Elmore Field Days is one of Victoria’s premier agricultural events. It combines the best machinery available and a fantastic family atmosphere, making it a must-see event
JNR Leopard Ejector
I’m not sure what makes the new Leopard Ejector by JN&R stand out like the proverbial, but it must be something to do with its Aussie green and gold paint job and Hulk-size appearance.
But does the Leopard walk the walk? Well the Kyabram, Victoria-based engineering company certainly thinks so, having spent over 1,000 hours of testing and years of research and development going into the machine.
Replacing the popular LE series, 21 Leopards have been made over the last 12 months, with one even finding its way across to California.
Operation and use is simple according to JN&R Owner Gino D’Angelo: “You fully load it up with a tractor, and the rams at the rear push the tailboard, which then ejects and spreads the material out.
“You can work in any soil conditions – you can be working the Leopard Ejector in sand, or rock, heavy clay; this machine can do it.”
Compared to its predecessor, the Leopard has a 25 per cent increase in capacity, bigger tyres, trunnion-mounted apron cylinders and larger ripper tines.
It’s certainly as striking as a Leopard – find out more at www.jnrengineering.com
Bobcat TL38.70HF Telehandler
Bobcat is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, but their presence in the agricultural market seems to go unnoticed.
Many people I’ve spoken to either haven’t seen or didn’t know that Bobcat make an agricultural telehandler. On the contrary, the Bobcat Telehandler range is quite popular in its native US of A.
So, we decided to meet the Bobcat TL38.70HF Telehandler, and we were pretty impressed.
In a nutshell, the TL38.70HF provides 0-40 km/h two-speed gearbox, a well-known 130hp Perkins engine, a 3.8-tonne lift capacity, and a juicy $126,500 price tag.
“We are really pushing our farming telehandler range,” Clark Equipment national product specialist David Warrack says.
“Everyone knows Bobcat, but not many know we have telehandlers – but the beauty is, we have a machine does everything and anything the farmer wants,” he adds.
“It’s easy to use, it’s fast and it’s efficient.
“Once we get farmers into one, they straight away compare what they’ve got and realise that this [Bobcat range] has everything in it and we haven’t cut any corners,” he adds.
The Bobcat Telehandler range can be found at the Clark Equipment website.
Hidromek 102B Supra Backhoe
In a smart white, black and red colour scheme, the Hidromek Backhoe should fit right at home on the farm.
Proudly on display at the OneTraks site (Australian distributor), some standouts of the Hidromek Backhoe are its spacious cabin, an extremely comfy air suspension seat and a booming air conditioner.
Constructed by Turkish steel, the Hidromek 102 Supra Backhoe is aimed at three markets: agriculture, construction and council/shire operations.
“The shires typically have one due to its versatility,” Onetrak national sales manager Andrew Pritchard says. “It is used for loading, digging and scraping.”
In the construction market meanwhile the Hidromek is used mostly for subdividing and pipe laying, while in agriculture Pritchard says it is perfect for the farmer working in tight spaces, and its versatility basically turns it into a tractor.
In terms of specs, the Hidromek Supra offers a 100hp four-cylinder Perkins engine and a six-forward three-reverse fully automatic transmission.
The Hidromek has a price tag around $125-$130k, which Pritchard says is far cheaper than its competition.
Poettinger Impress V Baler
What makes the Poettinger Impress different from any other baler on the market is that it feeds over the top of the rotor as opposed to underneath it. This, says Poettinger, eliminates the amount of swaying the operator has to do in the paddock.
“The one on display is obviously just the round baler, but you can also get them in baler/wrapper combos,” Poettinger representative Ben Mitchell says.
“You can run either 16 or 32 knives,” Mitchell says, “this allows you to get a real short cut for heavy compact bales.”
The Poettinger is certainly impressing the farmers, with large interest coming in from Tasmania and Gippsland recently.
The Poettinger Impress is predominately used by the high-end farmer, particularly contractors, due to the machine’s versatility in being able to work with a range of materials, whether it is wet silage or straw.
All in all, quite a neat little machine!
Claas Arion 430
Our mates over at FarmTraderNZ were impressed by the Claas Arion 430 a while back. So, when I saw the machine on display at the Claas Harvest Centre site, I thought I might pop over and see what all the fuss was about.
And my first opinion was that, like the most Claas Tractors, this was a no-fuss machine.
The Claas Arion 430 is ideally for mixed farming and dairy farming practice, and comes spec’d with a 130hp 4-cylinder DPS engine, a 2.1-tonne loader lift capacity and the Quadshift powershift transmission.
“Claas don’t manufacture their own engines, this one for example is from John Deere, and by doing this, Claas can concentrate on the one-percenters like cabin features and build quality,” Claas Harvest Centres sales representative Nick Fleming says.
Visibility is also a winner for the Arion 430, with its easy to access six-pillar cab and curved rear windows making for an almost 360-degree view.
Antonio Carraro TGF 9900
Antonio Carraro tractors are one of the most respected vineyard tractor brands. While relatively unfamiliar to Farms & Farm Machinery, we decided to give this Italian stallion a walk around.
First of all, as far as vineyard tractors go, this is one of the most striking machines we’ve seen. That glossy red paint job and elegant pressurised Protector 100 cab really make for an attractive vehicle.
The TGF 9900 is a super-low profile tractor, designed to work nimbly within narrow gaps and perform extremely tight turns.
Antonio Carraro says the TGF 9900 is ideal for working in the thickest orchards, in tendone vineyards, greenhouses and on steep slopes.
Spec-wise, the TGF 9900 has an 85hp four-cylinder Kubota engine under the bonnet, while it also features a 16+16 synchronized reverser transmission.
Hats off to Antonio Carraro. Like always, the Italians have put together a fantastic looking machine.