As the UK’s leading ag equipment showcase, LAMMA ’19 had plenty of interesting gear on offer. Nick Fone rounds up a few of the more unusual items.
Meir sub-soiler
It may sound like a new name on the sub-soiler scene but this Meir Agri 8-legger is actually built and sold by the Dale Drill crew.
Farmers themselves, they recognise that even under a no-till regime sometimes there’s a benefit to loosening what lies underneath, particularly following a wet harvest.
There’s been quite a bit of careful thought put into the design of the points – they’re set further forward than normal to break a channel through the soil before the shallow pitched wings provides a little lift without generating too much surface heave.
With a 500mm leg spacing the 4m version needs a minimum of 200hp up front and starts at £16,000 ($NZ 30,500).
McConnel Robocut
Further extending its range of remote-controlled mowers, McConnel had two new Robocut models on display on its stand. The smaller – the RC28 – has a twin rotor deck straddled by rubber tracks. Rather than hydrostatic drives, these are powered by electric motors as is the deck height control. This arrangement means that the machine can work in either direction travelling across steep slopes without needing to turn at each end. Power is provided by a 25hp Vanguard petrol engine which has a direct mechanical drive to the rotors and an oversize alternator to provide the electrical power. The larger model uses either a 56hp or 75hp Hatz diesel engine and an out-front flail to deal with vegetation. As an option it can be fitted with Trimble GPS guidance that includes an auto-turn feature and in the future may well incorporate load-dependent speed control. Prices for the bigger model start from £51,000 ($NZ 297,500) and the smaller £25,500 ($NZ 49,000).
Busa inter-row weeder
Following the introduction of laws in Holland stipulating that all maize stubbles must have a cover-crop established by 1 October, Dutch firm Landkracht has teamed up with Hungarian manufacturer Busa to develop a novel inter-row weeder that is also capable of sowing grass between the rows of established maize. Being mounted on a horizontal axis, the pairs of star-wheel rotors are claimed to be virtually blockage-immune no matter what how wet the soil or how heavy the weed burden. Mounted on parallelogram linkages with rubber press wheels, each unit can contour independently and the aggressiveness of each is adjusted simply by altering the rotor pitch. Six, eight and ten row versions are available with prices starting at £16,000 ($NZ 30,500).
Lozova tillage equipment
Ukrainian cultivation kit manufacturer Lozova made its UK debut at LAMMA. The company makes a full range of tillage tackle and is keen to establish a dealer network across western Europe, especially on the UK of the North Sea. It particularly expects interest from UK buyers in its shallow-working disc harrows (think Vaddy Carrier/Amazone Catros equivalent). As a rough comparison a 6m version will come in at around the £17-£18,000-mark ($NZ 32,500-35,500).
Hans Habbig tree-shear
The imaginatively-titled Hans Habbig Schnitt Griffy tree shear line-up is being brought into the UK by Retford-based Aquatic Control Engineering. There is a range of sizes of these excavator-mounted feller-bunchers to suit machines of different sizes, the two on show at LAMMA being able to handle trees of up to 230mm and 320mm diameter respectively. In work, one set of jaws grabs hold of the trunk while a second cuts its way through the timber. Prices range from £9000 to £12,000 ($NZ 17,000-23,000) with a rotator option adding a further £2000-£3000 ($NZ 3500-5500).
Robustrack concrete mixer
Being imported from Italy by Robustrack, the CGA range of concrete mixing buckets can be mounted on a digger or loader. Unlike pan-type mixers, they can be driven into the heap of sand then tipped back for cement dust and water to be added. A hydraulically driven auger does the mixing and once it’s done, a hydraulic slide door in the base is opened and the mix can be spewed out down a 100mm hose to deliver it to where it’s required. Sizes range from 100-litres to 2000-litres and prices start from £2800 ($NZ 5350).
Dezwaef tanker
This monster 22cu.m tanker from Dezwaef is fully loaded with all the toys. The Belgian-built rig runs on 800 x 32 tyres with forced steering on the rear pair. Axle air suspension is standard and there’s hydraulic drawbar damping. The loading and discharge set-up is unusual in employing a vacuum pump with a turbine pump on the outlet to maximise flow rates to the dribble bar or trailing shoe. The ‘elephant trunk’ loading arm is equipped with a turbo filler and will easily reach over a hedge or down over a wide lagoon bank. At the rear there’s a four point linkage and brackets for dribble-bars up to 24m. There’s also a clever rate controller that will shut down flow rates according to forward speeds. All this clever tech comes at a cost though – kitted out with an 8m trailing shoe and macerator the big rig comes in just shy of £90,000 ($NZ 172,000).
Ventrac bank mower
If you’ve got steep banks to deal with then the Ohio-built Ventrac might well be the machine for you. Capable of running across slopes of up to 30 degrees, it has a 25hp Kubota diesel engine driving a hydrostatic transmission. A choice of decks can be mounted up front, drive coming direct off the crank via a belt and electronic clutch arrangement. With a finishing mower type deck it costs £35,000 ($NZ 67,000).
Armatrac
Turkish tractor maker Armatrac chose to launch its new 125hp flagship at LAMMA. The 1254 uses a Deutz four-cylinder motor to provide the power, driving a ZF 16F x 16R transmission. In standard spec it has a mechanical shuttle but there is now the option of a clutchless reverser. Also on the options list is a front linkage and pto package. The cab interior has been refined and is now reported to be markedly quieter – noise having been an issue on earlier models. Comfort is improved with the addition of air suspension for the cabin and there are now electric mirrors, a heated air seat and reversing camera. As before, air brakes, hydraulic linkage levelling and top link are standard. As yet pricing has not been confirmed and it will be three to four months before the new models start rolling down the production line.
Maschio ploughs
Following the introduction of its plough range a year ago, Maschio has now widened its offering to include bigger semi-mounted models. The line-up includes six to nine furrow variants with mechanical or hydraulic vary-width and shear-bolt or hydraulic break-back. Minimum suggested tractor power is 230hp and with its 160mm x 160mm main beam the Mirco is rated to handle prime movers of up to 400hp. Its pivoting headstock can swivel through 100 degrees making for particularly tight headland turns according to the Italian manufacturer. Its design also means switching between in-furrow or on-land ploughing is possible.
Avant electric loader
Finnish compact loader maker Avant had its electric e6 model on display at the show. A 13.8kWh (288 Ah) lithium ion battery provides between two and four hours’ running time depending on the workload and recharging takes one hour. It’ll lift a maximum of 760kg and will reach up to a height of 2.8m. Also on the show stand was one of the firm’s standard diesel-powered 640 compacts equipped with tracks and a flail hedge-trimmer.
