Quality kit sells to buyers nationwide at Wiltshire contractor’s retirement sale

{farm sale}

Quality kit sells to buyers nationwide at Wiltshire contractor’s retirement sale nationwide at Wiltshire contractor’s retirement sale

This New Holland T7-230 Power Command 4wd on a 20-plate had worked only 965 hours and was in superb condition. With autosteer and RTK guidance, it also had 50kph transmission and front axle and cab suspension plus a highspeci cation seat. It was tted with a front linkage and PTO, a Sauerman pick-up hitch, a hydraulic top link, an LED lighting package, 650/75R38 rear tyres and 600/65R28 fronts – all with plenty of remaining tread. The tractor had been serviced by local dealer TH White and had one year of warranty remaining. The winning bid was from a Wiltshire farmer who paid £73,000.

An online timed farm machinery sale arranged by Gloucestershire-based auctioneers, Moore Allen & Innocent in early November featured modern machinery from a professional contracting business. David Williams reports.

The sale was arranged on behalf of Crudwell, Wiltshire-based Mike Morrissey who traded as HP & CA Morrissey Ltd, following his decision to retire from contracting. Mike had operated his very well respected and e ciently run business for more than 44 years since he started it in May 1977.

Superb, modern machinery

“All lots had been superbly maintained and were presented well – from the two New Holland tractors to the smaller workshop equipment on o er. Testament to Mike’s well organised business, even his three cantilever toolboxes sold well, achieving £240 each,” stressed Moore Allen & Innocent auctioneer Peter Kirby.

“Star lots included the two New Holland tractors, an Amazone maize drill, a set of Kuhn triple mowers, a Claas Liner four-rotor rake, a New Holland large square baler and a McHale wrapper, but almost everything achieved prices beyond initial expectations and only one item failed to meet its reserve.”

Horses for courses

The auction was held online between Friday 29th October and Wednesday 3rd November, and there were two viewing days, allowing potential bidders to inspect the lots prior to the sale. “This online auction generated interest and bids from all four corners of the UK, and the online format worked well as many successful buyers were happy to bid based on the website descriptions and photos as well as some helpful video clips, rather than feeling they had to attend the viewing days in person.

“This online sale followed two very well attended and successful live dispersal auctions held in September, supporting the old saying ‘horses for courses’,” Peter con rmed. FG

Another of the sale’s star attractions – this Claas Liner 3600 four-rotor rake had a 12m working width and was new in 2015. It had otation tyres, a spare work wheel and was supplied with its own Communicator terminal but was also Isobus-compatible. It made a very impressive £26,500. One of two New Holland large square balers on o er – this BB1290 Plus BigBaler had made 14,633 bales since it was new in 2017. It had electronic bale length monitoring, a moisture meter and a weigher, LED work lights, a re extinguisher and had been serviced annually by main dealer TH White. On Vredestein 560/45R22.5 wheels and tyres, it had only been used in straw and hadn’t worked at all during harvest 2021. Sold described as ‘ready for work in 2022’, it made £60,000.

One of the star attractions, this McHale High Speed 998 HS Bale Wrapper was new in 2020 and had wrapped only 4,563 bales. It was on 400/70-20 wheels and tyres and in superb order. It sold for £30,000.

Sold at the ideal time of year as the leaves started falling from trees in early November, this Stihl BG86C leaf blower made £150. An impressive £80,500 winning bid from a Wiltshire farmer secured this very tidy New Holland T7-260 Power Command. It was on a 20-plate and had worked only 1,290 hours. It came with auto-steer and RTK guidance, a 50kph transmission, front axle and cab suspension and an upgraded seat. It also had front linkage and PTO, a Sauerman pick-up hitch, a hydraulic top link and an LED lighting package. It was on 650/75R38 rear tyres and 600/65R28 fronts – all with 70% tread. It had been serviced by main dealer TH White and had one year of warranty remaining.

Two fuel bowsers on o er included this Marston single-axle 6,000-litre model with a 12V electric pump, an auto-nozzle, inline lters and anti-bug agent added at fuel delivery, a lockable cabinet, hydraulic brakes, road lights, 385/65R22.5 super-single wheels and tyres and with approximately 100 litres of red diesel still in the tank. It sold for £2,400. The other bowser was also from Marstons with a 5,000-litre capacity but otherwise had a similar speci cation. Containing 800 litres of red diesel, it sold for £3,000.

This set of Kuhn FC8830D bat-wing mower conditioners and a matching front Kuhn OptiDisc Elite FC3125DF-FF front-mounted mower conditioner were all new in 2020, but the rear mowers carried a 2018 manufacturing plate. In superb condition and well maintained, the set made £36,250.

Two Kuhn ploughs also proved popular with bidders. The Multi-Master M123 5f reversible on the left which was manufactured in 2018, but rst used in 2020, came with slatted mouldboards, skimmers, hydraulic auto-reset, manual vari-width and a land wheel. It made £11,500.

The Multi-Master M123 5f reversible on the right was used for the rst time in 2019, but also carried a 2018 manufacturing plate. With a similar speci cation to the rst plough, it was also in very good order and sold for £11,000.

 Horsch Joker cultivators achieve good prices secondhand, and this 2014 3CT, 3m model (above) with a Horsch Mono 3TG 5-tine toolbar, spring auto-reset, sets of 110mm and 175mm wings, mulch mixers, two rows of discs, and a steel disc packer with scrapers made £10,000, while a similar but slightly older 2012 model made £10,500. Autumn isn’t generally considered to be the optimum time to sell baler twine, but this pallet of 62 balls of New Holland Invent Power with 2,800m in each, made an impressive £1,200 while a second pallet of 96 balls of New Holland Invent Long Baler String with 3,000m in each ball made £2,000.

This Cousins single-leg mole-plough complete with a stand sold for £580.

One of the cheaper items among the implements on o er was this Challenger one tonne extending arm Bag Hoist. It mounted on a three-point linkage and was tidy, and sold for £200.

£17,250 was the winning bid for this Kuhn GA8131 twin-rotor rake. The rake was manufactured in 2019 but worked its rst season in 2020 and was in excellent condition. It was equipped with individual rotor lift, bogie axles and transport lights.

Amazone machinery always sells well, and this ED602-K ED Classic eightrow precision maize drill which came with fertiliser placement, a following tyre press, hydraulic folding and bout markers as well as eradicator tines and Amascan+ controls achieved a welldeserved £11,000.

App allows precise herd management without signal

Agricultural software specialist, Farmplan, has released its long-awaited Cattle Manager Go app for smartphones and tablets, allowing Cattle Manager users to access records and make notes on the farm, even without signal.

Farmplan development support manager Sally Ashwell says: “It’s the perfect extension of Cattle Manager, helping you to improve pro tability and manage your herd accurately and e ectively.”

The app was released for iOS and Android in October.

Farmers across the UK trust Cattle Manager as a tool that enables compliance and quality assurance for their herds, Farmplan reckons. The new app permits sharing of data between Cattle Manager and Cattle Manager Go via the cloud. Users can choose from a long list of useful information in the desktop program and seamlessly synchronise it to their smart device.

“You can send every animal if you prefer or sort by batches and breeds,” says Sally. “You can also select prede ned actions like drug treatments, movements, anything to do with health. Essentially, you have access to as much or as little information as suits you.”

Once the straightforward download process is complete, your smartphone or tablet can be used out on the farm – even without mobile signal or wi- . Details for each cow, including ID, age, breed, category, and purchase history can all be pulled up with a tap, along with any medical treatments. Each cow record also lets you quickly tap through to any next of kin still on the farm.

“You can also record data in addition to accessing it,” says Sally. “New births can be entered, along with their tag numbers, sex, and other crucial details. Any actions that have been put against particular animals are presented as a list on your device, so you can enter diary notes as needed.

“For example, you can tick o animals as they are moved or pre-set to specify particular drug treatments and dosage levels. Withdrawal periods are also at hand. You can always be sure everything is in order without needing to be in the o ce – or even in range of signal.”

Once the user is back within signal range, all data is uploaded to the cloud and synced with your desktop. Each action is shown on screen with the option to make edits before saving. Multiple users can all work simultaneously without issue – all incoming data is veri ed to check that information remains current and correct, alerting the user if something doesn’t align.

“Cattle Manager customers have been requesting an app for a long time,” adds Sally. “[...] In addition to saving time and making your life easier, the app helps ensure accurate and timely reporting.”

In addition, from 4th October, cattle birth, death and movement noti cations in Scotland should be submitted through ScotMoves instead of BCMS. Farmplan has been working hard behind the scenes to facilitate this, making the process as straightforward as possible for customers.

Visit www.farmplan.co.uk to learn more. FG

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