Tim Linton of Valley Ag contracting, Featherstone, is walking a little taller these days. His new McHale Vario has renewed his confidence in getting the job done.
He said, “ With our old baler’s reliability issues we would hesitate to put down more than 10 ha of grass a day, always concerned we might not be able to finish it. Now, with our new McHale Vario we confidently put down 30 ha knowing we will get the job completed and be home at a reasonable time. Summer has a completely different feel to it. "
Tim and his business partner Mike Slater had taken on the previous baler when they purchased the business back in 2018.
“The bales were good but the reliability was just not there. The season was fraught,” Tim said. “The McHale Vario has changed all that. Every day we finish up happy, with a job well done.”
Tim is hoping that with renewed confidence in his new baler wrapper they will be able to begin to grow their business, hoping staffing issues due to Covid-19 do not hold them back.
Tim’s new baler is the McHale Fusion Vario, with the added options of factory fitted bale weighing and moisture reading systems. It is a fully integrated bale wrapper which consists of a high output variable chamber baler, combined with an integrated wrapping ring. It can bale and wrap haylage, hay and straw. The Vario also features a new and improved cam-less pickup, a trouble free single belt which is designed to withstand much greater damage than its multi belt counterparts, and a further simplified and improved stretch netter system, making it even easier to use compared with the competitors. This enables a faster net change, keeping down-time to a minimum.
“The i-Touch screen displays exactly where you are in the baling and wrapping process, and also displays the weight and moisture content of each individual bale.
“Providing the farmer with feedback is the way to go. The moisture meter enables you to work out the dry matter content of the bale. The weight of each bale is taken as the machine stops to release the bale. The two together provide valuable information to the farmer as they can determine the dry matter content of their crop.
“It’s proving to be popular and a real advantage as I can then deliver this information straight to the farmer at the end of the job. It completely eliminates the guess work.
“Last season one farmer was pleased with the job and offered to pay me on the weight of the bales, which was advantageous. Obviously the weight and moisture content gave the farmer confidence to offer this deal. He knew how much he was getting in the bales.”
Shane Cox, Power Farming’s product specialist added, “Knowing the weight of the bales can also prove useful when loading bales onto a truck, giving an idea of the legality of the load.
“The moisture metre proves useful when judging whether hay or straw is ready to be baled, and can be particularly useful with inexperienced operators.
“The ability to be able to give out this information as a result of the moisture meter and weighing systems gives the Vario an additional competitive edge.”
Tim signed off saying, “I drove it a lot in the early days. It is basic and very easy to use and does an amazing job. Having McHale and the team at Power Farming behind the product is great. I’m really happy with it!”
Written by Ali Leigh
