Farming smarter with technology
The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry professionals from across the country.
The Kuhn VBP 3100 series variable chamber baler-wrapper combination can now be equipped with the patented Kuhn Twin-reel film binding system.
The manufacturer claims this increases the baler’s versatility in silage production. The process has already been a proven concept on Kuhn fixed chamber baler-wrappers since its introduction in 2015.
The patented film binding system uses two regular 750mm stretch-film rolls, which offers several advantages compared to other film binding systems available on the market that are using wide mantle film.
Using regular, freely available wrapping film enables customers to benefit from a lower purchase price and use a much higher pre-stretch ratio compared to conventional wide film binding systems. This is said to reduce film binding costs by up to 37% and extends the intervals for changing film reels by around 30%.
Additionally, the customer’s inventory management is simplified by using regular stretch-film.
Thanks to lower roll weights, the film is easy to handle. Combined with the low lifting height and the user-friendly film roll holding system, this makes the exchange of film rolls on the VBP 3100 series an easy job.
The film and net binding systems are two separate systems, which enables the operator to switch between the two without the need for tools.
Why Film?
When producing round silage bales more and more often film binding is preferred over traditional net binding.
Film binding provides tighter, more compactly wrapped bales with better protection around the circumference of the bale.
The additional oxygen barrier guarantees better silage quality, and the improved bale shape enables more efficient storage. There are also many practical benefits for the farmer.
A film bound bale means easy unwrapping, even during frost periods. There is no collection of silage in between the wrap so no feed is lost.
Film-wrapped bales make waste management more efficient; there is no net and film to be separated, so all the plastic film can be recycled together.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
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