McIntosh Multi Bale feeder wins Farm World TMA Machine of the Year award

A FOUR-bale feeder made in New Zealand picked up the Unpowered category in the Farm World TMA Machine of the Year awards. The McIntosh Multi Bale feeder is not a new concept, with other manufacturers offering the capacity, but the company said it has a couple of points of difference. Allan Slater from TracMac in Drouin, which distributes the brand, said the loading system with rotating star tines on the feeder rails was unique. “When in position, the tines can rotate lengthways so the bale slides into place without it catching on them,” Mr Slater said. “Then they lock into place during operation and you get enough aggression to feed out the bale.” The guide for the feeder chain drive is shaped so it pushes the feed out the sides away from the trailing wheels. The loading system has double ram hydraulics for smoother loading of round and square bales up to 1300kg. “One of the features of the machine is that it allows you to hold the bale over the platform so when you remove the wrap or net, the silage or hay will fall into the machine and not over the ground,” Mr Slater said. “So if you get rotor-cut bales that want to fall apart when they’re unwrapped, it all falls into the cradle.” The cradle can hold three bales with a fourth on the forks with a hydraulic ram pushing a bar to feed the bales forward. “It’s for the large farm that go through lots of round bale hay and silage and want to get through it quickly,” Mr Slater said. “It’s designed for big heavy silage bales and we’ve tested it with bales up to 1300kg, so it’s built with a lot of strength.” He said the low-profile design that gives it a low centre gravity makes it good for working on hills, while the bogey axles with wheels shod in 11.5/80-15.3 tyres providing stability and a large footprint for wet conditions. The bale feeder, which requires a 80-100hp tractor, also has a string and net box with galvanised mesh floor to allow moisture to drain out.