Non-stop efficiency gains

“We’re using less diesel; working more efficiently with one tractor; and making bales that are much heavier than before,” says Michael O’Sullivan.

Supplied by P&D Engineering, the FastBale makes 1,000 bales of silage, 200 hay and 200 straw for Mansfield Farm.

on the IsoMatch Tellus PRO terminal, and I can keep an eye on the wrapper with a camera that shows an image on the dual screen terminal,” adds Michael. “It all just works properly - it’s very impressive.”

“I’ve wanted a Vicon FastBale ever since I saw it working at a Grassland demonstration,” explains Mick McDermott from Mansfield Farm, Iver, Buckinghamshire. “It’s the best way to make the highest quality silage for our livestock.”

Farming over 500 acres, the Buckinghamshire farmer runs a herd of 75

Limousin and Belgian Blue cross cows and calves, and provides contract baling and wrapping services.

“Yes, I could have bought a combination baler-wrapper, but why stop to transfer every bale?” he says. “It’s time you never get back and adds up to a lot of lost productivity every day.”

And operator Michael O’Sullivan, pictured, agrees.

The new benchmark Baling and Wrapping Non-Stop

Vicon FastBale

The unique and innovative baling concept with two bale chambers connected in series, made for outstanding bale quality and time saving. The Vicon FastBale non-stop baler-wrapper allows you to simply press on while others are at a standstill.

More throughput means more bales per hour. Nonstop baling saves 18-25 seconds of downtime per bale.

With 13,200 cuts per minute, the 800mm diameter intake rotor offers the highest cutting quality and throughput available.

25 knife SuperCut cutting unit provides a chop length of up to 40mm. Ideal for highly compacted bales and high quality silage.

Michael adds that most of the bales were made without using crop chopping knives, though the farm has experimented with just six knives in the chamber.

“We have something to compare,” he says. “But I don’t think we’ll need to chop our swaths very often. These bales are superb.”

“Baling programs are easy to change

For Mick McDermott, the simplicity of a one-man, non-stop, bale-and-wrap system is a game-changer for round bale silage.

“Choosing Vicon’s FastBale means we’re much more efficient. It buys time, and does a fantastic job,” explains Mick. “And with the wrapper folding up behind, this keeps the machine relatively compact for transport.”