HarvesTimes The journal for agricultural professionals
04.20
CLAAS and product news Customer stories
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Contents 4
CLAAS News............................................................................4-7 CLAAS receives multiple awards for Machine of the Year 2020...... 4
Connect with CLAAS
CLAAS invests in E-FARM.COM.................................................... 5 Record 3,350 machine order from Turkmenistan........................... 5 Stable results in an uncertain market............................................. 5 New high-bay parts extension at Hamm........................................ 6 XERION 2-in-1 hemp harvester..................................................... 6
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Greater engineer availability from eLearning................................... 7 10
EASY News................................................................................. 8 Hedgecutting using RTK, Carl Eggleston, Nottingham................... 8 Cost saving RTK, Andrew Gentle, Sussex..................................... 8
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Customer News...................................................................10-27 Lee Goodwin, Cheshire, new JAGUAR 880............................ 10-11 Nick Keyser, Gloucestershire, DISCO MOVE................................ 12 Britten Farming, Somerset, DISCO 3200C CONTOUR................ 13
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John Jackson, Wiltshire, DISCO CONTOUR........................... 14-15 16
Con Lucey, Co. Cork, CARGOS............................................. 16-17 ROLLANT ROUND-UP........................................................... 18-24
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Martin Ainscough, Lancashire, ROLLANT 540RC........................ 21
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John MacGillivray, Highlands, ROLLANT 540RC.......................... 20
Brendan Kelly, Co. Offaly, ROLLANT 540..................................... 22
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Facebook www.facebook.com/ CLAAS.UnitedKingdom
Kyle Bray, Powys, ROLLANT 540................................................ 23
Kerr Wright, Galloway, SCORPION 736 ...................................... 25
www.instagram.com/claas_uk
David Carnegie, Aberdeenshire, TORION 1511........................... 26 Rob Pugh, Shropshire, AXION 830 CMATIC................................ 27 David Hay, Perth, XERION 5000............................................. 28-29 30
YouTube http://bit.ly/CUK_youtube
Mark Weaver, Shropshire, ARION tractors.............................. 30-31
Website Contact us on: 01284 763100 Email: cuk.reception@CLAAS.com or visit CLAAS.co.uk facebook.com/CLAASUK
claas.co.uk
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CLAAS NEWS
CLAAS receives multiple awards for Machine of the Year 2020 CLAAS came away from last November’s Agritechnica show having been awarded three “Machine of the Year 2020” awards for the LEXION 8000/7000, CEMOS AUTO PERFORMANCE in the JAGUAR 900 and for the DataConnect joint project with 365FarmNet, CNH Industrial and John Deere. At the heart of the LEXION 8000/7000 is the new APS SYNFLOW HYBRID threshing unit. Combined with engine outputs of up to 790hp the new LEXION provides a completely new level of performance. An intuitive control concept and a new cab provide a very high degree of comfort, while DYNAMIC POWER adjusts the engine output to the operating conditions and ensures outstanding fuel efficiency. In the JAGUAR, by using CEMOS AUTO PERFORMANCE the
Machine of the Year 2020 Winner: CEMOS AUTO PERFORMANCE in the CLAAS JAGUAR
operator can set the forager to maintain a constant set speed and regulate engine power and driving speed according to the crop mass. As the crop mass increases, the engine power is first increased and then the driving speed is reduced. If the crop mass is lower, the engine power is reduced automatically. This keeps the engine speed constant and eliminates abrupt load changes. This results in an even crop flow with high operational reliability and lower fuel consumption. DataConnect is an interface in cooperation with 365FarmNet, CLAAS, John Deere and CNH Industrial. For the first time, it enables the exchange of important machine data between the web portals of different manufacturers and thus allows the user to monitor the information of his mixed machine fleet in the system of his choice.
Machine of the Year 2020 Winner: LEXION 8000/7000
Machine of the Year 2020 Winner: DataConnect allows the user to monitor the information of his mixed machine fleet
CLAAS NEWS
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Record 3,350 machine order
CLAAS has completed delivery of its largest ever order, the delivery of a total of 3,350 machines to Turkmenistan in central Asia. 85% of the land-locked country is desert, but the remaining 1.2 million hectares is fertile farmland where cotton and wheat are the two main crops. This record order is part of the government’s drive to modernise agriculture in the country, which is its third largest industry after oil and gas. All the machines will be used on state-run farms.
CLAAS invests in E-FARM.COM
The order itself comprised of 1,000 TUCANO 430 combines, 800 AXION 850 tractors and 1,550 AXOS 340 HC three-wheel tractors. The three-wheel AXOS tractors are specially designed for working in cotton fields. Having just a single wheel at the front means each wheel follows an individual row to help reduce compaction. It also enables the tractor to zero turn at the headland, where crops are grown tight up to the irrigation channels. For harvesting, the front wheel can be completely removed when a harvester is mounted on the back.
CLAAS has invested in the online used machine start-up E-FARM. COM. The site markets used agricultural machinery and maps the entire process chain transparently and efficiently, from initial customer consultation and purchase, through to transport and delivery. Investment in the site allows CLAAS to offer retailers the opportunity to open up new markets and customer groups in the future, and to professionalise and accelerate the sales process with technological support. This establishes a new marketing opportunity for the agricultural machinery sector that is independent of brands. “We made a conscious decision to invest in a minority stake in order to maintain the spirit and dynamism of a young start-up. We would like to continue to invest in innovative ideas from the field of agricultural engineering and build up a start-up portfolio in the future,” says Thomas Böck, CLAAS Group CEO.
Stable results in an uncertain market
The CLAAS Group recorded a slight year-on-year rise in sales to €3.898 billion (prior year: €3.889 billion) in its 2019 financial year, with income before taxes down to €136 million (prior year: €226 million). • Sales rose to €3.989 billion • Profit before taxes dropped to €136 million • Record €244 million spent on R & D • Investment in property, plant and equipment rose to €125 million • Number of employees rises to 11,448 with 735 trainees “CLAAS recorded stable development in an increasingly negative market environment. Despite the anticipated drop in income, we kept the company on course and systematically invested in the further digitalization and the expansion of our market positions,” said Thomas Böck, CEO of the CLAAS Group. There was a significant rise in sales in France and the rest of western Europe. In eastern Europe, core business continued to develop well,
while sales in Germany fell as a result of weather conditions. Outside Europe, the situation was mixed, with overall sales down year on year.
R & D SPEND INCREASE Investment in research and development reached a new record high of €244 million (prior year: €233 million). 2019 saw the introduction of a number of major new projects, most notably the new LEXION range and the AXION TERRA TRAC at Agritechnica. Investment in property, plant and equipment also increased to €125 million (prior year: €113 million). At Harsewinkel a new testing and validation center to test the function and durability of new components was opened and preparations are underway for a modernisation of the combine harvester assembly plant. Further modernisation of the Le Mans tractor plant in France has also been completed, in addition to further work at the production plant in Krasnodar, Russia, and the new high-bay warehouse in Hamm, Germany. Looking forward, CLAAS is expecting a further rise in sales and stable revenues, despite regional uncertainties, simmering international trade conflicts and the risk of a further economic slowdown.
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CLAAS NEWS
New high-bay parts extension
A new £17 million high-bay extension has been opened at the central CLAAS Parts Logistics Centre in Hamm, Germany. The two-year build required 360 lorry loads of concrete just for the floor, in addition to 1,800 tons of steel and more than 400,000 bolts.
CONVEYOR TECHNOLOGY “The new building covers approx. 11,700 m2 and is nearly 30m high to accommodate a fully automatic high rack system, which now provides enough space for around 58,000 pallets,” says project manager Sven Wagner. The conveyor technology uses an electric overhead track, with pallets and lattice boxes placed in the warehouse by nine retrieval machines. The overhead track carries the pallets to four workstations at which a total of up to 320 parts per hour can be picked, a doubling of the previous capacity.
The management of CLAAS Service and Parts and Stute Logistics, Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann (Lord Mayor of the City of Hamm), Bernd Ludewig (Group Executive Board) and Cathrina-Claas Mühlhäuser welcomed the guests to the opening of the high-bay warehouse.
“With this investment we are preparing the CLAAS Parts Logistics Center for further growth of the CLAAS Group. Not only will the expansion create additional warehouse space, it will also allow us to restructure warehouse processes from the bottom up,” explains Dietmar Düsing, Head of Logistics and Member of the Management Board at CLAAS Service and Parts GmbH. “All of this is done with a focus on fulfilling the high standards of our customers with regard to our spare parts service.” CLAAS employs around 500 people at the Parts Logistics Centre together with its logistics partner Stute Logistics (AG & Co.) KG. The new high-bay warehouse towers above the previous building by almost 15 meters.
2-in-1 hemp harvester These are harvested using a modified Shelbourne-Reynolds stripper header mounted on an arm out in front of the harvester. From the header the mown material is transferred to a 38m3 hopper on the rear platform of the XERION. On the original versions of the Hemp Bull this swivelled through 90 degrees for tipping into a trailer, but on this latest version the bunker is emptied using a rear extending conveyor. Having stripped off the leaves and flowers, the stem is then cut by a modified ORBIS 600 maize header that leaves the cut stems in a swath behind the XERION. This can then be baled for a subsequent diverse range of uses including paper, textiles, rope, construction materials, insulation and bioplastics. The XERION has proved the ideal platform for a specialised harvester created by German CLAAS dealer Hans Wittrock GmbH, used for harvesting industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) to extract CBD or cannabidiol. CBD is rapidly attracting interest, with its potential therapeutic properties for treating a wide range of ailments. It is also increasingly being used in oils, dietary supplements and cosmetics. Unlike the psychoactive strain of Cannabis sativa, industrial hemp is low in THC and for centuries the fibre has been recognised for its strength. Named the XERION Hemp Bull, the harvester is designed so that the leaves and flowers can be harvested separately from the crop stem.
CLAAS NEWS
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Greater efficiency with eLearning
Using videos and animations that trainees can view in their workplace over Skype, 60 of the 250 courses provided by the Academy will be available this year for remote training using the Virtual Classroom, which will provide up to 600 man days of training. However, there are elements of service engineer training that remain ‘hands-on’ and cannot be conducted remotely. To meet this need, the 11 staff employed within the CLAAS Academy last year provided over 2,500 days of practical training to 1,100 dealer staff.
The development and increasing uptake of remote workplace based training for CLAAS UK dealer sales, service and parts personnel, via a Virtual Classroom, is facilitating time and cost savings, benefitting both the environment and our CLAAS customers. The cutting edge eLearning and Virtual Classroom programme was introduced in 2017, following the opening of the new £1.2 million purpose-built training school, built as part of the redevelopment of the CLAAS UK headquarters at Saxham, Suffolk.
The Academy also supports the industry leading CLAAS Apprenticeship scheme. In addition it provides operator training across the UK and Ireland for up to 1,300 combine and forage harvester customers. The high level of training offered by the Academy, together with the commitment of CLAAS UK to providing industry renowned service engineer training, was recognised last year. CLAAS UK was awarded the ‘Manufacturer Excellence Award for Training Support’ at the annual AgMachinery Trade News Excellence awards.
In the three years since the programme started: • 377,243 miles have been saved travelling to Saxham • Average 3 days travelling time saved per engineer • 154,669 tonnes of CO2 have been saved • 374 trainees completed 1,083 hours of virtual training in 2019 Without the need to travel to Saxham for training, our employees have more time to dedicate to their customers. While putting their skills into practice, maintaining and servicing customers’ machinery, they can continue enhance their technical knowledge.
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Carl Eggleston | A&S Eggleston Contractors | Nottingham
EASY
Hedgecutting using RTK Hedgecutting may not immediately spring to mind when you think about RTK, but its ideal for the job. Contractor Carl Eggleston explains that for a job that requires you to ideally look in two directions at the same time, using RTK is both safer and far less stressful. Setting an A/B line leaves the tractor to follow that line, allowing Carl to concentrate on the mower head or on approaching traffic when on roadwork. Another big advantage in this autumn’s wet conditions is adding an offset for each pass. This avoids running in the same wheelmark, preventing soil damage and rutting. “It’s probably the last job that the designers thought the S10 terminal would be used for,” concedes Carl. “But in fact it’s fantastic and so much easier being able to leave the tractor to look after itself. On grassland, because the left hand wheel which carries all the weight is not following the same wheeling on each pass, farmers have been very surprised by how little damage there is, despite the wet ground, and I have actually picked up additional work because of that.
KEEPING IN-LINE “However, on arable where the ground has been cultivated, I set it to exactly follow the same wheeling for each pass, so then it’s easy for the farmer to go back through and pull the wheeling out. Also this autumn, I was doing clearing work for HS2 where for some reason I was not allowed closer than 2.0 metres to the hedge line, which was easy to do having set an A/B line. Likewise, I did some motorway verge mowing last year so again it ensured I stayed safely in the coned-off hard shoulder.” While all four of A&S Eggleston’s tractors are fitted with steering systems, Carl’s AXION 820 CEBIS which was supplied by CLAAS Eastern, is the only one with RTK, using a signal from the EE mobile network. The rest, including an AXION 800 CIS, all use Egnos. In addition to spending around six months and nearly 1,000 machine hours hedge cutting using an 8.0m reach Shelbourne Reynolds 875, Carl also uses the AXION 820 for cultivations, drilling, umbilical spreading with a 24m dribble bar, mowing and loading bales.
RTK ADVANTAGES “I am a great believer in the use of technology and the benefits this brings. Having the S10 terminal I now try and use it for every job I can. What I like about the S10 is that it’s so easy to set-up, use and save jobs. It’s also very simple to save favourite settings for things like drop markers, A/B lines, path adjust, borders or A/B Contour. “The benefits are numerous. One of the first jobs I used the S10 for was power harrowing where because there were no overlaps, I could travel 1kph slower, so do a better job, use less fuel but still finish quicker than before. Also I like the repeatability of RTK for jobs
such as drilling, where I can follow exactly the same wheelings when rolling afterwards. “But also as a contractor, by using RTK it means the work you do looks professional, that you care and that you take a pride in the work you are doing for your customers. Customers respect that and our drivers also appreciate that we are providing them with the technology to make their job easier and enable them to be professional.”
EASY
Andrew Gentle | 650ha | Sussex
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Cost saving steering system By using RTK to ensure that his tramlines are exactly 28m apart, Andrew Gentle tells us that ongoing input savings have been reduced by around 5%. G Gentle & Sons are comparative newcomers to RTK steering having opted for S7 terminals when they changed make of tractor to CLAAS three years ago. Using a dualSim RTK Net signal, this has not only reduced costs and improved efficiency, but by sharing one of the terminals with their LEXION 750TT combine, it also provides flexibility. For drilling the 650ha of crops the Gentle’s farm around West Wittering in Sussex, a 185hp ARION 650 CEBIS is paired with a 4.0m Vaderstad Rapid. Ahead of this, non-inversion cultivations are used on the heavy brick-earth soils, mainly utilising either a Weaving Subdisc cultivator or a disc cultivator behind a 205hp AXION 800 CEBIS, both on long term hire from OLIVERS Petworth.
an ex-demo 264hp AXION 850 CEBIS to replace the smaller 800. “Going forward, buying will help us future-proof the business and by keeping the tractors longer will give us flexibility. “One of our previous tractors had a retro-fit steering-wheel system which was OK but didn’t give the accuracy I was looking for,” says Andrew. “The S7 is ideal for our needs as we don’t need ISOBUS or variable rate capability at the moment. The RTK Net system is a definite improvement and just works seamlessly. We have no issues with signal over the 8 miles that we operate.”
ALL CLAAS FLEET
“This year we have moved up to 28m tramlines, which works well. By having the tramlines exactly spaced, this has a knock-on benefit for spraying or fertiliser spreading as it avoids any overlap. We now use the sprayer to establish a benchmark field size and work to this. Overall we have seen a 5% reduction in inputs, in addition to time and fuel savings, which has been an eye-opener and certainly not to be sniffed at,” says Andrew Gentle.
As the ARION is their main drilling tractor, during harvest the S7 terminal is moved to their 2019 LEXION 750. “Having an all CLAAS fleet also has the benefit that with both the tractors and LEXION all using the CMOTION control means its familiar. I was initially concerned how well it would work swapping the S7 between the ARION and LEXION, but in fact it’s been brilliant and an easy 10 minute job.
A CHANGE TO CLAAS TRACTORS
“The benefits are most noticeable when combining, as compared to LASER PILOT we get across the field quicker because we always have full header width. But overall, everything looks far neater. It definitely appeals to my OCD side and you can always now notice fields where they haven’t used a steering system. With everything looking neater and professional, this definitely has a value as we look to take on more land.”
“Although we have run CLAAS combines and telehandlers for a number of years, we had always run a different make of tractor until deciding to change three years ago. We have a wide choice of dealers around here, so looked at all the main makes, but we were very impressed with the CLAAS product and the price was right. “Also the service that we receive from OLIVERS at Petworth is fantastic. The service from there has always been good, but their taking over the Petworth branch has been a real benefit to us. You can also see the confidence there is in the dealership itself. That has definitely had a knock-on effect as they seem to be flying and that in turn has given us the confidence to stay with them.” Over the three years that they have had the ARION and AXION, Andrew says that they have been really impressed with the reliability and performance from the two tractors. Now that the hire period is ending, the plan is to buy the ARION 650. They are also going to buy
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“The new JAGUAR 880 is a real driver’s machine,” states Lee Goodwin pictured above and right with his father Clive. Below: Lee Goodwin has found the new CEBIS touch screen very intuitive to use and works extremely well in combination with the CMOTION control.
JAGUAR 880
Lee Goodwin | E R Goodwin & Sons Contractors | Cheshire
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A different level of performance Having run a pre-series JAGUAR 880 last season, E R Goodwin & Sons have not only been impressed by its performance, but also by how their running costs have been slashed. The JAGUAR has been the self-propelled forager of choice for the Goodwins since 1989 when their first JAGUAR 695SL arrived. Last Spring saw the arrival of the pre-series JAGUAR 880, powered by a more powerful TIER V Mercedes straight-six engine, which took over harvesting 2,400ha of grass and 280ha of wholecrop from a 2015 V8-powered 585hp JAGUAR 870.
NEW FEATURES But it’s not only the engine that’s new. Other new features on the JAGUAR include the latest CEBIS touch screen control system and an increase in the system pressure in the hydrostatic drive, giving 11% more pulling power. The front attachment drive on both the JAGUAR 880 and 870 has also been reinforced so that the DIRECT DISC 600 can now be used with these models. The feed roller drive has more even gear spacing, and an increased range of chop lengths.
TOO GOOD TO MISS “We were looking to change the 870 because we wanted more power to increase efficiency,” explains Lee Goodwin, who has been driving the JAGUAR with a 20-blade chevron chopping cylinder. “Most of our customers are dairy farmers, who typically take three or four cuts. “We have also seen a gradual move away from maize to whole crop, mainly because it’s more consistent, and so a known quantity, It’s also cheaper to grow and earlier to cut, so reduces the problem of mud on the road. “When Dean Cottey (Forager and Green Harvest Product Manager, CLAAS UK) offered us the option of having the pre-series 880 and explained about the new features on it, we felt it was too good an opportunity to miss. Our old JAGUAR 870 was a good forager, but the new 880 is on an altogether different level. “With the new JAGUAR the increase in power and torque is telling. In grass it was outstanding, but then in whole crop, where we have also been using the new DIRECT DISC 520P header, it was even
better. In grass we have typically been clearing around 60 hectares a day and in whole crop 24 ha. It’s really impressive.
RUNNING COSTS DRAMATICALLY REDUCED “The most noticeable difference between the straight-six in the 880 and the V8 in the 870 is the fuel economy. Even though it’s more powerful, the 880 is using far less fuel a day. A tank of fuel in the 870 would typically last three-quarters of a day, while the 880 will go well into the next day. I didn’t realise quite what a difference there would be - it’s really brilliant! “Between the reduction in fuel use, the extended service period to 1,000 hours and long blade life, it means that our running costs have dropped dramatically and are easily down by around 30% to 40%.” In the cab, Lee has been particularly impressed with how easy it is to set-up and operate the JAGUAR using the new CEBIS touch screen terminal and the CMOTION controller. “The new CEBIS touch screen is very intuitive to use and makes it extremely easy to access and change settings. Between that and the CMOTION controller, the ability to set-up and save functions such as stubble height, Cruise Control or the ability to quickly drop the spout to go under power lines on the F keys is really useful.
A DRIVER’S MACHINE “The JAGUAR is also fitted with CAMPILOT, which works really well and means that there is just less thing to think about and allows me to just concentrate on filling the trailer. The JAGUAR 880 is definitely a driver’s machine.” Based near Malpas in Cheshire, E R Goodwin & Sons was founded in 1946 by Lee’s grandfather Roy. CLAAS harvesting machinery has been a feature of the business since 1956 when they bought a HERCULES combine, which was one of the first CLAAS combines to be run in the area. As part of the foraging team, the JAGUAR is supported by a butterfly mower combination made up of a DISCO 3200 FC PROFIL front and DISCO 8500 C CONTOUR rear mower, along with LINER 2900 and 3500 rakes. They also run a LEXION 560 and have run QUADRANT balers for over 20 years, the most recent being a QUADRANT 5200 which last season alone baled over 21,000 bales and has, says Lee, been outstanding. “The key thing for us is not just the product, but also the reliability and service,” he says. “When you are buying a machine of this calibre it’s not just the machine you are buying, but the service and parts support and in that respect MORRIS CORFIELD are fantastic and no one else locally can match them.”
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DISCO MOVE
Nick Keyser | Keyser Contracting | Gloucestershire
Clean cutting MOVE Achieving an even stubble without scalping when mowing ridge and furrow has to be the ultimate test for a mower’s contour following system, but is one that Nick Keyser’s new DISCO 3200FC MOVE has passed with ease. Following reliability and service issues with his previous mower combination, looking to go wider Nick Keyser considered buying second-hand. He also took the opportunity to test a few different makes, before opting for a new 3.0m DISCO 3200FC MOVE front and 3.4m DISCO 3600C CONTOUR rear mower combination, neither of which he had tested before. Since he started offering a contract baling service 4 years ago, Nick has seen the amount of silage, hay and straw he bales steadily increase, particularly in organic crops. He also grows 10ha of grass for haylage on the family farm near Fairford in Gloucestershire, which is sold locally. “The previous 2.8m and 3.2m mower combination was fine when I had a 4-string baler. Now, having added a 6-string, needing to replace the mowers gave me an opportunity to also increase working width, to improve efficiency and output, especially in organic crops,” explains Nick. “This year I have also replaced my conventional baler with a round baler, and now swapped my old two-rotor LINER 2700 with a new 4-rotor LINER 3600, again to get more grass in front of the balers, and also slow down forward speed.”
LEAP OF FAITH Nick admits that buying the DISCO mowers was a leap of faith as he had never had a demonstration. “It came down to the CLAAS or one other. But I get on well with Chris Charman at CLAAS Western, and trusted him when he explained about the DISCO MOVE and how it follows the ground contours better. But it was on the understanding that they would be straight back if they didn’t do everything he said!”
Luckily for Chris, the DISCO mowers have lived up to his promises. Nick has been impressed both by the ACTIVE FLOAT hydropneumatic suspension system, and particularly by how the innovative front DISCO MOVE, with its 1.0m of vertical movement, so accurately follows the ground contours, thanks to its trailing arm linkage which pulls the mower. “The ACTIVE FLOAT system is very good and simple to use, and the suspension reacts far quicker than springs. Having the pressure gauge, a drop in pressure quickly tells you if there is a problem. With springs you never knew if there was a problem unless they broke. I’m done with spring suspension,” he says.
SO WHY THE DISCO? “In operation, the DISCO is so smooth. They just glide over the ground, the stubble is far more even and consistent, and the ground following far more accurate. “We mow a lot of steep ridge and furrow and with the old mowers they would keep on scalping the top, but with the DISCO MOVE it’s not a problem. Not only does this avoid scalping, but it reduces blade wear and running cost. “It’s the little bits and pieces about the DISCO that I particularly like. Things like the inserts between the skids that can be easily replaced as they wear or are damaged by the stony, Cotswold soils. “I also opted for hydraulic folding wings which are great and save a lot of time when moving between lots of small fields, but stay rigid when working unlike on our old mower where they flopped around. “Also the fact that the mowers can be run at 850rpm to save fuel – we compared the cut running them at 1,000rpm and it made no difference. “A lot of the reason for buying the DISCO is also down to CLAAS Western at Cirencester. I have a lot of trust in Chris, but they also provide by far the best service of any dealer I deal with, to the extent that even though they were a different make, I used to take my old mowers into them for repair as they were far better and quicker than the supplying dealer.”
Britten Farming | 260ha and 280-cow herd | Somerset
DISCO 3200C CONTOUR
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Multicut forage quality A drive to maximise forage cropping and milk from forage lies at the heart of Britten Farming’s dairy operation. Britten Farming were the winners of the ‘Dairy Feed Efficiency’ award at the ForFarmers ‘Excellence in Farming Awards’ last year, in recognition of their focus on producing quality forage. Recent years have seen the Britten’s adopt a multicut silage system from a range of grassland on the 260ha farm at Downhead in Somerset, including permanent pasture, short term IRG leys and red clover leys. For this year they are also trialling IRG cover crops, which are sown after the 52ha of maize is harvested in late September and then goes back into maize once the grass has been harvested. All the maize is grown under plastic in order to improve crop value and bring forward harvest, as the farm is at 750ft in the Mendips and mainly north facing.
FIVE CUTS PER MONTH Working on a ‘little and often’ principle, starting in late April, five cuts of silage are taken on a monthly basis, comprising initially of 80ha of 1st cut, dropping to 60ha for second and 40ha thereafter. The attention to detail in order to maximise forage production also extends to regular reseeding with 5 year leys. A lot of attention is paid to maintaining soil pH above 6.5 with regular liming and keeping P & K indices above 2. The results are evident in the quality of their grass silage, where the aim is to ideally achieve an ME of 11.8-12, proteins between 16-18%, and a D value in the high 70s. Fed as part of a ration based on 60% maize and 40% grass silage, with an 18% blend and treated home produced wheat, yields from the 280-cow Holstein Friesian milking herd is currently running at 9,300 litres with the aim that ideally 5,000 litres should come from forage. This will be in part achieved following the businesses decision to switch from an all year round calving herd to an autumn block, something which is currently in transition. Mowing is the responsibility of Robin Day, using a new set of DISCO 3200C CONTOUR front and rear mowers on an 185hp ARION 650 CEBIS, with a contractor then completing the subsequent operations. “We ran a DISCO combination for a number of years, and still have the rear mower, which is now 15 years old, as a back-up and and for pre-mowing and topping during the grazing season.
We then handed the mowing responsibilities over to the contractors as well, but the loss of control during such a critical phase of the silage making process quickly led to a decision to take back control and reinvest in a new set of DISCO mowers for the 2019 season,” explains Robin.
SIMPLE AND CLEAN “I have been very pleased with them. They cope with all conditions and are very simple to adjust and use. It’s easy also to adjust conditioning intensity, which is good as I do regularly adjust the intensity depending on crops and conditions. We also have a lot of slopes and undulating land, but the mowers follow the ground really well and leave a very consistent and clean finish. Being able to cut a lot of grass in a reasonably short period of time to maximise weather windows and potential wilt time is vital in the silage making operation. “I also regularly change or turn the blades so as to have a fresh edge at the start of each cut, which is important for a clean cut and quick regrowth. But this couldn’t be simpler and only takes about 10-15 minutes. The ARION 650 is a good match for the mowers and in a good field I can comfortably mow about 8.0 hectares an hour.” The Britten’s have a long association with CLAAS machinery due to the service and support they have received from CLAAS Western which, says Robin “is fantastic and they are always there for you, which is very important.” In addition to the ARION 650, the farm is also home to a small ELIOS used for yard work and, in addition to a new SCORPION 736 bought last autumn, an ARION 550 CIS+ is the latest in a long line of Le Mans built tractors going back to the first CLAAS tractors and Renault before that.
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J T Jackson & Sons | 120ha and 140-cow herd | Wiltshire
DISCO CONTOUR
A ‘glass and a half’ from quality forage Next time you enjoy a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk, remember the famous claim that it contained ‘a glass and a half in every bar’; there’s a good chance that the milk may have come from J T Jackson & Sons’ dairy herd. As part of their contract with Cadbury, the Jacksons are required to maintain an average butterfat level of 4.15% throughout the year, making breeding and forage quality priorities in order to maintain this.
BOOSTING BUTTERFAT While Friesians account for the majority of the 140-cow milking herd on the 120ha they farm near Trowbridge in Wiltshire, it also contains some British Shorthorns, Jerseys and Swedish Reds in order to boost butterfat. Fed a mainly grass silage based diet plus 8kg of fodder beet, current yields average 7,500 litres, of which 2,800 is from forage, with the all-important butterfat currently at 4.3%. To retain control over their silage making, John Jackson and his sons Dan and Ben run their own foraging machinery. Since 2007 they have run a CLAAS QUANTUM 3500P forage wagon to achieve a long 40mm chop length. Making up the foraging team are a set of DISCO 3200 CONTOUR front and rear mower conditioners bought last year and a LINER 2700 rake.
CONTROL OF HARVEST “Running our own foraging machinery gives us control over the harvesting operation and allows us to be flexible as to when we harvest, and to work with the season,” states Dan. “We don’t push for output. We aim to take three cuts, but do bring in a contractor with a wagon to help for first cut, but after that having three of us it suits our system well.” Bought through CLAAS Western at nearby Frome, the new set of DISCO mowers replaced a smaller DISCO 3050C, which was bought second hand a number of years ago, but had served them well. “We did price up another make that was cheaper, but being fairly new to the market they are unproven, while the DISCO has been around for years. WESTERN are also three miles down the road and
the service we receive accounts for a lot. They are great to deal with and we know that if we have a problem they will be there to support us whatever day of the week. “Not having used or set-up front and rear mowers before, Darren (Halliwell – Field Sales Manager) was more than happy to even come out on a Saturday to show us what to do, and having driven a COUGAR for a local contractor he has mown and knows more about mowing than we ever will!”
DOUBLE THE OUTPUT Investing in the DISCO CONTOUR front and rear combination gives the Jacksons double the output, and makes far better use of their 140-hp tractor, at no extra running cost. It’s also a lot easier for them to get plenty of grass down when they have the contractor coming in. The land is also quite spread out, so later in the year it also gives the potential to just use the front mower and zero-graze off-lying ground to bring fresh grass to the cows, which they couldn’t before. Ben is mainly in charge of mowing and quickly adapted to having both a front and rear mower to look after. “Once I had been shown by Darren, they are very easy to set-up and operate. Turning or changing the blades couldn’t be simpler and its very easy to adjust the conditioner, as I do like to alter the aggression depending on grass type and conditions. “I aim to leave a 3-inch stubble and the two mowers leave an even and clean stubble. Timeliness has definitely improved and we are achieving far more consistency. Generally we aim to leave the grass to wilt for 24 hours before raking up as close as possible in front of the wagon, which works well,” concludes Ben.
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As part of their contract with Cadbury, John Jackson and his sons Ben (below left) and Dan (right) are required to maintain an average butterfat level of 4.15% throughout the year, making breeding and forage quality priorities in order to maintain this.
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Con Lucey | Contractor | Co. Cork
By Alistair Chambers
Con Lucey and his operators always gravitate towards CLAAS machinery.
CARGOS
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Output and quality from CARGOS wagons Con Lucey runs an agricultural contracting business based in the picturesque surroundings of west Cork. Con is a lifelong contractor and bases his business on supplying a timely and quality service to his customers. The backbone of Con’s business is based on CLAAS grass machinery and tractors. He mows with a CLAAS DISCO 3200 mower, rakes with a CLAAS LINER 2700 and picks up with a pair of CARGOS wagons. The machines are driven with a pair of CLAAS ARION tractors. The tractors are a 2015 ARION 650 and a 2016 ARION 640 and both have clocked up in excess of 5,000 trouble free hours. Con tells us that the tractors have proved to be very good for his business and he and his operators always gravitate towards the seed-green machines. Con has backed up this, by recently ordering a new ARION 800 from local dealer McCARTHY for the upcoming grass season.
EASY TO MANOEUVRE The central machines in his grass operation are a pair of CLAAS CARGOS wagons, the first being an 8400 purchased in 2017. Having done a season with this machine he said it was a “no brainer” to purchase a second machine, a 8300 purchased the following season. Both machines are fitted with steering axles and the option of a hydro-pneumatic suspension system. Con says that these make the wagons very easy to manoeuvre and amazingly stable both on the road and in the field.
In the field Con finds the pickup system allows him to get through big acreage, with work rates of up to 2.4ha per hour possible when the field is near the pit. Annually Con picks up more than 520ha and finds the CLAAS CARGOS wagons allow him to get through the work. According to Con, “forward speeds can be silly and the CARGOS is well able to take the stuff”. All the grass is raked using a CLAAS LINER 2700 rake which gives a nice even row of grass compiled from 3 cuts of the CLAAS DISCO 3200 mower. “In certain crops it can be a very big swath of grass but the pickup handles it easily,” continues Con.
QUALITY FORAGE “The build quality of the CARGOS is second to none and strongly built.” This makes them more than capable of handling whatever Con throws at them. Working within about a 16 km radius of his base, near Macroom in west Cork, Con cuts silage for a range of farmers from both dry stock and dairy sectors. Speaking to his customers he finds that they are all very happy with the quality of the forage when the covers roll back. Con puts this down to the chopping chamber which contains a bank of 40 double blades. These blades are reversable which according to Con greatly improves productivity with a longer time between sharpening. With capacities of 35.5 and 30m3 respectively the 8400 and 8300 are sizeable machines but Con finds that even on wet or hilly land the wagons seem to be very sure footed and easy to handle with the 600 series tractors. The 800 series that is joining the fleet this year will be paired with the CARGOS 8400 making for a very comfortable and high output combination. Con has bought all his CLAAS gear through McCARTHY and has found their sales and backup service to be “top notch” and he has never been without a machine for any length of time when the pressure was on.
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ROLLANT ROUND-UP
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The latest ROLLANT 540 and 520 fixed chamber round balers have been completely redesigned and include new rollers, a stronger chassis, a new drive concept and ease of maintentance, all ensuring high performance, excellent reliability and a long service life Both ROLLANT balers produce a 1.25m diameter bale, the ROLLANT 520 bale being 1.20m wide and the 540 bale 1.22m
NEW ROLLER DESIGN FOR PERFECT BALES In the fixed chamber, the ROLLANT 540 has 15 newly redesigned rollers all made from 4mm thick steel and the ROLLANT 520 has 16, of which eight are made from 3-mm-thick sheet steel, and the other eight from 4-mm-thick sheet steel. The ribbed profile of the rollers ensures precise rotation of the bale, even under moist conditions. Storage and power transmission functions are performed by the heavy duty stub shafts that can be individually replaced if necessary, like the rollers themselves. The rotor, main drive and tailgate rollers are fitted with Zubakki 1.25inch (ROLLANT 540) or 1.00-inch (ROLLANT 520) drive chains. The oil lubricating the chain is pumped from the large storage tank by an adjustable eccentric pump. Lubrication is not tied to throughput –
the oil is distributed as needed, precisely on the chain link pivot points. The baling pressure is controlled via the horizontally mounted tailgate closing rams. For maximum bale density, pressure of up to 180 bar can be applied to the rams. Optionally available is the MPS II system. With this system, three of the compression rollers pivot into the chamber for additional bale compaction, early bale rotation and a perfectly uniform bale shape.
POWERFUL PICK-UP FOR OPTIMUM CROP FLOW Both the ROLLANT 540 and 520 balers are available either with the ROTOCUT chopping system or with the ROTOFEED feed rotor. The ROLLANT 520 is also available with an assister feed rake. The crop is picked up cleanly and efficiently with a 2.10-m-wide controlled pick-up (1.85 m on the RIOLLANT 520 with assister feed rake). A crop guard is available as optional equipment. This improves the crop flow even with small swaths, and helps to produce a uniform bale shape. Two lateral feed augers ensure the crop material is conveyed efficiently and reliably to the intake rotor. The knives in the optional ROTOCUT chopping mechanism give a theoretical cut length of 70 mm and each knife has protection against foreign objects. On both balers there is also the choice of net or twine wrapping, with no tools required to change the wrapping mode. A ramp on the right side of the machine simplifies the process of loading the wrapping system, and a spare roll of either film or net can also be carried here. Both balers are operated using the CLAAS OPERATOR terminal while the COMFORT version of the ROLLANT 540 also enables the netting settings to be altered from the cab.
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John MacGillivray | 160ha | Highlands
ROLLANT 540RC
High quality bales for high quality forage Even though it had only just been introduced, John MacGillivray had no qualms about buying a ROLLANT 540RC for last season. The decision to change his old ROLLANT 375 for the new ROLLANT 540RC was not taken lightly, as for him the baler is one of the most important machines he has on the farm and key to his whole farming system. “I am a one man band and generally the farm is completely selfsufficient,” says John, who is the 7th generation of MacGillivray’s to farm at Boat of Garten near Aviemore. “I have a herd of mainly Angus x Simmental suckler cows that are generally put to a Limousin bull. Rather than sell the progeny, I want to have control over the quality of meat that is eventually going into the market, so take them right through to finishing, aiming to reach 700kg at about 22 to 24 months to give a 400kg carcass. In addition, I also overwinter Blackface sheep from Loch Tay, which we have been doing for 50 years.”
net far easier and means you can safely swop rolls in just a couple of minutes.” Farming on the edge of the Cairngorms, the biggest factor is weather. “By having my own machinery and not being reliant on a contractor I can make the most of any good conditions and do as much or as little as the weather allows. My silage season starts around June 20th and takes about a month, by which time the hay is ready to cut, which then leads into the arable baling and harvest. “All told the baler is being used for about 4 months and is responsible for packaging all my winter feed, so is very cost effective. Having quality forage is important as I generally need to feed from around September 15th through to May 15th, so it’s a long winter.”
All the feed he needs is produced on the 160ha farm, where he makes 1,500 silage and 800 hay bales and grows 26ha of barley. Some of this is baled green to provide 300 arable bales and the remainder is taken through to harvest and combined, giving about 400 straw bales.
WELL PROVEN BALER Being a key machine, John aims to replace the baler every 5 years, by which time they will have made about 20,000 bales. CLAAS balers bought through SELLARS have been a feature on the farm for many years, starting with a ROLLANT 250, followed by a 255, 355 and the 375 prior to the new 540, which arrived in late July. “The ROLLANT is a well proven baler, that’s reliable, easy to use and makes a good, well filled bale. They also hold their value well, so the cost of use is low. Before deciding SELLARS arranged for me to have a demonstration, and the new ROLLANT 540 has done everything that Dustin Bishop (Field Sales Manager at SELLARS Forres) said it would.”
MINOR CHANGES MAKE MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS
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“Overall it makes a really well filled bale. The other key feature of all ROLLANT balers is the net wrapping system which is bombproof. It’s so reliable; you can just keep going all day and it never causes a problem. The net chute is a huge benefit and makes loading rolls of
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“The new ROLLANT has a great crop flow into the baler and there are a lot of other small changes throughout the baler, which all together add up to major improvements. The autolube system means that about 95% of maintenance is done for you and the centralised greasing makes daily maintenance simple.
Martin Ainscough | 600ha and 2000 ewes | Lancashire
ROLLANT 540RC
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A positive switch to ROLLANT The last few years have been ones of considerable change for Martin Ainscough Farms, not least in a gradual change in the colour of machinery to CLAAS seed green.
“I only considered the ROLLANT and one other baler I had read about, but the decision to go for the ROLLANT was largely because of the service we get from RICKERBY, and knowing that they had sold a few others which were going well. It’s certainly a good, strong baler with beefed-up drives and has gone really well. As we keep reducing the cereals and put more down to grass, so we will increase the amount we bale.”
From having been a predominantly arable and dairy farm, over the past couple of years Peter Ainscough has gradually increased the amount of grass on the family’s 600 hectare farm at Parbold in Lancashire, which mainly provides grazing and forage for a flock of 2000 ewes.
THE CAPACITY TO TAKE MORE
“We only started using RICKERBY two years ago. Even though we are the other end of the county from their Carnforth depot, the service and support they offer is so much better. It’s way ahead of any other dealer in the area, so when their new south Lancashire depot is opened that will be ideal for us,” comments Peter Ainscough, who in addition to the baler also now runs four CLAAS ARION tractors on the farm – a 650, 610, 460 and 420 with a FL loader.
“The ROLLANT certainly has the capacity to take more. It’s very easy to operate and maintain, and having the loading chute for the net is definitely a help,” states Stephen. “The feed through the baler is good and discharge from the chamber is excellent, as I’ve not had a single bale stick.”
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It’s noticeable how well the bales have stacked and stored without losing shape.
The grass is mown with a 4.0m mower, then ideally tedded out prior to raking in just before baling using a 2.4m single rotor rake, putting two passes into a single swath.
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“We had some thick rows of grass and there are quite a few hills, but the ROLLANT comfortably handled everything that was put in front of it. The bales are certainly good and dense, but the shoulders are also well filled and it’s noticeable how well the bales have stacked and stored without losing shape.”
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Having run variable chamber balers to bale both silage and straw for many years, the change back to the fixed chamber ROLLANT 540RC was prompted by their buying a Wilson Super Move bale collector from RICKERBY to speed up field clearance, but this could only accept regular 1.2m sized bales.
The ROLLANT is operated by Stephen Hunter behind the ARION 650, who has also been very impressed by the baler and its performance. “It went very well and smoothly despite being a very difficult season and the ground conditions were certainly against it by the end when baling straw.
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22 Kelly | Contractor | Co. Offaly Brendan
By Alistair Chambers
ROLLANT 540
“The Perfect Bale in All Conditions” Brendan Kelly runs a contracting business in the heartlands of Ireland, close to Tullamore in County Offaly. Brendan has been contracting since 2003 and his main business has always been producing high quality baled silage for local customers. Since the beginning, he has used CLAAS grass machinery to produce quality forage for this customers. He started out in 2003 with a CLAAS ROLLANT 46, moving on to a CLAAS ROLLANT 254 in 2005 and a CLAAS ROLLANT 374 in 2013. With the good service these machines had given Brendan for many years, he decided that he wanted the latest and greatest baler from CLAAS the new ROLLANT 540.
In the field Brendan tells us the pickup can handle anything he has thrown at it with ease, both very dry hay and overly wet silage. On the very rare occasion that a blockage occurs the chopping floor with its 15 knives can be dropped from the in-cab control box to release the offending grass and also make the start-up of the machine far easier on the tractor and the baler. Brendan specified that the baler came on the biggest tyres possible, these being 560mm wide. These give the baler serious stability in hilly conditions and help to “keep it afloat” in wetter areas of fields. Since starting the business Brendan has used BREEN FARM MACHINERY to both purchase and provide service to him and has found them very helpful on the odd occasion when there has been any issues with a machine. Brendan has been a loyal CLAAS grass machinery customer for 17 years and going forward he sees that CLAAS will be the backbone of his business for many years to come.
A GOOD SOLID BALE The 540 was launched at the end of summer 2018, and Brendan had his eye on one as soon as he saw the upgraded specification. When the first CLAAS ROLLANT’s arrived in Ireland for the silage season of 2019, Brendan’s was one of, if not the first machine to be working on the island. Brendan’s business is compact, working within a 8 km range of his base. His customers are mainly dry stock and suckler farmers. Brendan on average produces 4,500 bales per year, not big numbers, but he says that taking his time and producing a “good firm solid bale is what the farmers wants”. Brendan finds that the combination of his 2017 bought CLAAS DISCO 3150TC mower, 2011 CLAAS LINER rake and new CLAAS ROLLANT 540 gives his customers exactly what they want and need from his business. According to Brendan the new CLAAS ROLLANT 540 has some stand out features. • The fact that the rollers are driven from the one side means that in the field he has found that there is far less build-up of chaff and loose grass on the machine. This is an improvement over his previous machine. • When in the shed for routine maintenance the fact that all the high-pressure points on the machine are in the same area make it easy to inspect and maintain it correctly.
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• The drive train for the rollers is also a feature which Brendan commented on saying “each roller is separately driven which gives an even force on all the rollers” this is essential for good bale formation.
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• Brendan also commented on the new rollers and the great job they did when working with damper grass. With the excellent feed from the 2.1 metre pickup and 70mm chop length, Brendan said that the baler makes the “perfect bale in all conditions”. Speaking of the rollers, Brendan said the new 4mm steel used in them should allow for many years of trouble free baling.
Kyle Bray | Contractor | Powys
ROLLANT 540
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“Having tried the 540 I didn’t need any persuading to buy it,” states Kyle, who was looking to replace his two-year old ROLLANT 374 with a higher output baler. Knowing that local CLAAS dealer REES AGRI had a demo machine, Kyle arranged to have the baler for two days and on the second day contacted James Rees saying he had to have it, and took delivery a week later in late July, after the new baler had been on the CLAAS stand at the Royal Welsh Show.
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“There is just no comparison between my new ROLLANT 540 and the ROLLANT 374 it replaced” comments Kyle Bray.
“It was probably one of the easiest sales that James has ever made! The old ROLLANT was fine, but it struggled especially in heavy crops when chopping. The new ROLLANT 540 has certainly given me the extra output I was looking for. Not only has bale weight increased but I am getting about 10 bales an hour more. “I did consider another make and would probably would have gone down that route if the ROLLANT 540 had not been introduced, but it wouldn’t have been a match for the 540. Also I have a very good relationship with REES AGRI and the service they provide is superb. That counts for a lot.
EXCELLENT FEED “The biggest difference is the flow through the baler. The feed into the baler is very positive and having the single rotor crop press definitely helps. The ROTO CUT system also copes with heavy crops far better. On the old ROLLANT the clutch would keep going and you would have to ease off, but on the 540 it just keeps taking it in. “Overall in general I am getting another 10 bales an hour out of the ROLLANT 540, which will comfortably produce a bale a minute in a good crop. “The new design of roller has definitely improved bale rotation. On the old baler in straw, it often took a little time for the bale to start rotating properly so you ended up with soft centre bales. That’s not a problem with the ROLLANT 540 and in combination with the pressurised tailgate, I am typically getting bale weights of around 950kg in silage and 250kg in straw.” Comparing the two bales Kyle, who is based near Talgarth in Powys, says that it is noticeable how much stronger the drive system is and the effect that this has had on flow through the baler. He has also found that bale shape is far better, with the ROLLANT 540 producing good, square shouldered bales that are much better for wrapping and stacking, and thanks to the new chute, loading wrap into the baler is also a lot easier.
SMART STOP The ROLLANT 540 is mainly used behind a new ARION 650 CEBIS which with baling in mind was specified with SMART STOP, which stops the tractor when the brake is pressed without needing to declutch. “Having SMART STOP makes baling so easy and far less tiring than having to press the clutch every time you stop. The new touchscreen
CEBIS is great to use and makes it very easy to set-up all the baler functions on the F keys on the CMOTION control.” Ahead of the baler, Kyle has been running a DISCO 3150, but that is due to be replaced by a new DISCO 3200 C CONTOUR for next season. Where required, the crop is spread using a VOLTO 800 prior to rowing up using either his own LINER 370 or a hired in LINER 2900. “The baling work just seems to keep growing and quite a few beef farmers are coming back to baled silage because it’s easier to manage. This year I also added an old QUADRANT 2200 to the fleet as one customer wanted to move from round to square bales. Buying the ROLLANT 540 was definitely a change for the better. It was worth doing and I have certainly had good feed-back from customers,” concludes Kyle.
HarvesTimes
THE CLAAS ROLLANT 540 A new era of CLAAS ROLLANT balers
NEW Reinforced door hinges
NEW Heavy duty driveline
NEW Stronger modular rollers NEW 50mm stub shafts NEW Heavy duty bale chamber & main frame NEW Double race bearings
NEW Optional film wrapping system
NEW Roller crop press options
NEW Optional folding pickup guide wheels
NEW Larger tyre options
NEW 80mm full width axle
NEW Splined stub shaft & sprocket drive
CLAAS know that reliability and durability are essential for a good harvest. That is why we have developed a fixed-chamber baler with a 1.22 x 1.25 m bale size. This concept has been developed in the UK and Ireland over a number of years to ensure that it meets our customers’ requirements. The ROLLANT 540 is tried, tested and ready for your harvest.
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3 + 33 monthly payments @ 0%
Offer available on all new Green Harvest machinery, while stocks last. Offer ends 31 May 2020. Finance for business users only. Terms and conditions apply.*
Call your local dealer for more information or a demonstration claas.co.uk *Finance for business purposes only. Subject to acceptance and affordability checks. Applicant must be 18 or over. Promotion valid until 31 May 2020. Available on new equipment only. Based on funding 50% of RRP. The finance product available under this promotion is Hire Purchase. First payment, full VAT and a documentation fee of £75.00 are all due on signing. An option-to purchase fee of £50.00 (including VAT) will be collected with the final payment. You will own the machine when all payments have been made. Alternative finance options are available, terms & conditions apply. Images are for illustrative purposes only. Finance provided by CLAAS Financial Services Limited, Northern Cross, Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4HL. Registered in England No: 5854271.
Kerr Wright | 111ha and 150-cow herd | Galloway
SCORPION 736
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Impressive new SCORPION – “There’s no stopping it” “The new cab is slightly larger and the controls are very well laid out with all the functions on the joystick coming easily to hand. Being able to set the lift height using the automatic bucket return function makes loading the diet feeder simple and will be ideal for mucking out. “The new SCORPION is also quieter than the old one and having lowered the boom the all-round visibility is extremely good. But it’s also the little touches, like having a storage box under the seat, which is very convenient. On the road it’s very smooth and feels more like a tractor. The boom suspension works well on rough ground and the positive drive makes it good for pulling trailers.
Comparing his new SCORPION 736 with his previous SCORPION 7040, is like comparing chalk and cheese believes Kerr Wright.
“Out of interest I did price up another leading make, but the equivalent machine was a lot dearer and there was not the metal in them that there is in the SCORPION, and I didn’t like the cab. The support from GORDONS has been superb, which as a dairy farmer is what you are looking for,” concludes Kerr.
“The new SCORPION is far nicer to drive and very responsive. The hydraulics are tremendous - it has far more power and it will just keep pushing for evermore; there’s no stopping it,” he enthuses. The new SCORPION is the third CLAAS telescopic handler to pass through the gate of Kerr’s 111ha, 150-cow dairy farm near Castle Douglas, that he runs with his father Tom and sons Murray and Fraser. “I originally had a TARGO K40, which I then intended to replace with a 6.0m SCORPION in 2011, but we have some offlaying land and as it only came with a 30kph gearbox, I went for the larger 40kph 7040. It’s that which has now been replaced with the new SCORPION 736.” As with most telehandlers, Kerr Wright’s SCORPION, powered by a 136hp Deutz engine and with a 6.93m lift height and 3.6t lift capacity, is one of the busiest machines on the farm. When not loading the diet feeder, it’s kept busy with all the other general handling jobs there are on a dairy farm. “For me, the cab on the SCORPION has always been one of its most impressive features. It’s so simple yet the rounded design with no crossbar makes any loading job easy and relaxing, because you can see exactly what you are doing, without having to keep leaning forward.
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David Carnegie | D M Carnegie | Aberdeenshire
TORION 1511
Effortless loading Leibherr wheel loaders have been used for bulk material handling by D M Carnegie for many years, so it was natural that when looking to replace one of their loaders, that they approached SELLARS about buying a TORION. Delivered in July 2018, the TORION 1511 was the first to be sold in Scotland and replaced a 41-year-old Hanomag loader. The new mid-range TORION 1511 joins a similar sized Leibherr 538 at the company’s base at Northwaterbridge near Brechin, where one of the main jobs is loading malting barley destined for the region’s many whisky distilleries. The TORION 1511 is powered by a 167hp DPS engine with Dynamic Cooling that develops 682Nm of torque. Drive is through a VARIPOWER transmission with three drive modes. Operating weight is 14.3 tonnes with an articulated tipping load capacity of 9.75 tonnes. The TORION features a SMART LOADING advanced driverassistance system with programmable bucket return and pre-set lifting and lowering limits. In addition to the company’s extensive contracting operations, Carnegies also grow, buy and store around 25,000 tonnes grain mainly, malting barley for the distilling market. In addition to handling grain, the loaders also move about 2,000 tonnes of woodchip a year, which after drying is mainly used in three Heizomat biomass boilers for grain drying, but some is also sold locally. “We have run Leibherr machines since 2008, and Hanomags before that and the reliability from the Leibherr loaders has been extremely good,” says David Carnegie. “As a German built machine engineered for industrial and quarry use, grain handling is easy work for them so we have no set replacement policy. They only do about 500 hours a year, which is what a quarry machine would
do in a week, so due to their build quality I would expect the TORION to be here for at least 12 years and the long service intervals mean the running cost is low.” “We have a very good relationship with both CLAAS and SELLARS, and Peter Stewart and the service team at Letham look after us very well. So with the nearest Leibherr dealers being either Aberdeen or Glasgow it made sense to change to the TORION.” Between them, the TORION and Leibherr machines will handle all the grain at least twice, but malting barley will also be cleaned and dressed, prior to loading out onto the company’s fleet of 12 articulated lorries.
VARIPOWER TRANSMISSION For handling grain, the TORION is fitted with a large 1 tonne toe-tip bucket with a capacity of 4 tonnes of wheat or 3 of barley. It has also been fitted with an RDS weighing system that acts as a useful double check to the trailer weighing system when loading grain or lime. The TORION is operated by Roy Gamble who comments that while generally it’s very similar to the Leibherr equivalent, the biggest difference has been getting used to the VARIPOWER hydrostatic transmission in the TORION. “Physically it’s slightly larger than the Leibherr which makes it more stable, especially when at full articulation,” he says. “The windscreen is also larger and the visibility from the seat is better. Having a more powerful engine is useful for loading work and now that I have got used to the VARIOPOWER transmission it’s very good and effortless for loading work.”
Rob Pugh | 243ha and 250 cattle | Shropshire
AXION 830 CMATIC
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“The AXION 830 is so comfortable.”
I wanted the CMATIC on the tractor because I do a lot of road work. I quite like the computer systems, the ease of use and the fact you can program everything into it. I think that it is logically laid out and works for me.
A good road tractor was the requirement for Rob Pugh when he was thinking of changing his CLAAS tractor. Rob Pugh’s family have been farming in Bridgnorth for more than 70 years and Rob is the third generation of the family to continue the business. “It is a family run business and I am the third generation to be involved in the farm,” explains Rob. “The family bought the second part of our farm just after World War II and recently it has been handed over to me. We are a mixed arable farm, farming about 243 hectares and currently with approximately 250 cattle.”
LOYAL DEALER RELATIONSHIP The Pugh family’s relationship with MORRIS CORFIELD and CLAAS dates back to the 1960s. “We have dealt with MORRIS CORFIELD for many years,” comments Rob. “We used to have a Steyr tractor and in 2006 it broke down, so I went into MORRIS CORFIELD and ended up getting a demonstration of an ARES 836. I was really pleased with how it went; it was spacious and all in all a very good tractor. The tractor came with full GPS and autosteer which was quite new back then.
CLAAS COMFORT “Back up is one of the main reasons I deal with MORRIS CORFIELD,” says Rob. “I know with MORRIS CORFIELD that if there ever was a problem with any of the machines all I have to do is pick up the phone. "There will be someone on the end to sort out the problem or a replacement tractor for me to carry on. The backup is second to none!” Before purchasing the AXION 830, Rob tried a competitor for comparison. “We tried another brand,” admits Rob. “It was a bigger machine and it would have been similar price and slightly newer, I still went with the CLAAS because of the backup and the comfort. Going down the road it is like being in your truck, the AXION 830 is so comfortable. Some of my customers are an hour away, so a 2-hour round trip means the machine has to be comfortable.”
“I kept that tractor for a few years and changed it for an AXION 840 CEBIS, it had all the screens. That was quite a big jump in the technology for us with all the electrics, we got on well with it. I ended up putting about 8,000 hours on it, it was a good reliable tractor. “I then swapped the AXION 840 for the AXION 830. It does exactly what I want it to do. Mostly in the summer the AXION 830 sits with a 14-ton trailer attached and picks up from the COMBINE and it does the cultivation in spring and autumn. In winter we use the tractor for animal feed deliveries.
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“The factors in the XERION’s favour were the ability of the four equal sized wheels to get power to the ground, and that it could be operated in crab mode to spread the load.” Finlay Hay
XERION 5000
Hay Farms | 3,360ha over 33 farms | Perth
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Power efficient XERION Hay Farms saw the enormous potential of having a XERION 5000 as their main cultivations tractor. The past six years have been ones of considerable change for Hay Farms which owns or contract farms under various agreements 3,360ha on 33 farms, spread over 18 miles from their base at Easter Rhynd near Perth. Of this, 2,600ha is down to arable crops and until 2014 cropping also included 160ha of potatoes. “The potatoes just didn’t fit well with the rest of the arable operation, which suffered as a result,” states David Hay. “Not having potatoes gives us more time to concentrate on cereals, with the result that average yields have increased 10%, partly due to improved soil structure but also attention to detail and being able to hit timings right.”
20% MORE LAND FARMED The change also prompted a complete tractor rethink. Due to potato work, the Hays’ tractor fleet consisted mainly of mid-range 200hp tractors whereas today, of the eight tractors in the fleet, six are over 300hp. “We now farm 20% more land than we did in 2014 with one less tractor,” comments David. Until last year, the fleet included two articulated tracked tractors, one for the farm’s 8.0m Vaderstad drill and a second 620hp machine for ploughing and cultivations, and it is this machine that has now been replaced by the wheeled 530hp XERION 5000. “The biggest issue with the tracked cultivations tractor was the wear to the running gear we were getting due to roadwork,” explains David’s son Finlay. “With block cropping the drilling tractor is fine as that will stay in one place for about three days drilling, but the cultivations tractor is always running about between blocks and it is not uncommon for it to do up to 60 miles a day. For our system it was starting to cost a lot of money, and the bulk of that from the running gear.”
“In addition it also has a proper three-point linkage on both the front and rear, which is important to us as we like to mount home-made stone forks on the front of the cultivations tractors, so they can clear stones as they find them.” One feature in the other tractor’s favour was a variable tyre pressure system. However, after discussing this with CLAAS UK, the XERION was taken to Saxham where an after-market variable pressure system was fitted which, says Finlay, has transformed the tractor. “Having the ability to travel at 1.6 bar on the road and then drop pressures in the field to 0.8 bar has made a considerable difference to traction. Even in last autumn’s conditions it was impressive where the XERION could still go. Even though we have dropped from 620hp to 530hp, on our heavy soils traction is the ultimate problem as the XERION never dies for power.”
CLAAS STEERING To fully maximise tractor performance the Hays’ have been using an Agleader RTK steering system for the past 10 years. However, for the XERION they have stayed with the CLAAS steering system due to its compatibility with the XERION’s crab steering modes. “It’s very, very good and extremely clever how it compensates for crab steer. We have been really pleased with the steering system. It does what it needs to do and we don’t need to worry about it as its all integrated.” “There is a lot of technology on the XERION, but the operator Struan Wilson does make full use of it. It’s pointless having all that technology if it’s not used properly to maximise the savings that can be achieved. But it’s also very important to have the support when you need it, and CLAAS have always been very good, and arranged for someone to come and sit with Struan for a day and just show him how to use the various functions on the XERION.”
POWER TO THE GROUND Looking to change back to a wheeled tractor, the choice was narrowed down to the XERION and one other conventional 517hp tractor. “Both are good tractors, but the factors in favour of the XERION were the ability of the four equal sized wheels to get power to the ground, and that it could be operated in crab mode to spread the load. We never felt the other tractor fully got all its power to the ground,” states Finlay. “Also we really liked the ease with which we could add or remove weight on the rear platform with a telehandler, so we can weight it up for ploughing, but then easily remove the weight again for cultivations, which is not so easy on a conventional tractor.
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“When the tractor was delivered, CLAAS UK went through everything to make sure that we could change things to suit our business. CLAAS showed us a lot of new features.� Mark Weaver.
Mark Weaver | 100ha and 300+ cattle | Shropshire
ARION 530 and ARION 620
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“The simple reason we swapped was for the service.” The Weavers have an ARION 530 for feeding, power harrowing and sharing the ploughing and drilling. Their ARION 620 does all the main groundwork on the farm.
“We have a Case tractor, we were always Case before the CLAAS tractors. We were so impressed and still to this day cannot fault MORRIS CORFIELD, hence the loyalty to them.
Mark Weaver farms at Burleydam, Shropshire alongside his wife Sue and youngest daughter Rachel.
A FAMILY BUSINESS
The farm is a beef, arable and heifer rearing enterprise which sits on 100ha and has over 300 cattle. The farm grows wheat, barley, oilseed rape, grass, beans and maize. “We have been dealing with MORRIS CORFIELD for 14 years. When the farm changed from a dairy farm to a beef and arable farm, we decided to buy our own combine, which is predominantly driven by Rachel,” explains Mark. “We had never dealt with MORRIS CORFIELD until I saw their second-hand list and saw the machine I wanted and went for it. MORRIS CORFIELD serviced the combine from that point on and that’s what started our relationship with them.” When it came to trying a CLAAS tractor there was only one choice for Mark. “It was all due to the service on the combine that we considered buying a tractor from MORRIS CORFIELD in the first place,” says Mark.
“Recently MORRIS CORFIELD managed to get us back up and running within 30 minutes of the technician receiving our phone call. That’s the sort of back up you need and that’s what farmers expect these days. You just can’t get service like that anywhere else.”
Mark has a new ARION 530 which Sue and Rachel also drive. They use this for feeding, loading bales, power harrowing and it also shares the ploughing and drilling. They are particularly impressed with the reduced maintenance of the new front axle design. The ARION 620 does all the main groundwork on the farm. “I know that my tractors are reliable and the MORRIS CORFIELD service is too. The tractors are just great because they are very straightforward and easy to operate,” says Mark. “When the tractor was delivered, CLAAS UK went through everything to make sure that we could change things to suit our business. CLAAS showed us a lot of new features.” Rachel is already looking to the future and knows what technology will benefit the farm. “In the future, I would like to purchase a new combine. The navigation would be a huge benefit for us. We would love to get involved in that area,” says Rachel.
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MAKING IT EASY
ARION 510-550 Three models 115-155hp
PROACTIV front axle
CMATIC transmission
Full 4 way suspension
RELEASE THE TECH – WITH ARION 500 CLAAS have made it easy to own a new 4 cylinder tractor. The ARION 500 comes as standard with many hi-spec features, together with a number of optional extras including ISOBUS, TELEMATICS, RTK and a MULTIFUNCTIONAL JOYSTICK, allowing you to tailor your tractor to meet your specific requirements. Each new ARION 500 is also delivered with 3 years / 1,500 hours Warranty. Terms and Conditions apply.
0%
4 + 44 monthly payments @ 0% Offer available on all new tractors, while stocks last. Offer ends 30 April 2020. For business users only. Terms and conditions apply.* EASY technology, EASY back-up, EASY finance – it’s an EASY decision. Call your dealer today. claas.co.uk
*Finance for business purposes only. Subject to acceptance and affordability checks. Applicant must be 18 or over. Promotion valid until 30.04.20 or while stocks last. Available on new equipment only. The interest free offer is subject to a maximum to finance of 50% (based on RRP). The finance product offered under this promotion is Hire Purchase. First payment, full VAT and a documentation fee of £125 are all due on signing. An option-to-purchase fee of £75 (plus VAT) will be collected with the final payment. You will own the machine when all payments have been made. Alternative finance options are available. Terms and Conditions apply. Images are for illustrative purposes only. Finance provided by CLAAS Financial Services Limited, Northern Cross, Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4HL. Registered in England No: 5854271.
