Farms & Farm Machinery #397

PRODUCT NEWS
Left: TGB’s Blade 600 SE offers 42.1
horsepower (31kW) and 53.6Nm of torque
blue heaven
Now available through Argo
ATV, the new Blade 600 SE
all-terrain vehicle has made
its debut Down Under
TGB has brought a new line of quad bikes to Australia ahead
of new safety laws coming into effect later this year.
The Taiwanese manufacturer’s Blade 600 SE series provides
a step-up in power and size from the 520 series and has
been shown at events, including Farm World in Victoria late
last month.
Crucially, TGB quad bikes sold after October will include the
mandatory rollover protection equipment – once the laws kick in
– while machines sold before then will have rollover protection
available as an option.
The Blade 600 SE offers 42.1 horsepower (31kW) and 53.6Nm
of torque, 240kg payload capacity and a 561cc four-stroke single
cylinder engine and a digital display.
Other features include heavy-duty front and rear racks, double
A-arm front and rear suspension.
TGB also has a slightly higher-specification model available –
the 600 SE-X EPS – with the main difference being the presence
of electronic power steering.
The 600 SE-X EPS also has a slightly heavier overall weight and
different colour options.
The Blade 600 SE is available from $11,599 with the 600 SE-X
EPS available from $13,390.
TGB’s quad bikes are distributed in Australia through
Argo ATV.
Left: The Erth Agriseeder Drill is now available
through Gendore Tractors & Machinery
compact disc
Ireland’s Erth Agriseeder
drill is making a splash
Down Under with its solid
construction and a touch of
New Zealand know-how
Built in Ireland and available Australia-wide, the Erth
Agriseeder drill is a simple disc seeder with a lot of brains
behind it.
Manufacturer Erth Engineering says the Agriseeder range is a
flexible drill perfect for sowing cover crops, fodder crops and
cereals into existing swards or burn-off.
Australian distributors Gendore Tractors & Machinery were
showing off the 24-row, 3m model at this year’s Farm World
show, with managing director Derek Genoni telling Farms &
Farm Machinery that the new model has attracted a lot of
interest.
Requiring a tractor of more than 100 horsepower (75kW), the
unit has a 400L hopper and weighs 1,500kg, with row spacings
of 125mm.
“Most disc seeders on the market are $130,000–$150,000,”
he says.
“This one is about $58,300 [including GST], because it is not as
complex as all the others – it is just a simple machine.”
But just because the machine is simple, doesn’t mean the unit
is without technology, with its hydraulic Autocontour secondary
suspension system increasing flexibility while seeding.
The drill frames are partitioned into three eight-coulter sections
with hydraulic rams linked to each other and to the unit’s rear
roller – meaning that downforce per frame equalises despite the
undulations of a paddock.
“Those coulters cut into the ground and as you go up and down
those banks go up and down with it,” says Genoni, adding that
this makes the seeder better able to handle varied conditions.
“Here, where we do try and seed in very dry conditions, you
may want to put weights on it –just standard tractor weights
– and job done, that’s another thing where you save a bit of
money,” he says.
Especially for the Australian release of the seeder, Gendore
sells the seeders with the option of either the standard
Kverneland metering unit or with the Taege metering system,
developed by the New Zealand manufacturer.
“The Taege is fully electronic and the Kveneland is purely
mechanical,” says Genoni.
“So Erth do all the engineering of everything apart from the
metering unit – the Taege we mount here in Australia and it has
been performing magnificently.
“In under a minute you would calibrate the machine – Taege
units are so far advanced in their calibration, you do that and
you are done.”
6 TradeFarmMachinery.com.au THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND