Taranaki Sharemilkers Use Nedap Collars to Simplify Heat Detection
For Taranaki sharemilkers Elly and Kale Grahame, technology hasn't beeen about overcomplicating their system.
Based in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, Malone Farm Machinery started out in 1999, initially building simple pieces of farm machinery before moving into the grassland arena with mowers, tedders and swathers.
The business now exports to many markets around the globe.
Tedd-Air 1120-T Designed for Heavy Crops
Used to dealing with heavy, damp crops in the home market, the Tedd-Air 1120-T is a robust unit with standout features such as hydraulic accumulators for machine stabilisation, alongside maintenance-free, liquid grease filled gearboxes.
Based around a heavy-duty main frame – with twin rear wheels and a swivelling lower link connection – the lateral frames fold forwards to keep transport width at 3 metres.
Eight heavy-duty rotors are supported on individual wheels/tyres.
Offering 3-position height adjustment to ensure the crop is lifted without soil ingress, extensive ground adaption across the full 11.2 metre (37 feet) working width allows good output, with the hydraulic accumulators making sure the machine tracks properly behind the tractor.
Each 1.6m diameter rotor is equipped with seven tines, incorporating a hooked end design to lift wet, heavy grass and invert the crop to bring wetter material to the surface for prompt drying.
The rotors are angled forwards to help lift the crop and spread material evenly across the full working width in a lump-free carpet.
Standard equipment includes a foldable headland curtain to separate tedded and untedded grass and to keep crop away from the boundary fence line. In addition, a positive locking system offers safe road transport between sites, complemented by a lighting kit and a spare wheel for unexpected problems.
Once crops have been tedded and lost sufficient moisture, a swather or rake is required to set up a swath for the following operation, such as forage harvesting or baling.
Proline 610 Swather Built for Efficient Forage Handling
The Proline 610, twin-rotor swather is again built around a heavy-section, central spine, connected to the tractor by a lower link, swivel-hitch, with a steered rear axle equipped with flotation tyres, ensuring the machine tracks the prime mover and is able to make tight headland turns.
Each 2.8m diameter rotor carries 11-tine arms, each fitted with 4-double tines that gently lift the crop to form a centrally delivered, flat-topped, box-profiled swath, adjustable between 1.3 and 1.7 metres to suit height adjustment to avoid soil contamination, carried on 4-wheel under-carriages, while also incorporating an adjustable cam track to adjust delivery point and swath width.
Standard equipment includes an electrical control box to lift and lower the rotors, as a pair, or individually to work “short ground” or tight corners, alongside the lighting kit and a spare wheel and tyre assembly.
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