Headland News Issue 41: GRASSLAND FOCUS

ISSUE 41 | GRASSLAND FOCUS

WHEN FARMING MEANS BUSINESS

uk.kverneland.com

WELCOME TO ISSUE 41 As the global supply chain continues to tighten, recent cost and price pressures show no sign of easing. This applies to agricultural commodities just as much as any other sector, but with far greater repercussions for society at large.

DEMONSTRATION TEAM EXPANDS

Following internal promotion, two new positions have been created within the Kverneland UK demonstration team.

The second demonstrator role has been taken by farmer’s son Dei Edwards (right). Having achieved a land-based level three qualification at Glyniffon college, Caernarfon, Dei then enrolled with Myerscough college, Lancashire, to gain a degree in agricultural engineering.

While non-supply of certain consumer products may be inconvenient for both customer and supplier, availability of basic foodstuffs has far greater implications.

For long periods retailers and processors have driven pricing and profit allocation, but the current supply-demand situation has moved the pendulum in favour of the producer. Processors and retailers now need to be far more aware of, and responsive to, the current cost pressures on producers if they wish to secure supplies. Farmers now, more than ever, need to factor supply and demand issues into their price negotiations.

Our latest edition of Headland News offers many examples of our customers optimising output while managing cost pressures. High capacity, timeliness of operation, and productivity with precision and efficiency, are all terms used by our customers. We hope you find their experiences both interesting and informative.

Joe Bell | Managing Director

2022 SHOW DATES Royal Welsh Grassland 12 May | Coleg Cambria Llysfasi, Ruthin

ScotGrass 18 May | SRUC Crichton Royal, Dumfries

Royal Highland Show 23-26 June | Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh

Royal Welsh Show 18-21 July | Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells

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KVERNELAND HEADLAND NEWS

The first has been filled by Jack Millard (left), covering the south of England along the M4 corridor from Kent to Cornwall, and across south Wales. Having studied farm mechanisation at Wiltshire’s Lackham college, Jack then worked for an agricultural contractor for seven years, before seeking a new challenge to further expand his knowledge and experience.

“I always wanted to work with an industryleading manufacturer,” says Jack. “And being a demonstrator with Kverneland now gives me that opportunity to develop a wider range of skills, supporting dealers and customers with a broad range of knowledge and equipment.”

While Jack comes from a family with its roots in civil engineering, his passion is farming.

“There is so much diversity across the indus­try, that no two days are the same,” he says.

His most recent experience has been on the tools with a machinery dealer, working throughout Anglesey.

“I’ve spent over five years as a service engineer, and it’s been a great opportunity, but the time has come to explore the industry, and also the Country,” says Dei. “And the best way to do that is to work your way up with a leading manufacturer like Kverneland.”

Dei is supporting dealers and customers in an area that extends from Herefordshire, up through Wales and around to Lancashire, back down through the middle of England.

Away from work, Dei enjoys football, outdoor pursuits and farming, helping out on the family farm at weekends.

NEW

FRONT AND REAR SPREADING OPTIONS

Weigh cell-equipped Exacta CL GEOSPREAD, TL GEOSPREAD and TLX GEOSPREAD can now be used as a front- and rear-mounted spreader combination.

Thanks to advanced software, the weigh-cell spreader’s location as a front-mounted implement is now easily set and conveniently managed through any universal terminal. This flexibility can create payloads of up to 7,000 litres from combining front- and rear-hopper capacities, and also offers the ability to make

two separate applications with different fertiliser products, in one pass.

ExactLine border spreading device can be specified for mounting on the left- or right-hand side of the spreader, allowing both machines to achieve border spreading on the same side.

NEW

High-capacity Trailed Tedder There’s a new trailed tedder in the Kverneland range, aimed at those seeking high output and intensive tedding.

It’s called the 85156C and boasts a 15.6m working width. The 85156C uses 14, small diameter rotors to provide a generous overlap that delivers efficient crop handling, turn-over and distribution across the entire working width.

Accurate ground following is a result of a flexible frame concept that ensures the rotor assemblies float independently of the trailed chassis. This feature also maintains a constant working height for the tines, while a hydraulically operated swath

board can be used to prevent over-spreading on headland boundaries.

As with other Kverneland tedder models, with the exception of the pto, the driveline, rotors and pivot joints are maintenance-free.

Hydraulic requirements include one single- and one double-acting service, with the 85156C folding to less than 3m wide for transport.

Running gear includes 380/55-17 tyres, with 500/55-17 available as an option.

NEW

INTELLIGENT DISC CONTROL SAVES FUEL

Advances in spreader technology have seen the introduction of an integrated hydraulic driveline called intelligent Disc Control (iDC) for Exacta TL GEOSPREAD models.

Using a hydraulic motor to run each disc, the driveline affords independent disc speed regulation on left and right-hand discs, and this opens up a range of possibilities for greater application accuracy.

With headlands accounting for up to 54% of a field’s total area – the smaller the field, the greater the headland % – there is a requirement for enhanced spread pattern control during border spreading. And it’s not just on the

headland side, but also in-field while border spreading, where the full spread pattern has to be maintained.

Using a tractor’s Power Beyond capability, iDC is able to deliver significant fuel savings too, using low engine rpm when compared to a fixed pto speed from a mechanical driveline. This improves disc speed consistency on hills, regardless of engine speed changes.

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Plain triple To make the most of clover in forage for his customers, Phil Hallett of PH Agri based at Aboyne Elberton, Bristol, replaced a front/rear mower conditioner for a plain disc, Kverneland 5095M triple.

“We had 1,000 acres to mow for one customer, and moving to a plain disc gave the delicate handling required for clover,” explains Phil Hallett. “An added bonus is that we’ve gained a great step-up with productivity, while using less diesel too.”

Bought two years ago, the mower is about to start its third season, which will see around 2,700 acres go across the discs. Used on a New Holland T7.225, Phil says the tractor is comfortably on top of the job, and at speeds of up

around 16kph, output is consistently 20 acres/hour.

“We’re not blessed with generous sized fields, so when we do move, it needs to be a quick fold-up and go, to reduce our downtime,” he adds.

He says that the outfit’s three beds match up perfectly, leaving a clean cut while following ground contours extremely well.

“The 5095 is a very easy triple mower to use,” says Phil. “It’s simple to set the float using the

“The 5095 is a very easy triple mower to use.”

springs, and quick-change blades make it easy to stay on top of performance and efficiency.”

“Some customers just don’t place much importance on rolling grass fields in spring, which tends to shorten our blade life,” he adds.

“And with 26 discs in total, blade changes really do need to be quick.”

“We do grow some huge grass crops here in the Severn Vale, and I’ve often wondered how effective a conditioner might be when we’ve struggled to push a

lot of grass through a mowerconditioner in the past,” he says.

“And it’s easy to see why, as crop flows through the plain disc mower very easily.”

“The higher output means we can start mowing later, during the best part of the day, which enhances sugar,” he says. “So we’re now making far higher quality forage and saving diesel, by letting good weather do the conditioning for us. This is cost-effective mowing.”

BUTTERFLY IMPROVES TIMELINESS

For Gordon Black, going wider to deliver more mowing capacity, helps to make the most of short weather windows around Cormiston Towers Farm, Biggar, south Lanarkshire.

“I had been using an old Kverneland-Taarup front-rear combination, with a swath belt, which had been great,” he says.

“Though a triple with nylon tines looked an easier way to find

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more output, without needing a bigger tractor.”

With cattle housed at Cormiston Towers on a bed and breakfast arrangement for nearby livestock producers, high quality baled silage has become an essential part of the enterprise. Each season he cuts around 700 acres, including mowing for a neighbour, and sought to improve output, reducing the time it takes to make high dry matter baled silage.

KVERNELAND HEADLAND NEWS

“If we can improve forage quality, the livestock will also benefit,” he says. “Weather windows have become more unpredictable, so it’s important to drop the grass, ted it, rake it and bale it within a couple of days. And this made the swap to a triple, a no-brainer.”

Supplied by Ross of Lanark, he opted for a 5087MN butterfly unit with nylon tine conditioner. This kept the weight down compared to a steel-tined unit, and could be comfortably handled by his MF 7618 tractor.

“I’m not interested in racing around and shaking machinery to bits, and I’m always mindful of compaction and staying off the land until conditions are right,” he

says. “A wider cut gives a useful increase in productivity, and with lightbar guidance, I can make the most of the working width and enjoy what I do.”

Kit is stored undercover each night, contributing to strong residual values and overall longevity, which helps to reduce the cost of upgrading.

“Machinery has become a big investment and needs to be looked after just as well as tractors,” he adds. “There’s plenty of life left in my 17-year old Taarup 3532F front mower, which has proved a cost-effective purchase. And I’m expecting similar longevity from the 5087MN.”

CREATING A FINE FINISH

When it comes to flail mowing, Paul Hellmers of PJH Outdoor Solutions has an appreciation of what his customers expect.

“Quality of finish is essential with everything we do,” says Paul. “And that’s regardless of whether we’re carrying out scrub clearance or paddock maintenance. It’s also why we use a Kverneland FHS 230 flail mower.”

He and son James work with a wide variety of customers, operating a fleet of tractors and equipment suited to paddock maintenance, fencing, flail mowing, tree maintenance, wood chipping, log splitting and cultivations.

“Grounds maintenance is an increasingly important aspect for many of our customers,” he says.

“With many sites, access can be challenging via narrow gateways or under low tree canopies, so

we run our Kverneland flail mower on a 66hp Kubota M4062.

It’s a useful mix of power, size and manoeuvrability.”

Having previously used other flail mowers, PJH Outdoor Solutions swapped to a Kverneland FHS 230 from Cheshire Farm Machinery, as it sought to improve parts availability, backup and machine reliability.

“For this type of work, a wellbuilt, high-quality machine is fundamental to the success of our business,” he adds.

Reliability is as important as the finish we produce, but when there is a problem, you need to know that dealer knowledge and parts availability will keep downtime to a minimum.”

“With adjustable rear hood and 500mm of hydraulic offset, we have a versatile flail mower in the FHS,” says Paul. “Hydraulic offset lets us work closely around obstacles, while the

“They’re a good set of mowers, but I’ve been particularly impressed with the suspension, which does an excellent job of following ground contours.”

Increased output gained with a triple Keen to increase his mowing capacity, Yorkshire farmer and contractor James Douthwaite of WD Douthwaite and Partners, Kirkby Overblow, invested in a set of Kverneland triple mower conditioners with a total cutting width of up to 10.2m.

The 53100MT rear butterfly and 3332FT front mower – supplied by Farmstar – arrived on the farm for the start of the 2021 season and were put straight to work knocking down 2,000 acres of grass.

Prior to the triples, James was using a 3.2m trailed Vicon machine which, although

dependable, couldn’t keep up with the expansion of his contact mowing area. “We needed more output and had already had a Fendt 724 for potato work, so decided to go the whole hog and get the largest set we could,” says James.

Opting for a 10m-plus cutting width meant he could easily cover

his current area and have room for expansion should more work come his way. Plus, with the 9.8 to 10.2m side-shift function he could tailor the cutting width to suit the job in hand.

The switch has seen his mowing output in small fields increase from 5ac/hr to 20ac/hr, with even greater gains in large, flat fields.

combination of two-position hood enables us to deal with any volume of growth and still leave a high-quality finish.

Stand-out features on the 53100MT and 3332FT include a semi-swing steel tine conditioner, full ISOBUS control and Quattrolink hydraulic suspension.

Having the ability to adjust pressures through the tractor screen also makes it simple to set them up for different fields. On flat ground, he runs with 70-80 bar in the system, dropping to 50-60 bar in rougher fields to help the beds float over bumps.

The mowers also handle well for their size and fold neatly for transport. “We’ve got plenty of small fields and narrow gateways around here, but we’ve always managed to get the mowers in, even if we have to reverse through the odd entrance,” he says.

Having ISOBUS control also makes the mowers effortless to control via the tractor’s joystick. James’ next step is to purchase a hydraulic connection so that the front mowers will lift automatically with the rears, rather than being on a separate spool valve.

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Rake and tedder bring benefits to contractor services With customers seeking a longer chop length and higher dry matter silage, north Wales contractor Simon Sturrock has been fine-tuning his equipment choices to suit.

“I have a Kverneland plain mower combination using a 3.2m front with a 4m rear, a Kv 10-rotor tedder, a Kv 9m twin rotor rake and a forage wagon, to provide flexibility with how we meet customers’ expectations for high quality silage,” he says.

His 3,000-acre workload includes neighbouring contractor Dilwyn Owen, as the two friends pool equipment resources to support each other as required.

“Dilwyn does all the buck-raking, and has an identical forage wagon which doubles our output.

He also has mower conditioners

as an alternative to my Kverneland plain mowers,” he says. “What I don’t have, he does – so we can always provide a solution for customers.”

Last season, Simon Sturrock invested in a 10-rotor Kverneland 85112 tedder from local dealer Mona Tractors. It replaced a smaller six-rotor machine as he sought to speed up the wilting process for customers.

“Many of them still like to mow their own grass, but lack the capacity to ted quickly,” he says. “We can cover 150 acres easily in a day with the Kverneland tedder and drive slowly, which does a better job and looks after our kit.

It follows ground contours extremely well, and is gentle on the crop.”

He says that with GPS autosteering on his JCB Fastrac, tedding is extremely accurate.

“The tedder covered over 2,000acres of work last year,” he says.

“We picked up work that we didn’t “We’re not over-lapping and expect, as it opened up customers’ making extra unnecessary runs thinking about forage quality.” up and down fields – we work

“We’re not overlapping and making extra unnecessary runs up and down fields – we work efficiently, to the full width.”

efficiently, to the full width,” says Simon.

He has similar praise for his Kverneland 9590C Hydro twin rotor rake with its hydraulically raised and lowered rear axle.

“It’s absolutely fantastic, both on-road and in the field,” he adds.

“The ability to lower the frame and reduce the overall height on the rear wheels means we don’t have to remove tine arms when the machine is folded for transport.”

“This is one of those clever ideas that actually works and saves us time, which makes the team more productive,” he says.

10-ROTOR TEDDER REDUCES WILTING TIMES To maintain performance of his 500-head pedigree Holstein herd, Aled Jones of Hendy Farm, Caernarfon, aims to produce forage of the highest quality.

His philosophy is to make up to five cuts each season, to achieve an ME value of 11-plus and dry matter between 28-35%, and challenging weather around the eastern shore of the Menai Strait means taking opportunities when they arise.

Using a contractor allows multiple mowers to drop around 260-270 acres of grass in a matter of hours. As headlands are cut, he immediately follows with a 10-rotor Kverneland 85112 tedder to encourage rapid wilting.

“When grass is cut, stomata stay open for up to six hours, and this

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is where the majority of crop moisture is released,” says dairy farmer Aled, who is also the current president of NFU Cymru.

He had been using a smaller tedder, but even with the help of a neighbour’s machine, the two lacked output to take advantage of conditions.

“Additives do help, but there’s no substitute for achieving an optimum dry matter value,” he says.

His focus on forage reduces the need for bought-in feeds to maintain Hendy Farm’s

KVERNELAND HEADLAND NEWS

11,000-litre herd average. And after a demonstration of several tedders, it was a contractor’s Kverneland machine that caught his eye.

“I was looking for a wellengineered tedder, with strength in all the right places, and good build quality,” he says. “And that’s exactly what a nearby contractor was using.”

Supplied by Mona Tractors, the linkage-mounted 85112 was wide enough to boost output, but compact enough to be carried on the three-point linkage.

“With my neighbour’s help, I can set 18 rotors into the crop, to make the most of that open stomata,” he says.

SPEED WITH PRECISION

Looking for more capacity but without moving to a larger and heavier precision drill, Warwickshire farmer and contractor Jonathan Goadby opted for a Kverneland Optima V equipped with SX high-speed sowing units.

The six-row mounted unit, complete with hydraulic drive for fertiliser placement, telescopic frame, large fertiliser hopper and ISOBUS connectivity, was supplied by Murley, now TH White.

“I considered an eight-row to replace my old six-row unit, but I would have needed a bigger tractor to run the drill,” says

Jonathan. “But by going to the high-speed SX units, I’ve stayed with a six-row mounted model that uses a variable width frame.”

From Manor Farm, Ansley, Warwickshire, D Goadby & Sons provides a contract planting service for local growers, covering 1,100 acres of maize

drilling in addition to the 350 acres it grows at home.

compact and easy to transport.

And used on a New Holland T6.175 on 710 tyres, he says compaction is minimised.

With electric seed metering drive and automatic section control operated via GPS through “Headlands are much better, an IsoMatch Tellus GO in-cab simply because we can keep the terminal, Jonathan says seed weight down,” he adds. “I do cost savings are paying for the have a set of 1050 tyres if extra technology. conditions are really tricky.”

“GEOCONTROL is a must-have.

There’s no overlaps, so we don’t waste seed.”

He says that the decision to choose hydraulic fan drive instead of a pto for the fertiliser has brought fuel savings.

He adds that planting accuracy is much greater than his previous “I can power up a steep bank or Optima, with seed placement run a gear higher at lower rpm from the SX units noted as much when coming down, without more positive. impacting on accuracy,” he says.

“This level of control also lets me “Where we would plant at make fertiliser rate adjustments 8kph, we’re now travelling at from the control box, to suit 12kph,” he says. “That’s a 50% changes in soil type.” higher forward speed, with the ability to travel at up to 16kph if needed.”

Keeping with a six-row Optima, Jonathan says the outfit is

863 SUITS STRAW AND SILAGE After using a mounted straw shredder for 20 years, Graham Penney of South Haylands Farm, Callington, wanted more flexibility to work with a wider variety of tractors, leading him to consider a trailed machine.

“Linkage mounted models need a tractor with good lift capacity when loaded,” he says. “I figured a trailed model would be more practical on my smaller tractors too, around the yard and buildings.”

keep his 240 head of cattle clean and well fed.

His machine of choice was a Kverneland 863 – though it was never on his radar.

Mr Penney started out with 11 knives in the machine, quickly increasing to the maximum of 28 knives following the first few tight-centre round bales.

“Had local salesman Nick Vincent from Vincent Tractors not called in and introduced himself, I probably would have bought something else,” says Graham. “His timing was spot-on, he arranged a demo which turned up on the day agreed, and a deal was done.”

Graham processes two round bales of silage and one big square straw bale every day during winter, to

“It’s the best of both worlds – output and precision without needing a bigger drill,” says Jonathan.

“I can now get into places where I couldn’t get my old mounted machine.”

“Manoeuvrability is superb,” he says. “And I can now get into places where I couldn’t get my old mounted machine.”

“I put a camera onto the frame looking into the back of the machine, and soon worked out why it wouldn’t shred the bale core. Adding the extra knives then transformed the 863,” he says. “This made it easier to loosen and feed the silage bales directly into troughs, with the

added benefit of greater blowing performance with straw.”

anyone else to feed and bed

Mr Penney says he is very pleased with the machine and its capabilities, and detail such as nylon wear plates that the bed chains sit on, also help to reduce working noise levels.

to just jump on and use,” he says.

“I also like the simplicity of the control box, so if I had to get

It’s a great machine, with good

round, it’s a very easy machine “I’ve also added a reversing camera to help with one-way passages, plus a pair of LED work lights at the back, to simplify winter working in dark sheds. support from Vincent Tractors.”

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Efficient feeding As herd numbers have grown, Carlisle-based Bowe Dairy Farming has increased its feeding ability by upgrading to a triple auger, 40 cubic metre capacity Kverneland Siloking 4.0 System 1000+ feeder.

“It’s not just about the size, it’s about mixing quality and unloading performance too,” explains George Bowe (pictured), who runs the 900-cow, 1,750-acre Chalk Lodge Farm alongside his dad, Michael. “Feeding is crucial to cow intake and milk production, but it’s also a task that needs to be done quickly and efficiently.”

The farm has recently swapped its 36-cubic metre triple auger

machine to larger, 40-cube model supplied by RC Dalgleish, with one key option to further improve productivity – that of HD doors.

“Our previous feeder had small doors on the corners, and we feed directly on-floor, not into troughs,” explains George. “We wanted larger, wider doors, but they also needed to be on the sides of the tub and not the corners. This lets us unload faster, but also much closer to the feed barriers.”

He says choosing a pair of HD doors on the left-side of the System 1000+ 4535 model has halved unloading times.

“I’m really impressed with the unloading speed,” he says. “It used to take around 30 minutes to unload a full mix, and now we’re down to just 15 minutes.

This saves time and diesel, and also means each ration spends less time inside the feeder, and more time in front of the cows.”

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A third HD door has been fitted to the rear of the right-hand side, but is rarely used.

The farm mixes around 40 tonnes of feed each day, in a variety of rations to suit the herd and dry cow requirements. Grass silage forms the lion’s share of the ration, with straights added as required.

“Mixing times are unchanged, and that really doesn’t take long,” he says. “If we needed to go any quicker, we’d need to swap the T6.180 for a more powerful tractor. Though the T6 offers a good mix of size and power for the feeder, and I feel that we’ve got the balance about right.”

The triple auger feeder is equipped with two cameras – one watching inside the tub, and the second looking down over the rear of the machine.

“A third camera, looking backwards to provide a wide, rear

“It’s not just about the size, it’s about mixing quality and unloading performance too.”

view, would be helpful around a busy yard,” he says. “I’ve added two LED worklights – one each side – to illuminate down the side of the wheels when reversing.

Good lights make a difference in winter, when you’re trying to manoeuvre in tight spots.”

He adds that with two steered axles, the 9.9m overall length of the feeder is not difficult to manage.

“It turns really well, and doesn’t need a lot of space, though we couldn’t go higher, as we have some low overhanging roof space on the corner of some sheds.”

George’s experience with his previous two Siloking feeders has been positive.

“We’ve never needed to reline a Siloking tub,” he says.

“There’s plenty of metal in the tub and on the augers, and Hardox makes a difference to machine longevity.”

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HEADLAND NEWS MAY 2022 Headland News is published by Kverneland Group UK Ltd. All rights reserved.

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