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.
While the 10 is equipped with 48 knives for a 35mm chop, the new Magnon 11 has a total of 84 blades, allowing it to chop material down to as short as 22mm.
The maker suggests that demand is being driven by dairy farms that want a precision harvester shorter chop that is comparable to that of a self-propelled harvester but would prefer to operate a forage wagon. To deal with the extra forces created by chopping shorter, the driveline is rated for 3000Nm of torque, around 40% greater than the Magnon 10), with the gearboxes getting increased dimensions and extra metal.
Said to need around 20% more power than the Magnon 10, the manufacturer recommends 220hp or more, to deal with the loadings created by a range of body capacities from 42m3 to 52m3, without the dosing beaters.
Alongside the chopping system, the new wagons also feature an updated Flexi-Load pickup that deviates from a traditional tine band to scrapers at the rear of the assembly to guide the material delivered by the polyurethane tines. The main benefit of this design is direct access to the tine fasteners, making replacement a much simpler and quicker operation.
The new Flex-Load will be fitted to all Magnon 11 pre-series wagons for next season, while a limited number of Magnon 8 and 10 wagons fitted with the system, before it is eventually made available for the Super and Giga Vitesse wagons at some point in the future. The short chop machines will be fully available in 2025.
