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Regardless of the type or size of a farming operation, Manulift EMI Ltd. has a size of loader to do the job, whether it's stacking and moving hay, plowing snow or cleaning corrals.

The company carries 72 different models of the Italian-made Merlo telescopic loaders, says Jonathan Ledoux, Manulift's national marketing director based in Varennes, Que.

Since introduced to Canada in 2004, Manulift has sold more than 600 Merlo loaders, with several models well suited to farming. -- Lee Hart photo

Several of the agricultural loaders, with reaches ranging from 20 to 30 feet, were featured for the first time at the Agri-Trade farm show in Red Deer, Alta. this week.

The four-wheel drive loaders feature a single telescopic arm that can be outfitted with up to a dozen attachments including forklift tines, a bucket, a grapple, a blade or a basket.

"It is a very versatile machine whether you need it for stacking hay bales, loading manure, scooping up grain, feeding cattle, pushing snow, cleaning out a barn or lifting someone up to repair a roof or change a bulb in a yard light," says Ledoux.

"The machine is very stable and steady. For example, with the basket attachment, a person can be safely lifted 20 to 30 feet for whatever the job is, which is much better than trying to balance a ladder in the front-end bucket of a farm tractor."

The largest agricultural model, the P55.9 CS, has a maximum load capacity of 12,000 pounds, with a lift of 28 feet and a forward reach of about 15 feet. The fuel-efficient loader can also pull up to 27 tonnes.

The smaller P28.8 model can lift up to 6,000 pounds with a lift of 16 feet and forward reach of about five feet.

"The P28.8 is a compact model ideal for working inside a poultry barn, or any structure with a low ceiling," says Ledoux. "It has a total cab height of six feet, three inches so you can work inside a building, scoop up manure or feed with the bucket and then drive out and empty it into a truck."

Some models also have a three-point hitch attachment.

With some 600 machines sold in Canada, Manulift is in the process of setting up a dealer network in Western Canada.

-- Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary.