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Murphy contracting relies on Massey Ferguson gear to get their work done.
Graeme and Kay Murphy, of Murphy Contracting in Geraldine, South Canterbury, produce around 15,000 bales every season, entrusting this task to a MF 2250 medium square baler.
Used mostly to make grass silage, and also handling straw, hay, lucerne and whole crop silage, the machine replaced a previous MF 2150 model. Now with a season under its belt, Murphy says it fills the top of the chamber better than the old machine, which helps deliver a firmer and better shaped bale.
It makes bales 800 x 875mm, such packages proving easy to stack and truck. Its output is centred on producing a quality product at around 60 bales/h, although production up to 130 bales/h has been seen in large paddocks with big crops.
A 2260mm wide pick-up lifts the crop cleanly to feed augers, which move the crop smoothly into the bale chamber.
The operator can easily adjust the bale density by using the AgCommand monitor as crop or weather conditions change, as well as keeping details of individual jobs done during the day
Murphy says the machine’s suspended tandem axles make it very stable and easier to pull over rough ground.
And it has some neat features: good working lights for late nights, and a bale ejector system that brings the last of the crop out of the chamber. Maintenance is also said to be easy, with good access to all areas that need attention.
Anyone who has made bales will know that the presentation of the crop to the baler is the key to producing a well-shaped bale and achieving high outputs. At Murphy Contracting this task falls to the twin rotor, centre delivery RK 3875 rake, operating at widths up to 6.6m, but more importantly, swathe widths of 1.2 to 1.8m depending on the crop and conditions.
Much of the raking falls to Kay who uses the machine in grass, lucerne and whole crops. It is said to be better than the old V-rake as it has no tendency to ‘rope’ the crop as did the older machine.
As you would expect from a MF man, the Murphys’ tractors are also red, including a five-year-old 185hp, MF 7495 Dyna–VT with a variable transmission; this spends its life hitched to the baler.
Murphy says the stepless transmission is ideal for baling, allowing fine adjustment of speed and 50km/h on the road between jobs. Fuel consumption is pleasing, he says -- around 18L/h.
A four-year-old, 120hp, MF 5465 Dyna-4 offers a basic and simple solution for raking, wrapping and baling, while a recently landed MF 7614 (140hp) will keep Kay busy, but in an environment more comfortable and less noisy during the October-April season.
AGCO has released details of the new SB.1436DB small square, or conventional baler, that rather unconventionally, produces two rows of bales per field pass, so doubling the output over a traditional single baler producing 14-by-18-inch bales.
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