It is believed that Case IH is in the midst of discussions with The Cooney Furlong Machinery Company, with a view to appointing the Enniscorthy-based firm as a franchised dealer.

However, it should be stressed there has been no confirmation, as of yet, from Cooney Furlong or Case IH.

At present, The Cooney Furlong Machinery Company is the main agent for Vaderstad in the area. It is well known to tillage farmers and agricultural contractors – not just in the south-east but in other parts of the country too.

This recent video (below) shows footage of a Vaderstad Carrier XL in action in the midlands.

The Cooney Furlong Machinery Company is, of course, affiliated with The Cooney Furlong Grain Company, which was founded in 1998. The entity supplies a range of farm inputs, including seed, fertiliser and crop chemicals – as well as animal feedstuffs and agricultural plastics.

In 2013, the company acquired three retail branches in Enniscorthy, Wexford and New Ross. These branches each have retail shops.

The core business remains the collection, drying and marketing of grain, linked with the supply of seed, fertiliser and agro-chemicals to its grower customers. The company also provides crop agronomy and animal nutrition advisory services.

A large portion of the company’s grain goes into the brewing, malting and distilling industries.

In other Case IH news, the manufacturer recently announced the imminent introduction of a new dual-clutch, eight-step semi powershift transmission. It will be known as ActiveDrive 8; it provides a total of 24 speeds in both forward and reverse.

Case IH Maxxum

Covering speeds up to 10.2kph, range one is specifically designed for heavier draft work. For special applications requiring very low speeds, such as vegetable crop work, ActiveDrive 8 is also available with additional creep speeds.

Range two, the main working range, covers nearly 90% of all field, grassland and loader application requirements, according to Case IH. It runs from 1.6 to 18.1kph.

For road travel, the transmission is designed to start in range three; a skip-shift function allows “quick progress” through the powershift speeds. An auto-shift feature means the tractor can be set to progress automatically through any set of eight speeds in the field, and through all 16 gears in the top two ranges on the road.