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Good silage starts by cutting the crop at the correct growth stage, followed by reducing moisture content, chopping to a consistent length, then stacking in a clamp.
The latter function relies on placing thinner, even layers across the width and length of the clamp and quickly excluding air.
While easy in theory, the outputs of modern self-propelled forage harvesters can mean the ‘pit man’ can have his work cut out in achieving the desired result.
The process of removing air to achieve an anaerobic fermentation to reduce nutrient loss is achieved by compaction, created by rolling – typically by the buckraking tractor or loading shovel. In large clamps, operators often work in tandem with a second tractor, but in smaller operations or restricted areas, this is not always possible.
Over the last decade or so, homemade solutions include old railway carriage wheels carried in a frame to achieve compaction, but more recently several implement manufacturers have come up with their own solutions.
This issue has not been left unaddressed by the farm machinery industry, which has produced various rollers to work pits over the years, but now Walter Watson Agriculture of County Down, Northern Ireland, has brought its own answer to the problem to market.
Recently exhibited at the Irish Ploughing Match, the Watson Silage Compactor has evolved from the company’s well-known flat roller range to achieve increased compaction with rings or collars, topped off with broad teeth around the perimeter.
Covering a 2.5m wide working width to match the overall width of typical medium horsepower tractors, when ballasted with water, the unit tips the scales at round 3.5 tonnes, with the manufacturer suggesting that as all up weight is an advantage, a tractor of around 150hp is needed for ease of handling.
Allowing the roller to work right up to the edges of a clamp, rams on each side of the machine allow a 500mm side-shift function, ensuring that the tractor can be kept safely away from the edges.
Attention to detail sees the fitting of a polypropylene roller at each corner of the unit to prevent the machine scraping along the side of any walled clamps, so preserving both machine and wall.
Packing the silage into the clamp not only helps increase quality, but the increased density also saves space, with the manufacturer suggesting that the compactor can increase storage capacity by between 30 and 40%.
Massey Ferguson has announced a strategic supply partnership with International Tractors Limited (ITL), a manufacturer of low-horsepower and compact tractors, with recognised brands such as Sonalika and Sollis, to expand its portfolio with a new tractor range.
With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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