Mobile crop pelleter steals the show at Agritechnica
Saturday, January 9, 2016
A rundown of innovations at the world's largest farm equipment exhibition, which never fails to spotlight new ideas and efficiencies that offer that extra acre per hour
by NORMAN DUNN
"Never before have I experienced this level of customer interest in a new machine. Farmers from all over the world have been asking how soon they can get delivery – and we're talking here about a machine that's still a prototype, and one that won't be cheap!"
Speaking here is Wilhelm Voss, production manager with farm equipment maker Krone in Germany, and he is describing the reaction to Krone's Premos 5000, billed as the first-ever mobile pick-up pelleter on the farming scene.
Maybe there's never been a better time to introduce a machine that saves labour and inputs by greatly increasing crop collection efficiency. It pellets at up to five tonnes an hour, which is three to five times faster than most static in-barn pelleting plants nowadays. The Premos also stores its pellets onboard in a nine-cubic-metre hopper, ready for efficient headland unloading.
The Premos 5000 proved a show-stealer this fall during Agritechnica in Germany, the world's largest farm equipment event, where the prototype won a gold innovation medal. Some specifications: pick-up reel width of 2.35 metres; twin rollers pelleting the crop via die and ring system; no chopping required; 12-15 per cent moisture crop material processed at up to 2,000 bar; tractor power requirement 350-400 h.p.
Straw, for instance, is pelleted by the Premos at a density three to four times that of standard bales. Fuel consumption during the operation is claimed by Krone as just half that of similar-throughput barn pelleters. Naturally, the Premos 5000 can be used year-round back in the barn, too, although the real savings are out in the field where it offers a substitute for all the hassles of baling and bale collection, or of forage chopping and carting.
Wilhelm Voss explains that there's still some testing required before the Premos is let loose on the market sometime in 2016. "It's too early to talk about selling price," he adds. "But a measure of the immediate demand for this machine is that no one asks about exact price, only possible delivery date."
A software solution for more efficient field operations
From stubble cultivations through to combine harvesting, irregular fields are a headache when it comes to figuring out the best and quickest way to cover the ground. The problem is even greater where straight bouts are blocked by mid-field trees or other uncultivated areas. This fall, farm equipment giant Claas launched a software solution for the in-cab computer, claiming that practical tests have shown its "Field Route Optimizer" saves an average six per cent in operation time.
Based on the usual digital field maps and marketed by Claas in conjunction with software developers 365FarmNet, the Field Route Optimizer computes the best field traffic strategy, providing a tracking map for a field at the touch of a button. Also forecasted by the system are times required for each operation.
Designing tackle tough enough for Canada's cultivation windows
Lemken's cultivation machinery was proven years ago under the toughest Russian cropping conditions. Now Western Canada is setting the standards for rugged reliability. They're not any lower. Quite the opposite, in fact, emphasizes the German family firm's sales manager for Canada, Laurent Letzter. "The North American grower has the same very small working windows for cultivations in spring and fall," he explains. "The areas to be covered in just a few days expand as farms get bigger. Long working days with no down time are crucial to success."
This could be a reason why Lemken machinery sales in Canada have increased 10-fold over the last five years, according to Letzter. Acres per hour capacity is another crucial factor. One result is the latest Lemken Rubin 12 compact disc cultivator expanded to seven metres working width. This acre-eater needs 450 h.p. pulling power for best results. Tines are not used.
"Our discs can go just as deep as tines and leave a better level surface at higher working speed," points out Letzter. "On top of this, the heavy-duty frame means we can attach weighty rollers at the back for efficient reconsolidation."
The 732-millimetre concave serrated discs work in the soil down to 20 centimetres, between-disc spacing is 17 centimetres with 120 centimetres between the cultivator's two rows. Offsetting the following discs ensures efficient soil flow and good residue incorporation without blockages.
Staggered seeding for more space per plant
Setting out for the North American market soon is Lemken's latest Azurit 9 corn/sunflower/soybean planter with unique DeltaRow placement system. This features staggered seed placement on two parallel lines per coulter unit.
Lemken says that placing the seeds this way, 12.5 centimetres apart per row, gives individual plants 70 per cent more surface area compared with conventional seeding along a single row. This brings better moisture and nutrient availability per growing plant.
The Azurit is a precision drill that is also set up to place fertilizer in a band exactly between each double seed row. The placed fertilizer is covered by a packer wheel that also serves as a preconsolidator for each drilling row. Seed is singled for delivery to the double-disc DeltaRow units. Seeding depth regulation is via a central wheel. The twin seed rows are closed by V-roller. Row spacings: up to 87.5 centimetres.
Automatic seed calibration wins awards
Lemken has won a handful of innovation rewards in Europe for its Solitair 25 pneumatic drill, including a silver medal from the Agritechnica organizers for its automatic calibration system. The driver stays in the cab and types in parameters, such as thousand grain weight, proposed seeding rate and desired speed. A seed sample is then automatically blown to a weighing unit within the hopper with results transmitted to the in-cab computer.
All that's left for the operator to do is to confirm working speed before starting the first bout of the field. Other Solitair 25 features: a corrosion-free plastic hopper and a separate electrical drive for each metering unit, allowing continuous adjustment of seed flow to individual rows.
Nine metres of combi working width
Sweden's Väderstad is introducing for the first time a combination of its Spirit drill with cultivation rig. Working widths: up to nine metres. Two models of this fertilizer and seed placement system ensure application rates of up to 400 kilograms of fertilizer at 14 kilometres an hour with row spacings of 12.5 or 25 centimetres.
The same manufacturer is launching its biggest precision seeder to date with the 12.2-metre working width Tempo, which means up to 16 corn rows at a time coupled to a 5,000-litre fertilizer hopper with electronic metering, allowing section shut-off for both seed and fertilizer at any time.
Feed mixers for non-stop operation
Because European cattle farming often features scattered units serviced by a single contractor's feed mixer wagon, no single piece of livestock farm machinery gets worked harder than this wagon.
"For contractors, or even for single farmers with several units kilometres apart, we can be talking about round-the-clock loading/mixing/feeding operations with as many as 18 different rations to be processed and fed each day, seven days a week," points out Ulrich Hund from leading European feed mixer wagon producer, Siloking.
The high quality demands for European application mean that this company produces a standard of robustness also highly appreciated in China, Russia and Brazil, where Siloking have satellite assembly plants. Canada is among 37 other countries also targeted as markets for models such as the latest SelfLine 4.0 System 500+ self-propelled mixer. This is designed for fast transport between feeding units as well as quality feed mixing, says Hund.
The SelfLine power comes from a 7.7-litre, six-cylinder Volvo D8 unit allowing up to 50 kilometres an hours on the road. A panorama cab features computerized precision feeding control with CAN-Bus interface for accurate measurement of forage quality (including optional infrared measuring of silage moisture content), precise dosing and mixing of rations. The silage clamp-removal roller is two metres wide. The vertical auger mixers offer a choice of 19, 22 or 25 cubic metre capacity.
The system, notes Ulrich Hund, is designed above all for gentlest handling of forage to ensure structure quality including optimum fiber length. New with this model, too, is the application of corrosion- and wear-resistant coating on all parts in continual contact with feed. The new SelfLine vehicle line also comes with the option of four-wheel steering with large-profile tires for work in off-road terrain.
Siloking also produce a wide range of smaller-engine, self-propelled feed mixer wagons, as well as tractor-powered models with mixing capacity up to 45 cubic metres, and stationary barn mixers with hopper volumes up to 80 cubic metres.
Rugged multi-tasker completes Case's tractor line
Case IH took advantage of Agritechnica's more than 400,000 visitors to get the widest possible coverage of its launch for new tractor model Optum CVX. This, points out tractor marketing manager Dan Stuart, is aimed at slotting between the established Puma CVX (2015 models from 150-240 h.p.) and the long-serving Magnum flagship lines.
Magnum, now delivering 250 to 380 h.p., has actually starred in nine reincarnations since the original launch way back in 1987. Since the beginning, some 150,000 Magnums have landed on farms worldwide, while 60,000 Pumas have left the CASE IH plants since 2007.
Stuart expects an even better sales performance from the new Optum CVX two-model line-up (rated h.p. 271 and 300). These tractors share the renowned CVT transmission featuring four forward and two reverse ranges, double clutching facility and automatic mode. Creeper gears are there, too, with infinite ground speed range: just right for a cultivation workhorse, but also with the grunt to handle high-volume hay and forage operations.
The catchwords with this new line are (comparative) compactness and manoeuvrability. Standard specifications include a 6.7 l NEF engine, HMC II headland management and front axle suspension. Wheelbase is 2,995 millimetres and a front wheel maximum angle of 55 degrees. At a rated engine speed of 2,100 r.p.m., the Optum 270 CVX churns out a maximum torque of 1,194 Nm and its big brother (300 CVX) 1,282 Nm. BF