It’s not very often that there’s a shark sighting in Carmarthenshire, but for Anthony and Fairclough, the Müthing MU-Vario Shark flail mower from Simon Richard Ltd has the right bite.
With sheep and cattle enterprises plus 34,000 free range hens, managing grassland is a key task.
“We had a small rotary topper, but thistles and rushes grow strongly on our undulating land and it just wasn’t up to the job,” explains Ben Anthony, who runs the family business with his partner Diana Fairclough.
A conversation with local dealer Cliff Jenkins Machinery brought the suggestion of the robust 2.8m Müthing MU-Vario Shark front mounted flail.
“Operated out front, it means that the tractor is not running down the grass ahead of it, and the Shark’s gearbox is rated at 200hp so it was a good match for my Valtra T613.”
The Shark special edition has an uprated hydraulic 56cm side shift system with plastic bushes for extra wear resistance, plus a hood wear plate. Fitted with Duramax-M hammer flails, its name and eye-catching paintwork is a nod to the patented shark fin chopping bar which adjusts to ensure that longer vegetation such as rushes and thistles are comprehensively mulched.
“We expect to cut 150 acres a year with the machine, and we’re mowing areas that we couldn’t tackle before, ” says Ben.
“It has shredded the thistles and rushes, yet it can also produce a finer cut for use as a topper. We really like the versatility,” he concludes.
