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XtraBlatt Issue 01-2021

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

INTERNATIONAL Above:

INTERNATIONAL Above: Operating at full power in Australia with the Krone BiG M mower conditioner during oat hay production. Left: On good soil with 450 mm precipitation per year, 5 to 6 t/ha wheat is harvested. But in dry years the yield can slip back to 3t, or even 1.5 t/ha. 1 m t are exported per year”, reckons Lars Pasedag. This business booms, and for many Australian farmers oat hay production represents a secure income source. The total market for BiG Pack balers in Australia is meantime in the worldwide top five, peaking in the 2020 season with 385 machines sold. SAVING WATER IN CROPPING “Australia’s farmers decide every year anew what they’re going to grow on their fields. Contrary to the situation for EU farmers, there are no compensation payments available. Production is at world market prices. Because in recent years we’ve experienced more dry periods, many farmers are dealing with this situation through ‘no-till’ strategies. When at all possible, cultivations are avoided to minimise evaporation losses and retain as much moisture in the soil as possible. The stubble is sprayed with herbicide before sowing directly with a tine drill”, is how Lars Pasedag, describes this Australian arable strategy. Farmers have perfectioned this system to such an extent that, even in years when there’s hardly any rain at all, reliable harvests can still be carted home. “This 34

approach based on spraying is very much contrary to the more ecologically-aware trends in Europe. In Australia, though, there’s no choice – if the harvest yield is to be secured. On good soil with 450 mm precipitation annually, we achieve wheat yields of 5 to 6 t/ha. But yields can sink to 1.5 to 3 t/ha when it gets really dry. Farmers thus keep a close watch on crop growth curves. If the weather turns too dry, mowing and marketing for hay can well be the most lucrative reaction”, he explains. The sizes of arable farms stretch from 1,500 t to 10,000 ha with structural change to even larger units ongoing. “With 1,500 ha it would be pretty difficult to make a living. Double that area should be the aim for a viable enterprise”, concludes ABOUT THE PERSON: A CHILD OF FARM MACHINERY As son of an engineer whose job was testing agricultural machinery and who also ran a dealership in Brandenburg, Germany, Lars Pasedag (42) has been immersed in the world of farm machinery from childhood on. After training as agricultural engineering mechanic and achieving a master certificate he set off for Australia for a year, working on farms Down Under. Returning with loads of experience in his backpack, Lars Pasedag got into conversation with Krone at the Agritechnica show. The outcome was Lars Pasedag, describing the current situation for Australian crop growers. GRASS SILAGE IN ROUND BALES The average dairy farm milks around 650 head with annual yield of 6,200 l per cow. However, the range is very wide in this respect, depending on unit size and production intensity. And in milk production too, farmers are being forced to expand their businesses to spread costs and increase incomes. Growth can be through taking over other farms or via cooperation. “Here, it increasingly comes about that a number of farmers get together and start a type of cooperative, bulk buying and marketing output together.” a post as service technician for the export market with the firm. His task involved accompanying machines in the BiG model line such as forage harvesters, SF mower conditioners, BiG Pack balers, into a very large variety of foreign markets such as Japan, New Zealand, Australia and many European countries too. As next station in his professional life there followed a move to Kubota Australia. Nowadays, he lives with his wife and three daughters in Melbourne and is product manager for the Krone general importer. Basic ration is mainly grass silage. In Australia, though, grass is usually cut just once or, at the most, twice. First cut is late so that as much bulk as possible can be harvested. The silage is normally roundbaled and wrapped. Only the very largest farms use a harvester and chop grass for silage. The second cut, when made at all, is then baled for hay. Forage wagons or chopped silage trailers for clamp filling don’t play a big role in Australian silage. “Here, around ten self-propelled forage harvesters are sold per year and around 20 forage wagons”, says Lars Pasedag. “On the other hand, the round baler market is substantially larger with 450 to 700 machines, from which approx. 30 are baler-wrapper combinations.” What Australian farmers and agricultural contractors expect from modern farm machinery is increasingly approaching the European situation, he feels, concluding: “Arable businesses are, however, a little different. Tractors may still be comparable, although the machines are naturally in the higher HP classes. The no-till strategy means soil cultivation implements are substantially different and reflect more the machinery sizes applied in the USA. But particularly on dairy farms, machinery types are much as in Europe. That works out well for enterprises such as Krone with our comprehensive product portfolio.” « 35