Jim’s bright idea saves time and reduces risk
FOR Clonegal farmer Jim Ryan, the days of trying to squeeze into the tight space behind a tractor to attach or detach machinery, are gone.
He has come up with a handy tool which he calls a ‘ lift arm bar mover’, and it allows him to access those hard to reach areas, and apply the force required, without having to put himself at risk.
Production of the bar has begun on a small scale, but Jim has already had interest from farmers. He brought it to the recent Tullamore Show, and also demonstrated it at the Farm Safety Day at Leslie Dixon’s farm in Gorey.
He said that those who saw it in action said it was ‘a gift of a tool.’ ‘ There are no electrics,’ he said. ‘It’s a very simple tool. It’s a nice weight and it has impact. It’s like using a curtain pole so you don’t have to reach up too far.’
The space between machinery and the back of a tractor can often be a tight spot, and attaching the machine to the lift arm of the tractor, or removing the attachment from the lift arm can often be strenuous and time consuming.
Jim said the device has proven to save a lot of time in connecting and disconnecting machinery such as sprayers, toppers, mowers, agitators, fertilizers, spreaders, and hedge cutters. ‘A farmer’s time is worth money,’ he said. ‘ This is a big time saver.’
‘Some fellas are keeping extra tractors around rather than detaching the machines, so this saves money too,’ said Jim. ‘It could take you half a day trying to get in behind a tractor trying to get the arm off the machine. Some fellas have to crawl in under tractors to get them detached.’
A limited amount of the bars have been produced, and they are available through Andy Byrne combine breaker and tractor parts in Askamore.
Though he’s a full time farmer, Jim has always had an interest in design, and he came up with the idea ‘out of hardship.’ ‘My knee was sore from kicking,’ he said. ‘I’m starting small with it, but it’s the simple things like this that people say why weren’t they around sooner.’