A range-topping Jaguar 980 will be centre stage on the Claas stand at this week’s Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) Farm Machinery Show (in Punchestown).

The machine on display is wrapped in a distinctive black livery.

Only a few years ago, says Claas, the typical size of Jaguar operated by a contractor here would have been a 516hp 860. However, recent years have apparently seen a move towards the higher-specification 900 series, with a “notable number” of 775hp 970 and even 884hp 980 models being sold.

This, claims Claas, allows for “highly accurate sharpening”, but also “improved chop quality and reduced wear”.

Other new features include automatic adjustment of the chopping cylinder (drum) concave, so that the gap between the blades and the concave remains constant – for an “even blow and reduced fuel use”. There is also the option of a hydrostatic drive system for front attachments.

Don’t forget that the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show takes place this week. It kicks off on Thursday (February 7) and runs until Saturday (February 9).

The venue, as before, is Punchestown – near Naas, Co. Kildare.

On Thursday and Friday, the show will be open from 10:00am to 6:00pm. On Saturday, it will be open from 10:00am to 5:00pm.

The FTMTA has produced a detailed map of the show, showing the overall layout of the event and, more specifically, the location of the various exhibitors.

Below is a JPEG image of the official map.

If you have a suitable viewer (application) on your PC, tablet or smart-phone, click on this link to open up a PDF of the map.

In the PDF version, you will be able to zoom in and decipher all of the finer details.

Don’t forget to download it to your mobile device, so that you can access it when you need it most (at the event itself).

A list of exhibitors at this year’s event, together with the corresponding stand numbers, is provided below.