A southeast-based, father-and-son duo are a relatively new presence on the Irish machinery market. Michael Redmond is a tillage farmer operating outside Clonegal on the border between three counties, Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow. Together with his son, Michael junior, he is the Irish distributor of Agro-Tom machinery. The Redmonds are very much focused on min-till tillage farming, and the machines they are bringing to Ireland from the Agro-Tom range reflect that philosophy.
Having trialled min-till for some years, and weighed the yield for comparison, Michael Redmond became certain he could reduce his workload and retire the plough without compromising on yield or the quality of his work.
“I initially was using a second-hand cultivator, but once I decided to fully commit to min-till, I was looking for a new machine to underpin our tillage operation” he says. However, he found the price of available new min-till cultivators to be prohibitive.
“So I went looking abroad and came across Agro-Tom,” he explains. A factory visit followed, and not only did he become the Polish company’s first Irish customer, he decided to become the Irish distributor for Agro-Tom as well.
Purpose-built for Irish conditions
The machine of particular interest for the Irish market is the APHW cultivator. Working with the Redmonds, the machine has been specifically designed to deal with the challenges presented by the bewildering range of soil types and weather conditions we experience here in Ireland. The main focus was to ensure a machine that leaves stubble ready for planting after one pass of the machine.
The 4m machine features three rows of heavy legs with tungsten tips. With 12 legs in all, it has a working width from 15-30cm deep. They are spaced 30cm apart, moving all the soil. Tips with wings are available for shallower cultivation if that is preferred. The legs are followed by two rows of nine 560mm discs, 6mm thick, to work the soil. Finally, there is a heavy packer with a narrow centre, which presses the soil, leaving a firm seedbed with a loose upper layer of soil, suitable for planting in the next pass.
The APHW 4m cultivator has three rows of heavy legs (12) and has a working width from 15-30cm deep.
Versatile
The Agro-Tom’s design means it has a wide range of applications.
“We are very happy with the versatility of the machine. It can do lighter cultivation, post-harvest, or it can work as deep as any plough,” says Michael Redmond.
“One customer has prepared for beet with the Ago-Tom, with no plough involved at all. A deep run of our machine, followed by a power harrow, and the field was ready for beet planting.”
The Redmonds themselves mainly plant winter crops and they prefer a deeper post-harvest cultivation, which then prepares the ground for planting later in the autumn without a further run being needed.
“Our focus is to minimise the amount of time spent and diesel burnt in the field. While never compromising the quality of the seedbed,” explains Michael junior.
“We give the field a good deep run as soon as possible after harvesting, breaking any pan that would have formed and working all the soil. We then come back in with a simple one pass power-harrow drill combination and plant. It’s working well for us.”
The AgroTom APHW 4m cultivator
Easily adjustable
“Adjustment is very important in a machine that is working in a wide range of conditions,” says Michael Redmond.
“Adjustments can be made to each section quickly and independently. There are four separate sets of spools, operating rams that allow adjustment of the tines, or the discs and of the cultivators. You simply open the hydraulic ram for a section and then add or remove clip-on spacers on the ram to adjust the working depth.”
Once the machine is set up for work, you only have to operate a single set of spools, to lower and raise the transport wheels, engaging the machine and lifting it on headlands. The long drawbar and carriage wheels allow a full turning circle when operating.
Price a big selling point
Michael Redmond believes his machine offers the best value in a competitive market.
“The four-metre trailed machine is retailing at €35,000 plus VAT,” he says. “You won’t be able to buy a similar machine in other, more established colours, for twice that price,” he says.
“All the machines we offer are TAMS approved, so when you subtract 40 or 60% from the selling price, you are getting an awful lot of machine, capable of doing a lot of work in a single pass across a high acreage, for relatively small money,” he added.
They are also offering a three-metre semi-mounted machine, which is currently available for roughly half the price of the four-metre.
Michael Redmond believes that the more affordable machine can stand alongside other brands in terms of design quality, and durability.
“We are very confident to stand over the Agro-Tom in terms of the quality of the build. We’ve been using the machines for six seasons now and know that there is no compromise on quality, the metal is as good as anything on the market.”
Michael Redmond junior believes the min-till system offered by Agro-Tom machines is the way forward for tillage farmers. “Because tillage farming is the way it is, I’m working full time off the farm, like most young tillage farmers. My tillage farming is part-time.
“So it’s nice to be able to come home, eat, till up 25 or 30 acres in the evening without any stress. It’s actually manageable, you wouldn’t be killed working. You’d only plough that much ground if you worked round the clock for a full day.”
The legs are followed by two rows of nine, 560mm discs which are 6mm thick to work the soil.
Who are Agro-Tom?
Agro-Tom were founded in 2005. They manufacture mainly cultivation equipment, seed drills and fertiliser spreaders in the company’s distinctive black livery. They are based in Pogorzela, a small town in the central-west of Poland, about halfway between Lodz and the German border, which puts them roughly halfway between Warsaw and Berlin.
It’s an area with a patchwork of tillage land stretching in every direction, so it’s little surprise that the main focus is on machinery for cropping. While they manufacture ploughs, the signal products are the range of min-till non-inversion machines. Agro-Tom have a network of sixty dealers. Apart from Poland, there are dealers in Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Canada, and now Ireland.
A southeast-based, father-and-son duo are a relatively new presence on the Irish machinery market. Michael Redmond is a tillage farmer operating outside Clonegal on the border between three counties, Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow. Together with his son, Michael junior, he is the Irish distributor of Agro-Tom machinery. The Redmonds are very much focused on min-till tillage farming, and the machines they are bringing to Ireland from the Agro-Tom range reflect that philosophy.
Having trialled min-till for some years, and weighed the yield for comparison, Michael Redmond became certain he could reduce his workload and retire the plough without compromising on yield or the quality of his work.
“I initially was using a second-hand cultivator, but once I decided to fully commit to min-till, I was looking for a new machine to underpin our tillage operation” he says. However, he found the price of available new min-till cultivators to be prohibitive.
“So I went looking abroad and came across Agro-Tom,” he explains. A factory visit followed, and not only did he become the Polish company’s first Irish customer, he decided to become the Irish distributor for Agro-Tom as well.
Purpose-built for Irish conditions
The machine of particular interest for the Irish market is the APHW cultivator. Working with the Redmonds, the machine has been specifically designed to deal with the challenges presented by the bewildering range of soil types and weather conditions we experience here in Ireland. The main focus was to ensure a machine that leaves stubble ready for planting after one pass of the machine.
The 4m machine features three rows of heavy legs with tungsten tips. With 12 legs in all, it has a working width from 15-30cm deep. They are spaced 30cm apart, moving all the soil. Tips with wings are available for shallower cultivation if that is preferred. The legs are followed by two rows of nine 560mm discs, 6mm thick, to work the soil. Finally, there is a heavy packer with a narrow centre, which presses the soil, leaving a firm seedbed with a loose upper layer of soil, suitable for planting in the next pass.
The APHW 4m cultivator has three rows of heavy legs (12) and has a working width from 15-30cm deep.
Versatile
The Agro-Tom’s design means it has a wide range of applications.
“We are very happy with the versatility of the machine. It can do lighter cultivation, post-harvest, or it can work as deep as any plough,” says Michael Redmond.
“One customer has prepared for beet with the Ago-Tom, with no plough involved at all. A deep run of our machine, followed by a power harrow, and the field was ready for beet planting.”
The Redmonds themselves mainly plant winter crops and they prefer a deeper post-harvest cultivation, which then prepares the ground for planting later in the autumn without a further run being needed.
“Our focus is to minimise the amount of time spent and diesel burnt in the field. While never compromising the quality of the seedbed,” explains Michael junior.
“We give the field a good deep run as soon as possible after harvesting, breaking any pan that would have formed and working all the soil. We then come back in with a simple one pass power-harrow drill combination and plant. It’s working well for us.”
The AgroTom APHW 4m cultivator
Easily adjustable
“Adjustment is very important in a machine that is working in a wide range of conditions,” says Michael Redmond.
“Adjustments can be made to each section quickly and independently. There are four separate sets of spools, operating rams that allow adjustment of the tines, or the discs and of the cultivators. You simply open the hydraulic ram for a section and then add or remove clip-on spacers on the ram to adjust the working depth.”
Once the machine is set up for work, you only have to operate a single set of spools, to lower and raise the transport wheels, engaging the machine and lifting it on headlands. The long drawbar and carriage wheels allow a full turning circle when operating.
Price a big selling point
Michael Redmond believes his machine offers the best value in a competitive market.
“The four-metre trailed machine is retailing at €35,000 plus VAT,” he says. “You won’t be able to buy a similar machine in other, more established colours, for twice that price,” he says.
“All the machines we offer are TAMS approved, so when you subtract 40 or 60% from the selling price, you are getting an awful lot of machine, capable of doing a lot of work in a single pass across a high acreage, for relatively small money,” he added.
They are also offering a three-metre semi-mounted machine, which is currently available for roughly half the price of the four-metre.
Michael Redmond believes that the more affordable machine can stand alongside other brands in terms of design quality, and durability.
“We are very confident to stand over the Agro-Tom in terms of the quality of the build. We’ve been using the machines for six seasons now and know that there is no compromise on quality, the metal is as good as anything on the market.”
Michael Redmond junior believes the min-till system offered by Agro-Tom machines is the way forward for tillage farmers. “Because tillage farming is the way it is, I’m working full time off the farm, like most young tillage farmers. My tillage farming is part-time.
“So it’s nice to be able to come home, eat, till up 25 or 30 acres in the evening without any stress. It’s actually manageable, you wouldn’t be killed working. You’d only plough that much ground if you worked round the clock for a full day.”
The legs are followed by two rows of nine, 560mm discs which are 6mm thick to work the soil.
Who are Agro-Tom?
Agro-Tom were founded in 2005. They manufacture mainly cultivation equipment, seed drills and fertiliser spreaders in the company’s distinctive black livery. They are based in Pogorzela, a small town in the central-west of Poland, about halfway between Lodz and the German border, which puts them roughly halfway between Warsaw and Berlin.
It’s an area with a patchwork of tillage land stretching in every direction, so it’s little surprise that the main focus is on machinery for cropping. While they manufacture ploughs, the signal products are the range of min-till non-inversion machines. Agro-Tom have a network of sixty dealers. Apart from Poland, there are dealers in Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Canada, and now Ireland.
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