Feed pad with rubber matting hailed as game changer
For Otago farmers Michelle and Rogan Borrie, a newly constructed feed pad on one of their three farms has been a game changer.
The Stubble Cracker was developed for the Claas Corio four, five, six and eight-row corn pickers. It features one rotating plate per row, each equipped with two specially developed mallets with a special coating, which crush and splice any stubble below the first internode.
The unit is attached to the frame of the harvester via a threepoint linkage. This allows three-dimensional ground tracking, via a skid plate that ensures a constant distance between the flails and the ground in all operating conditions. This also helps optimise performance and reduce wear.
Designed to be operated at a speed of 1,200 rpm, the mechanically driven rotors are monitored by the harvester’s CEBIS system, which send the operator a message if rotor speeds decrease. Twin hydraulic rams lift the rotors if there is a risk of overload, or they encounter obstacles. Meanwhile, a ratchet-style overload system protects the rotor drive line.
In addition, the cracker unit is raised automatically when reversing or raising the picker.
The Stubble Cracker system for the eightrow CORIO 875 FC adds around 400kg to the overall weight and is said to require around 32 extra horsepower.
While this means a little extra fuel consumption of 2 litres/ ha, the system eliminates follow up passes with a mulcher, knife rollers or supplementary tillage.
Independent studies have demonstrated fuel savings of 30% and a 50% reduction in labour requirements, when compared to performing an additional or secondary mulching operation. From an agronomy point of view, Claas Harvest Centre product manager – Lexion, Luke Wheeler, says the new unit allows faster decomposition of corn stubble and helps to break the lifecycle of fungal diseases and insect pests.
