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.
Like other machines in the marketplace, the layout sees a conventional tine-based pick-up reel that lifts the crop onto grouper belts for central, left, right or split delivery. If required, the machine can make further passes to move "grouped" swathes together to feed high powered self-propelled forage harvesters or large square balers.
The concept is said to be finding favour with increasing numbers of large-scale farmers and contractors, who wish to merge large areas of grass quickly, but also treat them more gently and avoid leaf shatter. This is important in crops like Lucerne or alfalfa, both traditionally grown in drier areas and with crude protein levels of up to 20%, making them valuable crops.
Compared to tine-based swathing or raking solutions that move crops laterally across the ground to form a larger swath, the merger concept helps reduce the amount of foreign objects like stones, removes the risk of broken tines and reduces crop contamination from soil or ash.
Formed in 1996, the ROC company, based in Rimini on Italy's east coast, offers a range of front or rear-mounted, trailed and self-propelled variants, with working widths from 4.90 to 12.20 metres, the largest machine capable of bringing up to 50 metres of grass into a single large swath.
