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XtraBlatt Issue 01-2021

  • Text
  • Xtrablatt
  • Crop
  • Australia
  • Dairy
  • Grassland
  • Straw
  • Agricultural
  • Silage
  • Forage
  • Machinery
  • Krone

INFORM Recommended by

INFORM Recommended by the experts is regular inspection of knives and counterblade. In Krone forage harvesters the appropriate inspection hatch is V-shaped with opening handle. “The aim is that the swath is fed into the machine in a continuous and even flow. If the pick-up is running too fast, the forage is gathered in great gobs for feeding into forage wagon rotor or harvester intake and chop quality is negatively affected. A slow pick-up speed can result in the swath being pushed forwards on the ground”, says Benedikt Lambrecht-Speller. CHOP LENGTHS With forage harvesters the speed of the intake rollers, and therefore length of chop, can also be steplessly adjusted. “Our aim is to achieve an overall smooth throughput by matching pick-up and intake speeds. Only when these two are synchronised have we taken the first step towards best possible chop quality in harvesting”, explains Daniel Büter. The six precompression rollers on Krone forage harvester intakes ensure feed is firmly consolidated before reaching the knife drum. This expert stresses: “The more effectively we consolidate the forage layer, the cleaner the chop executed by the knives against the counterblade.” Inside the harvester, how the forage is to be further processed is decided at the knife drum. How precise is the chop to be? How long? “In principle, grass is chopped to longer lengths than maize”, relates Daniel Büter, “But A uniform and thin layer of forage should be unloaded onto the clamp. This operation is greatly aided when optional discharge rollers are fitted onto the forage wagon. there are naturally farmer preferences here too. Some like it longer, other shorter, depending on how the grass is used in the rations. In practice, we see grass chopped at lengths of from 10 to 25 mm, the length controlled from the harvester cab. Chop length also has direct influence on subsequent clamp consolidation, one of the major influences on silage making success.” WELL-SHARPENED For the perfect cut, the knives must naturally be sharp and the counterblade optimally set, adds the product specialist. “In the past it was common to sharpen the knives thoroughly once a day. Under today’s conditions, several short sharpening cycles with appropriate readjusting of 26

Regular sharpening of the forage wagon knives, here carried out with the mobile SpeedSharp sharpener, enables continuous chop quality and savings on required power. the counterblade over the entire working day are seen as better practice. The readjustments can be comfortably carried out from the cab via automatic functions so that there’s continuous back-up ensuring good chop quality. There’s no hard and fast rule as to how often sharpening should take place. After all, rate of wear is very closely associated from the field conditions and the material chopped.” Focussed-on more in the future, reckons Daniel Büter, will be analysis of harvest data documentation. “Nowadays, it’s no longer a problem to collect yield data, nutritional content and dry matter – and all of it site-specifically. Analysing this data informs the farmer on best-yielding areas as well as poorly performing ones, all important management information. There will be other tools coming for fine-tuning management within the framework of digitalisation, producing further useful data for the forage harvest.” FORAGE WAGON SET-UP With forage wagons too, harvest material must flow into the machine as optimally as possible. To help here the operator can adjust the articulated drawbar accordingly for optimum synchronisation between pick-up and rotor. “Generally, at start of loading the forage wagon should be lowered as much as possible by the articulated drawbar. Here, we’re seeking the compromise between limited lifting height (drawbar lowered) and a wide opening for high throughput (drawbar lifted). This is why we have an automatic system on offer that, at the touch of a button, lowers the wagon via articulated drawbar during loading to a predetermined height. As soon as the pick-up is raised, e.g. at the headland, the wagon is automatically lifted to highest position to guarantee maximum ground clearance”, explains Benedikt Lambrecht-Speller. The pick-up rpm and rotor rpm with Krone ZX forage wagon models can be matched. “Whatever the conditions, this is the best way to ensure that our very large rotor-pockets are always well-filled in order to achieve a good clean chop”, informs the forage wagon specialist. He adds: “When working with a forage wagon we recommend, depending on swath size, a pto rpm of 850 to 1000. Down-gearing gives a rotor speed of approx. 50 rpm. In a light crop of autumn grass, this rpm can be reduced accordingly for optimal filling of the rotor and thus achieving best requirements for a perfect chop without damaging feed structure.” 27