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XtraBlatt issue 01-2016

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  • Krone
  • Machinery
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  • Straw
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  • Dairy
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  • Contractor

MENSCHEN ON-FARM 1

MENSCHEN ON-FARM 1 QUALITY DECIDES Thorsten Mensching points out that wheat straw is baled in many cases because wheat is grown most in the Schaumburg region. But notable amounts of barley, rye and triticale straw are also baled. “There’s hardly any difference in the utility of the different sorts of straw”, says the contractor. “However, absorbency is best with barley straw.” Decisive for the choice of straw is the condition in the swath. “Because barley is combined first, the straw is usually harvested in a good condition and not yet affected by fungus. When the weather allows, a lot of barley fields will be baled because of this, and because this straw is scarce anyway. Later on, the wheat straw is no longer yellow but rather grey and then it’s mostly no longer baled.” This contractor says many dairy farms find they have to purchase straw. “For example we have a big customer who buys straw still in the swath. This customer puts a lot of value on the quality of the material and thus the swath is turned and left drying out if the weather is good.” The advantage of this strategy lies in the keeping the straw clean and in its optimum drying. “Only after a further tedding bout do we start baling. At the end of this increased input, we generally get a perfect straw that can also be mixed in feed.” The areas from which farmers buy straw for subsequent contractor baling mostly lie a maximum 20 km from the farm requiring the material. “We are underway over a radius of 30 to 40 km with the balers and straw chopper attachments. For balers without chopper attachment, the operational radius is a bit smaller.” So far, there are not many straw chopper attachments in the region and so utilization rate is very good. FLUCTUATING PRICE Because of the increased danger of fire breaking out when using the straw chopper attachment, Thorsten Mensching puts much value on continuously keeping the machinery clean. The balers require between 200 and 300 HP. The crucial factor is that machines keep working. So durability under high working pressure is important, as well as reliability of components such as the knotters. The output of balers, in terms of bales per machine, in Schaumburger Land with its average field size of 3 ha cannot be compared with that achievable in large-structured agricultural regions. Added to this, the weather in this region can severely affect output with a short straw harvesting season. When there’s a year with all 48

1 Demand for the straw chopper attachment increases. 2 Most of the material is baled in the larger sizes, i.e. 120/90 and 120/70. 3 3 The areas where straw can be harvested viably for other farmers usually lie a maximum distance of 20 km from the customer farm. 2 parameters right, i.e. price as well as weather, then the demand is extremely good: “For this reason we have to have ready a suitable number of high performance machines delivering different bale sizes, even when these are not fully utilized every year.” Normally, the customer insists on a certain size of bale. Because over 90 % of customers represent regular clients we always try to ensure that they get exactly what they want.” Over the last years, the straw price has increased somewhat, reports this contractor. However, it fluctuates strongly. Mainly because different regions face different weather conditions. On the other hand, demand from livestock farming is similarly high every year and, in this relationship, the price sinks when a lot of straw is available regionally and rises when the opposite is the case. But the amount of straw available elsewhere can also affect regional markets and prices because, above a certain price, transport over longer distances can become acceptable. Baler twines … that hold ! ...excellent Twine baling twines live up to their promise. Offering unique tear resistance and knot strength, these twines produce highest-quality bales no matter what the conditions. Krone excellent twines are the best choice for extremely high-density bales as well – knot by knot www.krone.de 49