not a new product but new to the U.S., the Danish company Fransgard offers the TI-Combi rakes. This double-tine rake can be set to spread-rake (ted for the smaller models), center-rake, side-rake or double-rake. The rakes treat the forage gently and produces a light fluffy swath. Four models require a range of 40- to 80-hp tractors.
Bush Hog Razorback BH4
Tony Marchese
It’s back! Razorback 4-foot, 5-foot and 6-foot single-spindle cutters are reintroduced to the market. This is the weed whacker on steroids. It’s designed to cut grasses, weeds and small brush for smaller acreages and tight places. The 4-foot deck model requires a 15-hp rating, and the 6-foot deck requires a 25 PTO horsepower tractor to operate.
Yetter Strip Freshener
Derek Allensworth
It’s wake-up coffee for the soil. Combining no-till with strip-till, the Yetter Strip Freshener “wakes up” your soil by mixing a strip of soil profile 2 to 3 inches deep. This allows the planting zone to warm up more quickly, so planting (a few days later in the same strip) can get under way sooner. With a universal mounting bracket, the Strip Freshener can fit a variety of toolbar sizes, as well as an optional front bracket for mounting to existing residue managers or coulter setups.
Bestway Pro-Mount 360
Dave Benson
Not everybody wants to carry an ocean around the field with them in a spray applicator. Bestway makes spray application manageable with a 300-gallon tank-mounted applicator with 60-foot boom. The mount design keeps sprayer weight close to the tractor for improved lift and balance. A tractor-mounted design means no additional wheel tracks in the field.
Case IH 150 tractor
David Bogan
Longer wheelbase and two more cylinders – that’s what Case IH is offering with the 150 model tractor. Longer wheelbase means greater stability, but the new model has the same turning circle as a four-cylinder model. The new-style cab roof is also fitted with eight LED lights, and the rear hydraulic remotes have been relocated for greater accessibility (thank heavens).
Auto guidance installed at the factory is available on these models. But the really exciting thing is these units now come “loader-ready” with loader hydraulics installed at the plant to operate a front-end loader. First delivery of the new units will be late spring or early summer.
McCormick X7 Series tractors
Taylor Grout
This is your new field office. McCormick has jumped into the high-horsepower tractor market with a variety of engines and chassis, including the X7 Series tractors, which range from 143 to 212 hp. I swear they make tractor cabs more comfortable than my living room recliner these days.
The auto-power transmission assures the right speed for every application. A single-thumb button on the multi-function controller allows the operator to control auto-power shift, differential lock, four-wheel-drive and de-clutch. That’s right – with only one thumb.
Blu-Jet ISOBUS System
Laci Fitch
The liquid fertilizer system isn’t new, but what is new is the ISOBUS system, and it’s an add-on with quick installation. Using your existing OEM display, it provides section control and prescription control from the cab. It is compatible with the following systems: Mueller Touch800, John Deere 2630, Case IH Pro700, New Holland Intelliview IV and AgLeader.
Kuhn RW 1610 Bale Wrapper
(608) 897-2131
Round bale haylage has become increasingly popular, and to meet the demand Kuhn introduces the RW 1610 (manual- or computer-control) to wrap 4x3, 4x4 and 4x5 round bales. The e-Twin model applies two layers of film at once to wrap bales in half the time of traditional models.
Haybuster CMF-710
info@duratechindustries.net
Forty years of experience goes into Haybuster products, and newest on the market is the CMF (cutter-mixer-feeder) model 710, with a capacity of 710 cubic feet. Twin 88-inch augers with serrated blades cut and mix the TMR with a side-delivery system (right or left) that discharges feed to the bunk. PTO horsepower requirement is 125-hp minimum. It also features a Digi-Star 4-point scale with monitor.
Claas Xerion 5000
(402) 861-1000
One producer I talked to, after viewing all of the new equipment at the show, said, “My tractor can’t pull most of the equipment in this show.” Well, here’s the answer. There isn’t anything this Xerion 5000 tractor can’t pull with permanent four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.
It’s a beast – a beast with 517 hp. (I guess we could count that as several beasts.) Top speed 31 mph. Whether cultivating, drilling, mowing, silage packing or harvesting, this machine can handle it. PD
Lynn Jaynes
Editor
Progressive Dairyman
