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XtraBlatt Issue 01-2021

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

INFORM CLEAN CUT Chop

INFORM CLEAN CUT Chop length is pre-set on forage wagons. The manufacturer boosts gentle handling of delicate forages, clover for instance, by offering wide conveying specifications. On the Krone basic model series AX, knives are 45 mm apart. The MX, RX and ZX models have a rotor diameter of 880 mm with 37 mm between the knives. It’s around the knife area that the three model series differ, except for smallest details. The differences are in rotor width and therefore number of knives which, with the top ZX model, reaches 48. “Knife sharpness is a central theme when we’re looking at the forage wagon influences on feed quality. The target is a clean chop while, at the same time, saving energy during harvesting. Thanks to the shearing action, the plants are actually cut instead of torn. In this way, the surface of the cut is kept as small as possible so that the stalk retains moisture and the feed structure, so supporting the ensiling process”, adds Benedikt Lambrecht-Speller. As for the sharpening cycle, there are no fixed rules on how often sharpening should take place, he continues. “In practice, mornings are often started with a sharp set of knives which are replaced in the evening so that work can recommence right away the next day. But remember, knives don’t become blunt at the same rate. The process starts slowly and speeds up increasingly as the working day continues. One result is that fuel consumption increases as chopping gets harder and, of course, quality of chop itself suffers more and more as the day wears on. The expert advice is therefore not to wait too long before sharpening. With SpeedSharp, our mobile knife sharpener, this can be carried out at midday very rapidly and with minimum effort.” “GENERALLY, AT THE START OF LOAD- ING THE FORAGE WAGON SHOULD BE LOWERED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE BY THE ARTICULATED DRAWBAR.” BENEDIKT LAMBRECHT-SPELLER, FORAGE WAGON SPECIALIST This is how it should look: optimal forage wagon chop quality. two sensors this automatically controls movement of the chain-and-slat floor. When forage has built-up sufficiently against the front wall the first sensor, measuring load volume in the upper area of the wagon, is activated. The second sensor is mounted above the rotor and measures density of the forage flow into the wagon. The system is controlled quite simply straight from the cab. With activated volume sensor and the pressure sensor just short of its pre-set value, the chain-and-slat movement is slowed, therefore reducing pressure. This continuous adjustment permits maintenance of a constant counter pressure at the rotor and in this way optimal loading of the wagon.” If unloading is carried out on the clamp, he advises, the aim must be a thin and as uniform as possible mat of forage deposited on the surface. Helpful here are Krone’s optional discharge rollers. Their distribution action enables a desirable layer-by-layer compaction by the clamp-consolidating tractor. « A further aspect of forage wagons doubtless affecting feed quality too, is the loading/unloading process. Forage wagon specialist Benedikt Lambrecht-Speller points out: “Here, we’re looking for the best compromise between high load density and counter pressure at the rotor which, in turn, gives us a perfect cut. Our wagons offer the PowerLoad automatic system. Via 28

DIGITALISATION FUTURE-ORIENTED FIELD TRIAL Everyone in the sector talks about digitalisation and automation of agricultural machinery – but how will these work in practical terms? A field trial supported by the federal government aims at finding the answers. Manufacturers Krone and Lemken are cooperating in a joint project seeking ways of increasing reliability for sensor data analysis with agricultural machinery. The project, AI-TEST-FIELD, will start under management of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Research Department for Plan Based Robot Control Systems and be financially supported by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). On the test field to be established near Osnabrück, the surrounding environment and management influences are to be scanned by a sensor wagon equipped with various instruments such as laser scanner, stereo camera, time-of-flight camera, ultrasound and radar. The sensor wagon will be run on an accurate and reproducible route along a rail track through the field. Together with the metadata from the recordings such as weather conditions or time of day, the raw data will provide the necessary database for algorithm-based management. The project thus forms an important bridge for the transference of current basic research to meet the practical needs of the agricultural sector and to help in future certification processes. Within the project, Osnabrück University is responsible for the construction of the rail track sensor wagon and the integration of the sensor technology. Krone and Lemken bring with them their know-how on the industrial application of sensor systems and of agricultural machinery. The DFKI Research Department for Plan Based Robot Control Systems focusses on handling of data and the development of AI methods. Additionally, the project will be accompanied and supported by the TÜV Nord AG (Technical Inspection Association). Dr Josef Horstmann, Krone managing director Construction & Development, is extremely pleased about the financial support of around 430,000 € from Berlin. “Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, data management and machinery that carries out sensor-supported and automated work operations: together, we’ll follow-through all these themes with research on the AI-TEST-FIELD. Hereby, the focus is on the future work of farmers and agricultural contractors. For instance, field robots will be tested under working conditions. Also researched will be sensor and data-based analyses pertaining to crop production, crop protection and plant nutrition. Results will help us to find the best possible ways to deal with the great challenges of the present and the future. After all, what we’re talking about here is making technology more and more intelligent so that it can work as efficiently as possible under all conditions.” « 29