Manitou Adds Smart Weigh System to MLT Telehandler Range
Manitou's larger MLT 841 and 1041 telehandler models can now be optioned with the in-house developed, Smart Weigh System (SWS).
Manitou Australia is launching its Gehl R series radial-lift skid loaders ‘down under’, and they are expected to be popular with farmers.
The line-up is all new, the company says. The models R190, R220 and R260 offer a better operator station with an integrated digital display, improved visibility, pressurised cabs, Tier IV engines and a high-powered hydraulic system.
These machines are rated large-frame and bring “unparalleled performance to the jobsite,” says Manitou.
When equipped with optional counterweights, the rated operating capacities range from 957kg on the R190 to 1260kg on the R260. Lift heights reach up to 3060mm on the R190 and 3124mm on the R220 and R260.
Their emissions compliant Tier IV Yanmar engines have DPF (diesel particulate filter) technology – environmentally sound and needing no fuel after-treatments, such as urea. With maximum torque ratings from 235 Nm on the R190 to 279.3 Nm on the R260, power is ample, says the company.
The R Series skid loaders come with high-powered auxiliary hydraulics that achieve flow rates from 119L/min on the R190 to 32.5L/min on the R220 and R260 with the high-flow configuration.
High breakout forces are great for digging and faster cycle times further enhance productivity.
The cabs have a new side-folding restraint bar and armrests with multiple adjustments. Joystick and hand/foot control towers are fully adjustable and the mechanical or air-ride suspension seat options gives plenty of comfort.
A cab-forward design and lowered rear towers give good visibility to the bucket edge and rear of the machine. The optional pressurised sealed cab enclosure, with sound reduction material and a rear-mounted air filter, is clean and quiet.
When dairy manager Miriam Lauridsen learned the farm, she was joining held weekly health and safety meetings, she initially thought that was “a bit over the top”. Experiencing that culture changed her mind.
Nominations are open for the 2027 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year Award.
Keeping up with pasture moisture demands is likely to be the key challenge for dairy farmers during this season’s El Niño weather pattern, says Blue Skies Weather & Climate Services meteorologist Tony Trewinnard.
Farmers have until the end of this week to help shape DairyNZ’s future focus.
Wayne McNee, chief executive of AgriZeroNZ, has resigned and will leave the organisation on 15 January 2027.
The New Zealand dairy sector set a record in the 2025/26 season, producing more than two billion kilograms of milksolids for the first time.

OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…