The passing summer saw a hugely successful vintage working day at Ahiohill as the late season sunshine drew both the crowds and participants to Co. Cork to watch the last of the silage being brought in.
The event was being held in aid of several local charities with the main sponsor being Farmpower, the local John Deere dealer which is celebrating 40 years selling the brand into the area.
Well-kept classics
One notable theme arising from working days over the last few years is the number of well restored and lovingly kept classics that are still in regular use on farms.
Down in Co. Cork it is Fords and John Deeres that predominate this field of interest with many fine examples being brought along to flex their horsepower and be shown off to the visitors.
Of the many present, one example was an earlier John Deere 2850 that sported the distinctive SoundGard cab. These tractors were built between 1986 and 1994 and offered 86hp in, what was for the day, a compact package.
On the blue side there were also many tractors that had received a good deal of tender loving care (TLC). One of these was a Ford 8210, a solid tractor of 115hp which epitomised the state of play in the 1980s when 115hp was a big machine which called for six cylinders.
That philosophy faded during its nine-year production run, which started in 1982, but it would have been the main tractor on many tillage farms here in Ireland and over in the UK in that era.
All makes celebrated at Ahiohill
Although the most popular, Fords and John Deeres are not the only classics kept in good working condition, certain Case Internationals have a loyal following, especially the six-cylinder models of the 1980s.
The 1056 XL is a great example from the Case IH stable. The German-built six-cylinder engine was revered amongst Case IH fans and beyond, and it is upon these motors that the popularity of the brand was based. The glass fibre cab tops, however, were fragile, and not best suited to farms with lots of trees.
Sticking with the Case IH lineage, a restored David Brown 1210 was busy with a New Holland double chop, and while it was coping with the swath, its 67hp limited the rate of progress.
David Brown was a gear manufacturer originally, and still is, and its foray into farm tractors came thanks to a brief pre-war liaison with Harry Ferguson. It remained at heart though, an engineering company, and its failure to keep up with the importance of a decent cab aided its demise in later years.
Chopping forage at Ahioll
Tractors are only part of the silage-making process, the real action takes place in the harvesting mechanism and here to, the history of the chopping technology was well illustrated.
The basic harvesting machine from which all other types were developed was the single chop harvester which was little more than a flail mower with a spout attached that directed the forage up and into a trailer. With the addition of an auger to move the grass across to a flywheel chopper, mounted to one side, the double-chop harvester was born.
Kidd of Devizes in Wiltshire was one well-known manufacturer of these models, along with mowers and toppers, for which the company was best known.
It was eventually bought by Taarup which was then subsumed into Kverneland which itself was bought out by Kubota. Quite a trip for a small Wiltshire company, although a housing estate now lies on the site of the original factory.
Precision chop for quality
Eventually, precision metering was added in a bid to produce a more uniform chop length and it is this form of mechanism which is still in use today – although the tractor has been done away with and it is mounted at the front of a dedicated machine, otherwise known as a self-propelled forage harvester.
However, they are still available as trailed units from Kongskilde and the latest model from the Danish company was also working in the field at Ahiohill.
In this day and age of 1,000hp+ harvesters which can clear a field in a blink of an eye it might be asked why take the seemingly backward step of using a trailed precision chop harvester.
The answer, according to Liam Kelleher, owner of the rig, is independence from a contractor with full control over the harvesting process rather than having to await the big boys who will arrive at their own convenience.
Although the story of pit silage was well told at this event it is not the whole silage story, there is the mowing to be considered and also the advent of round bales, both of which have had a tremendous impact on forage conservation. Hopefully, we’ll see more of other methods at future events.
Other activities
Although the working display was a large part of the day it was not restricted to just silage making. Alongside the harvesters there was a ploughing match and tractor-pulling heats.
As the main sponsor Farmpower of Co. Cork had a large display of Harvesters and tractors. Jim O’Mahoney, company principle, was glad to report a busy year with a good number of tractors sold and he remained optimistic about the future.
While striking an optimistic note, one of the happier features of recent classic events is that younger generations appear to be more involved than ever.
There was a time when it was just good old boys and their dogs that turned up at these shows, but now there is the whole range of ages and genders all with a passionate and eager interest in the machinery. The classic tractor scene is safe for a long time yet.