AgriScot 2024 features cutting-edge farming tech | The Scottish Farmer

Nov 11, 2024

AgriScot, which will take place at the Royal Highland Centre on Wednesday, November 13, hosts the largest winter display of machinery in the UK and is an excellent showcase for the latest developments in farm hardware and technology for arable and livestock farming.

Whether you’re looking to invest in new equipment or to simply stay informed about advancements and options available, the full-day event is an opportunity to see and compare a broad range of market leading tractors, harvesting equipment and precision farming tools, all under one roof.

Gordons Agricultural Equipment “There is so much innovation and advancing technology in the sector, and this is a great opportunity to see it all first-hand,” says AgriScot trade stand manager John MacInnes.

“The scale of the exhibition at AgriScot means there is plenty of variety for visitors to see how they can integrate different elements to help simplify and future-proof their farming business.”

Here we spotlight a few of the machinery companies exhibiting at AgriScot.

SoilEssentials showcases ways to cut costs and labour.

Pedrotti 30 ton batch dryer with 80 ton Skandia trench intake conveyor and unloading conveyors If you’re looking to optimise your operations with the latest in precision farming technology, head to the Lowland Hall, Stand 185. SoilEssentials has expanded its footprint this year to give visitors a chance to see first-hand both its award-winning SKAi spot-spraying system and the AgXeed autonomous AgBot.

The SKAi (pronounced ‘sky) system targets dock weeds in grassland, volunteer potato weeds in onions and in broccoli, and can reduce chemical use by up to 95%.

Using AI technology, SKAi sprays only the weeds, cutting costs on unnecessary blanket herbicide applications and lowering environmental impact.

McHale F5-550 baler SKAi is available as a bespoke 12m-15m Team sprayer or a retrofit system fitted to a range of sprayer brands and sizes, offering a versatile solution for different farming needs. Its retrainable design also ensures it can adapt to detect a wide range of new targets in the future.

SKAi spot-spraying systems are working successfully in the UK and The Netherlands with customers clearly seeing the benefits, including one who said: “Instead of conventionally spraying 18l of chemical across the entire field, I only used 5l by spot-spraying, so saved £390 in chemical over one field. And as I only sprayed the weeds, I didn’t kill the clover.”

The AgXeed autonomous AgBot is set to revolutionise labour in agriculture, and is designed to undertake field work unsupervised for up to 23 hours, minimising human hours in the cab but also the weight of machinery on the soil.Visitors to the stand can also learn about SoilEssentials’ other products and services designed to help farm smarter, all geared at improving efficiency and profitability while encouraging more sustainable farming.

These include soil sampling, the latest PTx Trimble guidance systems, Garford mechanical weed control and their own EssentialsNetRTK independent RTK correction network.

The core business for McHale, which is a leading global manufacturer of specialist agricultural machinery, is creating high-output balers and baler wrappers for silage, haylage, hay and straw.

Among a wide-ranging display of McHale machinery at this year’s event, a highlight will be the new F5 Range of fixed chamber balers, which is being launched in Scotland at AgriScot, along with the new Pro Pel T10-1260 tedder.

“The new F5 range introduces our newly designed Profi-Flo pick-up featuring enhanced throughput and increased crop flow,” explains Garry McConnell, Scotland and Northern Ireland sales manager. “Bale density and bale binding has increased in performance to produce higher density bales. A focus on operator comfort and friendliness has been at the forefront of developing this range, while still ensuring we maintain the reliability and heavy-duty build quality that McHale is renowned for.”

The new McHale F5 Range of Fixed Chamber Balers comprises of four models: the F5-540 non-chopper baler; F5-550 15 knife chopper, semi-automatic baler; F5-560 25 knife chopper, fully automatic baler; and F5-560 plus 25 knife chopper, fully automatic film binding baler.

All machines in the F5 range deliver a number of new features through their various control consoles, while ISOBUS-compatible machines allow the operator to experience the highest level of customisation and machine performance.

“We’re proud to also present the new McHale ProPel T10-1260 tedder to the range,” adds Garry.

“The ProPel tedders are the ideal machines to lift and aerate even the heaviest crops. This results in the best quality fodder in the shortest time. The tedders have proven to be strong, robust machines which are highly efficient and reliable in all terrains.”

The McHale ProPel T10 Tedder is a trailed machine that is fitted with a long carriage frame that connects the tedder to the tractor when in operation and serves as a carrier when in transit.

South-west Scotland Claas dealer Gordons will be showcasing a selection of Claas machinery at this year’s AgriScot including a Claas Scorpion 635, Claas Arion 530 CIS+ and Claas Volto 55.

As well as Claas, Gordons - which has five depots in Scotland covering Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, also has a number of industry-leading manufacturers including Lemken, Bunning, Cherry Products, Hi-Spec, Horsch, KRM, Schäffer, Storth, and Trioliet.

The team will be on hand to talk about feeding and bedding over the winter, as well as all your other new and used machinery requirements.

Established in 1979, Murray Machinery Ltd operates from within Aberdeenshire, manufacturing material handling attachments to fit telescopic handlers, forklifts and tractor loaders.

Murray Machinery has an extensive product range of over 30 machines with numerous variations which are specifically designed for the farming and agricultural sectors. This includes implements such as muck forks, stone forks, bale handling attachments, quick hitch adaptors, shear grabs, buckets, and snow blades to name a few. They won the Gold Award for continuous outstanding merit at the 2023 Royal Highland Show Technical Innovation Awards for their Gravel Road Grader.

A version of its grader, as well as other machinery such as a muck fork and grab, shear grab and bale handling equipment will be available to view on the stand in the Upland Hall on stand 220.

“We always have a stand at AgriScot because it’s a great opportunity for us to speak directly to our valued customers and dealers as well as meeting potential new customers,” said James Burnett of Murray Machinery

Longstanding exhibitor and agricultural machinery marketer, Master Farms Services, specialises in grain equipment.

At AgriScot 2024, the team will have the 12t Pedrotti mobile grain dryer on display to demonstrate how it works, show the quality, galvanisation and endurance of Pedrotti products, and how it connects to be controlled by smartphone or tablet. The 12t is the smallest of the range, which goes up to 100t capacity, and is ideal for showcasing the merits of the range as a batch drier, which suits Scotland’s conditions well.

“The cleaning and conditioning of batch drying can offer a distinct advantage over a continuous drier for the changeable harvest conditions in Scotland,” says George Young of Master Farms Services.

“We’ll also be showing how you can link the drier at all the different stages of the intake and out-take system, from combine to dry. One of the main benefits of the continuous batch is that it costs less than continuous flow as well as being much better at cleaning and conditioning.”

The Pedrotti range has good fuel efficiency. Another benefit is the linking system which allows farmers to be versatile, so if, for example, they decide to change their drying policy on the farm, they can sell with high residuals. Master Farm Services, which supplies the whole of Scotland via Agricar and Ravenhill, will also be exhibiting associated equipment for conveying grain as well as generators.

“We’re looking forward to another great day at AgriScot – it’s always nice to see existing and new customers. It’s a good event, with a lot of people, and seems to especially attract young people, which is great as it’s good to also be speaking to the next generation.”

For the full programme and exhibitor list: www.agriscot.co.uk

Register now for express entry and your chance to win £500 of fertiliser.

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