The latter end of the grass season has been disappointing for many, with the crop suffering from a dearth of rain, yet this did not deter Kverneland from putting on a demonstration of its grassland equipment recently.
Irrespective of the weather, machines will need replacing at some point and purchasing decisions for next season will need to be informed, if not actually made until then, so now is as good a time as any to show off the latest equipment.
Finding the ground
Locating a field of grass to cut has been something of a problem for many manufacturers wishing to display their machines in use this year.
Kverneland, along with the local Case dealers, Lynch & McCarthy, alighted upon the showgrounds, just to the south of Cork city, which had some land in need of clearing.
This was by no means the most challenging of crops, but it did yield rather more bales than had been envisioned, allowing comparisons of some value to be made after all.
Medium mowers
Cutting the grass was a butterfly combination consisting of the Kverneland 5387 twin mower conditioner at the rear, and a front-mounted 3332 FT unit at the other end.
The company describes this as a “medium segment mower with high end suspension”. Based on the 5300 series, it has the Quattrolink suspension borrowed from its more expensive siblings, but not the telescopic arms, giving a fixed cutting width of 8.75m.
A minimum requirement of 180hp is recommended, a figure that is unlikely to be sufficient in Ireland, better perhaps to go with something like the 276hp provided by the Fendt 828 upon which they were mounted.
This mower is aimed at the farmer with the power available to handle a wide cut rather than a full-on contracting business. It is a machine that retains the brand’s quality, but is more empathetic towards the piggy bank.
Rowing up
Gathering the grass into rows has, up until now, been left to the a rake or, in drier conditions, belt groupers mounted behind the conditioner.
This arrangement has been challenged of late by the arrival of belt mergers, which perform the same function as the groupers, and in much the same way, but as a separate operation to the mowing.
The concept is not new, but well-engineered machines designed to cope with long seasons in heavy crops are a more recent development, and the ROC range of machines is just that.
Quite what the advantages are may not be immediately obvious on paper, but seeing them work in the real world underlines just how different they are to rakes.
Easier on the crop
The action of a pick-up reel is far more gentle than hitting the grass with a tine and then accelerating it swiftly to the drop-off point, an action that may occur twice on a four-rotor rake.
This will, it is claimed, ensure less leaf loss when compared to the aggressive nature of rakes, a factor which is becoming more important as extra clover and other, more brittle, species are included in swards.
It also covers the ground at a good pace. So far, we have not been presented with any figures, but a comparison between a rake and a merger, looking at the overall work rate, is likely to make interesting reading.
The ROC machines are of high quality and the design is tried and trusted. Mergers have not enjoyed the best of reputations in Ireland due to reliability issues, the ROC range is set to revise that image.
Speed is of the essence
An increased work rate is also the theme of the Kverneland FastBale round baler. Once again the machine is not new, but it has taken a little time to perfect and the company is now happy to offer it into Ireland, where it is selling in increasing numbers.
The solution to not having to stop the baler while ejecting the bale is to have two chambers, the first being half the size of the other, with either one of the two filling at any time.
Once the smaller front chamber is full, it passes it on to the rear chamber which continues to finish the bale before ejection, at which point the front chamber takes over again.
The concept works, and works well, with the baler happily steaming up and down the rows without pause.
Another advantage of the twin chamber arrangement is that it fits in between a fixed and variable chamber baler, tightly packing the forage in two distinct stages.
Quiet Kverneland
The three machines would have cleared the field in minutes if it were not a demonstration day. The speed was achieved without any great fuss or even much noise, certainly not enough to justify the neighbours complaining.
Philip English, managing director of Kverneland Ireland, also noted that they were available for next season. 2022 had been a good year for the company and he expected next year to be the same.
The secret is to not delay in ordering. He has arranged to have a good stock of machines available, but once they are sold further supplies will take time to come through.