20 Year Old Purpose Built Combi-Feeder Still Going Strong- Is This a Rekord?

Hurley farmer (and co-creator) Chris Wathes tells us why this machine is so good.

Chris Wathes is a farmer who knows what he wants – and if it's not available, he's not above making it. Farming around 550 acres out of Hurley, Warwickshire – Chris's operation is predominantly beef, around 100 head – though this was 200 head before he went into “semi-retirement” as he puts it (though I don't think he's near ready to put his feet up yet!)

Having modified other bits of kit to suit his particular needs, Chris is no stranger to the “A-Team” school of thought. A self adapted silage pusher built from an old snow plough and other bits and bobs is testament to that. Having single cattle sheds rather than an “ally” meant he needed something unavailable to buy – and this attachment now meets his needs perfectly. Make a note Hareland!

So when Chris decided that his Parmiter silage feeder wasn't exactly fitting the bill (even though he had tinkered with this too)...he got to thinking. What improvements could be made to meet his needs?

Enter Ray Green at Rekord Machinery, a friend and willing accomplice in the creation of what is now the Rekord Combi-Feeder, a machine so good and built so well that Chris still uses the first machine that was made - even today!

Chris described his dilemma, “The Parmiter was doing the job but I felt it could have been done better. When it comes to silage feeders you've got ones that handle round bales, some square www.farmingmonthly.co.uk – other machines chop it and blow it...I didn't want that. I wanted a solid, reliable machine that would handle round or square bales and clamp silage with no chopping and no fuss”.

“I also wanted the machine to be able to handle the misshapen or collapsed bales at the bottom of the stack – not just the perfectly round ones from the top – the Combi-Feeder does it all”.

Chris offered to put a bale in and demonstrate and with that, jumped into the Tele (a Merlo hydrostatic model) and shot off to grab a bale.

As if by design, it turned out to be a bit of a turkey once the netting came off – perfect for a demonstration of this machine's ability. Once loaded, Chris positioned his trusty Fiat ready for a feed run along the nearest shed.

“I want to show you the extension mechanism – if it grabs a bale and doesn't hold it, it sends it back down and tries again. You can feed into a trough/manger as well as onto the floor, dispense feed from the left or right or out of the back (courtesy of the separate frame) – it's ideal”.

The machine is so versatile that it will not only feed out silage but hay, straw, roots, meal and by products.

As far as maintenance goes, Chris just washes it down once a year and sprays it with waste oil. The only attention that the machine has needed was when a pin came out of the main feed chain – a quick one to fix and a minor niggle after 12 years of service.

As far as construction goes, the machine is bulletproof and built like a tank from good quality steel. You could drive into the thing and not leave a scratch on it – which Chris admits he's done in the past, quite by accident of course.

For more information on the Combi-Feeder contact Ray at Rekord on 01827 712424 or email ray@rekord.com