Pottinger is a company that likes to keep itself busy developing new products and this week it launched a raft of new grassland equipment and updates on its home turf in Austria, and Agriland was invited along to see firsthand.
Chief among the new products it was showing to the world for the first time was the 5000 series of Jumbo forage wagons which follows the the trend recently adopted by the company of bringing its machines down from the technological stratosphere and presenting them to its customers in a more user friendly format.
The company suggests that by doing so, it extends the appeal of the machines to farmers themselves instead of just contractors who tend to be more focused on operating sophisticated machinery. A corresponding reduction in price doesn’t go amiss either.
The 5000 series uses the same body and chassis components of the 7000 and 8000 machines but are not quite so heavily burdened by features that bring more marginal benefits to the operation of the established range, mechanical drive to the pick-up reel, rather than hydraulic, being a prime example.
Pottinger was also keen to keep the wagons compact, bringing maximum volume to a minimum footprint.
It has done so by keeping the drawbar short and borrowing the moving front panel arrangement which allows the crop to be packed into the space above the pick-up reel, an additional 4.3m³ is said to be available through this innovation.
Choice of capacity
There are several sizes to choose from, with the smallest machine having a capacity of 32m³ and the largest 54m³.
They are available with rear discharge beaters (DB) or in a Dry Forage (DF) form which has reinforced top covers to prevent lightweight crops escaping.
Suspension and steering axle options are also part of the offering which broadens the appeal of the machines while still keeping them relatively simple to operate and afford.
Automatic knife sharpening can be fitted to the larger models where there is space to fit the unit between the pick-up and the the front axle.
The knife banks on all the machines swing out for ease of maintenance and blade removal.
Chop length from the 45-piece knife bank and feed rotor is said to be 34mm, with each knife being individually protected against foreign objects, thus minimising the extent of any damage.
The driveline of the new series has also been retained from the big brothers, enabling tractors of up to 360hp to be used with 160hp being suggested as the minimum requirement.
New Pottinger ethos
The great advantage of the 5000 series is that operators do not require the same amount of training or familiarisation with the wagons as they would with one of the already established models from the Pottinger stable,.
Therefore this, according to the company, makes them more suitable for larger farms wishing to retain independence from contractors.
This is a theme that runs throughout the new machines presented at the event; quite how much of this driven by the reduced spending habits of farmers and how much is due to the realisation that herd size is increasing and farmers are bringing control of the silage harvest back under their own wing is not immediately clear.
However, there is likely to be an element of both in this newfound approach..
The new Jumbo 5000 series will be available from this autumn onwards, in time for the 2025 season.