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Webbline's new G1 fixed chamber baler.
Having supplied product from Austrian grassland specialist Goweil since 2002, Webbline now introduces the new G1 fixed chamber baler.
Built to endure New Zealand's tough conditions, the G1 has a 100mm diameter main drive and 65 mm roller drive shafts within a substantial frame, resulting in an all-up weight of 5580kg.
Up at the business end, crop is lifted by a cam-less pendulum action pickup which runs six tine bars, and is said to have up to 150mm of travel for excellent ground following. The setup also differs from the norm with plastic stripper plates between the tines rather than traditional pressed steel items.
From the pickup crop is fed to a chopper rotor with an eight-star profile, which again differs from the norm, taking the crop over the top of the rotor rather than underneath. This is said to allow a more direct route into the bale chamber via the 30 blade chopping system that can reduce material to a 35mm theoretical chop length. Any blockages are taken care of by the auto flow control (AFC) system, which will automatically release to let buildups pass, without intervention by the operator.
Film binding is a standard feature of the machine and offers protection for bales left in bad weather, and an optional twin film system is claimed to be the only one of its type – it can apply two layers at once and reduce application times. Alternatively, the system can be set up with one roll of film and one roll of more traditional net wrap, with the ability to apply either at the touch of a button.
An interesting option is the choice of hydraulic lift rams on the drawbar, with a layout similar to loader wagons, which can be utilised to increase clearance under the drawbar, and particularly useful for access into paddocks with rough entrances or used with an accumulator system for a smoother ride between jobs.
Agricultural plastic recycler Plasback has announced that the nation-wide farm machinery and silage wrap distributor Webbline has joined its on-farm recycling scheme, a move that will see around 85% of the silage film imported to New Zealand being covered by the scheme.
Front end loader and implement manufacturer Quicke has introduced a new, multi-purpose bale grab call the Quadrogrip.
Dominant in the New Zealand baler/wrapper combi market, the McHale Fusion Series distributed by Power Farming Wholesale has been popular with contractors and large-scale farmers for many years.
Twin or four rotor tine-based swathers tend to dominate the market for machines that will satisfy the voracious appetites of self-propelled foragers and large balers.
While much of the baleage in New Zealand seems to be baled and wrapped in combi-style machines, there still seems to be a place for standalone machines which follow the baler around the paddock.
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