IAM Agricultural Machinery will display the remote-control Bomford Turner Flailbot at this week’s FTMTA show in Punchestown.
It features an extendible track footprint; each of the two tracks can be independently extended. By widening the footprint to aid stability and grip, the mower can operate on inclines of up to 55º.
A 40hp Perkins engine provides the muscle. Buyers can opt for rubber or studded-steel tracks, depending on the likely conditions that the machine will face. According to the company, an automatic tensioning system ensures that the “tracks remain firmly on the machine”.
To maintain the “optimum cutting height and angle”, the 1500mm (59in) cutting head automatically floats over terrain.
Tools and accessories
The Flailbot can be coupled to a range of tools and accessories, to enable it to tackle all sorts of work.
The fact that it’s remotely controlled means that it’s suitable for very hilly or banked areas, with no risk of injury to the operator. The remote-control unit has a range of up to 150m. Joystick control allows “precise” control of forward or reverse track speeds, from 0-7kph (0-4.5mph). The remote-control unit also displays real-time data, including machine incline and speed.
List price is approximately €79,000 excluding VAT.
Strautmann wagons
IAM will also exhibit an “extensive” range of other machinery that might be more familiar to Irish farmers and contractors, including Strautmann self-loading silage wagons and diet (tub) feeders, alongside Hardi sprayers and Gregoire Besson ploughs and cultivation equipment.
A Strautmann Giga-Vitesse silage wagon equipped with a CFS rotor.
Strautmann wagons have proven popular with quite a number of Irish contractors over the years, not least due to the firm’s CFS rotor. Sitting behind the pick-up reel, it comprises a roller equipped with a shallow spiral, which is designed to spread the incoming crop across the full width of the rotor.
This, says Strautmann, evens up the load on the feed rotor and knife bank, thus evening wear rates. It also, says the firm, negates the need to weave along a narrow swath to fill an even load.