Lely

Lotus tedders - Padraig Langan - Ireland

Faster Baling in Westmeath with the Lely Lotus Tedders

As an agricultural contractor Padraig Langan knows to make hay while the sun shines in Co. Westmeath. Round baling and slurry spreading are Padraig’s main agricultural activities. The summer months are a busy period for him as he also sells quite a large amount of hay in the locality. Come mid June commuters traveling along the old Dublin to Galway road will be only too familiar with the sight of numerous bales of hay across the land. Due to the unfavourable weather conditions that have come our way over the last few summers, Padraig knows how important it is to save quality hay in the space of a few days. His need to save quality hay fast was what attracted Padraig to the Lely Lotus brand of tedders. “The Lotus tedders’ ability to ted grass thoroughly and shake out any lumps means I can save hay a day earlier with these tedders” says Padraig. “The machine sweeps the grass up in the air and the hook shaped tine means any lumps in the grass are flicked out.” he adds.

According to Padraig the hook shaped tine and the strength of the drive line are the most important features on the Lely Lotus Tedder. Grass is spread evenly and soil contamination does not occur, due to the shape of the tine it sweeps the ground rather than tearing it. Padraic first purchase was a Lotus 770 which covers 7.7 metres of grass with one pass. Following on from the success of that machine he then bought a Lotus 600 Combi, which as well as tedding out twenty foot it also rows the crop back into two ten foot swaths. This means that he can spread out over twenty acres an hour when the two machines are in action together. After trying other brands throughout the years and only in his third season as a Lely customer, Padraig is extremely happy with all his Lely machines. “The quality of the Lotus tedder will give longevity to the machine.”

“Having these machines means we can get through the work faster and get a quality product at the end.” says Padraig. “We used to have four tractors running in the field but now thanks to the tedders we are able to get through the workload with only two!” This leaves the tractors free to do other jobs such as baling or slurry. Padraic also has two 235 Lely Welger Profi balers. “If only they could invent some thing that would stop the rain this summer, we would be laughing” jokes Padraig.