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National Fieldays Preview
Expect another fascinating display of new innovative machines designed to cater for contractors needs including cultivation equipment from the new RABE distributorship.
The product range on display at Mystery Creek will be an excellent cross-section of the total range of machinery imported and distributed by the company. See list below. Obviously due to site limitations not every machine available is able to be displayed so talk to us about others.
Machines on display
One Man Balage System
Mike McCreary (right) of Western Lake, south of Featherston bought a Krone CombiPack 1500-V for the 2002/2003 season.
The idea behind the purchase was to increase the quality of feed, by cutting the crop at an earlier stage of maturity. The grass crops were harvested at 3500-4000 kg/hectare (dry matter). This more intensive harvest meant that most of the silage platform area was cut 3 times.
To maximise economy, the larger 1.5m diameter size bales were made, with a range of balage, hay and whole crop bales. The only exception to this was some bales of red clover made smaller at 0.9m diameter to allow hand feeding to rearing calves, and a few standard size balage bales which were sold off. “The variable chamber system allowed us to produce these smaller bales at the push of a button in the cab” said Mike.
Mike McCreary with his Krone CombiPack 1500-V
Exceeded dry matter targets
“The aim of the exercise with the larger bales was to achieve at least 250 kg dry matter in each bale. In practice we ended up exceeding this goal, with an average of 450 kg per bale”
- The actual range of dry matter measurements was 36%-58%
- The range of bale weights measured were 750 kg - 1200 kg.
Interestingly, the cows seem to prefer the higher dry matter balage.
The high dry matter value per bale is achievable only by using all of the 17 knives (a theoretical cut length of 64mm). This feature is unique to the Krone Multicut system. Tests in other countries with Krone VarioPack balers have shown an increase in density of 5% with the use of knives. Some other manufacturers claim even higher percentage increase in density through the use of knives, but this is typically for soft centre balers with a lower initial density. It is interesting to note that at 450 kg and 25% dry matter these bales would weigh 1800 kg.
Mike said “As a one man operation, it’s an unbeatable system for us. I cannot see how it would be possible to achieve what we have achieved with any other system.”
“I baled 2,700 bales of balage and whole crop at 1.5m diameter. This equates to 1215 tonnes of dry matter. We made 50 bales at 1.2m in diameter, and these were measured for dry matter, and sold as such. The average bale weight was 245 kg dry matter at 50%. This bale weight was achieved without the use of knives.”
The high dry matter value per bale is achievable only by using all of the 17 knives (a theoretical cut length of 64mm). This feature is unique to the Krone Multicut system. Tests in other countries with Krone VarioPack balers have shown an increase in density of 5% with the use of knives. Some other manufacturers claim even higher percentage increase in density through the use of knives, but this is typically for soft centre balers with a lower initial density. It is interesting to note that at 450 kg and 25% dry matter these bales would weigh 1800 kg.
Mike said “As a one man operation, it’s an unbeatable system for us. I cannot see how it would be possible to achieve what we have achieved with any other system.”
“I baled 2,700 bales of balage and whole crop at 1.5m diameter. This equates to 1215 tonnes of dry matter. We made 50 bales at 1.2m in diameter, and these were measured for dry matter, and sold as such. The average bale weight was 245 kg dry matter at 50%. This bale weight was achieved without the use of knives.”
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One man operation - unbeatable system
Costs in line with expectations
“The actual cost of the system has been in line with our expectations. Although some of our original assumptions were quite different from the actual situation, our post season calculation shows a difference of less than one cent per kg dry matter.
“Our nutritionist says the cows eat more with the finer cut, although we found the cutting system (using all of the knives) unsuitable for feeding out with bale buggies. We have had good success in feeding out the cut bales with our silage wagon.”
Operation of the CombiPack
“Before this exercise I had never operated a baler in my life and I found it very easy to learn how to use. It helped me to get some training at Tulloch Farm Machines prior to the season start. This was mainly on the computer side, and gave me an understanding of the various functions and how they work - something you don’t think about when driving the machine.”
“We found the baler does not block completely when using the knives. If a block occurs you can simply take the knives out and ease the block through. Cutting at the right times has lessened our need for inoculant, ie. mowing in the afternoon when sugar levels are high.”
Mike’s parting comment after the interview - “Everyone comments on how solid and square the bales are.”
The Brick!
Robert Folkerts, Waikato
Robert Folkerts is a silage and hay baling contractor in the Waikato, and he is proud of his Krone balers, a KR10-16S from 1996, and a VARIOPACK1500MC from 2002.
Robert also owns 2 Krone mower conditioners, one with rollers an AMT323CRi, and one with steel V-tines, an AM283CV. The KR10-16S has done over 70,000 bales now and still punches out a good bale. The VP1500MC has just passed the 15,000 bales after the first full season in operation.
“One of the main reasons for using Krone balers is due to their ability to bale under all crop conditions”, says Robert. “We are baling a high percentage of silage, and the bale forming system is trouble free, and does not require periodic clearing.”
Robert makes the comparison between the 2 balers
“The best 3 improvements of the new VARIOPACK compared to the KR10-16S would be the net wrap operation, the 5 bar pick-up with increased crop velocity, and the extra density attainable by having more knives in the cutting system. On both machines I like the fact that the net wrap system is in full view of the operator.”
Krone head engineer visits
Krone head engineer Dr. Klaus Martensen (below) visited New Zealand in February 2003 and met up with Robert Folkerts.
“Krone appears to be committed to quality and increasing the performance of their machines”, said Robert after the visit.
“It is good to see that Krone and Tulloch Farm Machines are interested in the experiences of their customers.
Their on-going customer support and good spare parts parts supply are essential to our contracting operation.”
Robert Folkerts appreciates the ongoing customer support and good spare parts supply from Tulloch Farm Machines.
Krone round baler No 1 for 10th consecutive year
Krone again demonstrates market leadership with 30% market share in round balers.
Spelle, 13 November 2002 - Krone round balers are once again out in front and pressing ahead in Germany. Recent analysis of the 2001/2002 season shows that Krone has a 30% market share in Germany, clearly retaining the pole position.
Krone has successfully kept the round baler market leadership position for 10 consecutive years. Like previous years the trend is towards the variable chamber machines (VarioPack), and Krone sees an opportunity in the market by being the only manufacturer to offer a variable chamber integrated baling and wrapping system (CombiPack). This demonstrates the wide range of market leading and innovative baler/wrapping combinations from Krone.
Frequently Asked Question
A Frequently Asked Question about VarioPack balers is about the maintenance costs, and it is difficult to give a definitive answer due to varying conditions. In particular, what does it cost to replace the elevator chains on a Krone baler?
Since the Krone balers are often working in the extremes of conditions, one would expect a higher maintenance cost per bale. To meet the request for lower maintenance costs Krone has come up with a special indent deal on a replacement set of elevator chains and slats.
The set consists of new sprockets as well as chains and slats, in order to avoid new chains being fitted to worn sprockets. The retail price of this set for a VP1500 is $5,400 + GST, which is approximately the same cost as a set of belts from most brands of belt balers.
For further information please contact your local Tulloch dealer.
New grader blader model from Fransgard
Last year TFM introduced a range of robust grader blades from danish manufacturer Fransgard. The 2.1m wide GT-210 represents excellent value at less than $3,000 + GST, with a full range up to the 3m wide GT-300P with hydraulic angle and offset adjustment.
To complement the range, Fransgard will now offer a 3 ram version with a horizontal tilt of 40 degrees. There are 2 tilt models, the GT-250PH at 2.5m wide and the GT-300PH at 3.0m wide.
RABE Cultivation Equipment
Tulloch Farm Machines has recently made an agreement to distribute the RABE range of cultivation equipment in New Zealand. The first shipments have arrived in New Zealand, and a testing programme is underway. Some of the new products will be presented at the TFM site at the National Fieldays 2003. RABE’s Export Manager plans to attend.
This new distributorship is in line with the TFM company’s strategy to become a full line distributor of specialised farm machines for the contractor and large farmer.
RABE is a German manufacturer founded in 1890, specialising in cultivation equipment. The implements are coloured deep blue, and each type of implement is named after a bird, for example ploughs are named Raven and disc harrows are named Golden Eagle. RABE is widely recognised in Germany as of the highest quality, and is also a well respected brand in the UK.
The RABE company has made it’s name through slatted (skeleton) mouldboards, patented hardening systems on wearing parts, a non-compromise attitude to quality, and innovation in design.
Tulloch Farm Machines has recently made an agreement to distribute the RABE range of cultivation equipment in New Zealand.
The first shipments have arrived in New Zealand, and a testing programme is underway. Some of the new products will be presented at the TFM site at the National Fieldays 2003. RABE’s Export Manager plans to attend.
This new distributorship is in line with the TFM company’s strategy to become a full line distributor of specialised farm machines for the contractor and large farmer.
RABE is a German manufacturer founded in 1890, specialising in cultivation equipment. The implements are coloured deep blue, and each type of implement is named after a bird, for example ploughs are named Raven and disc harrows are named Golden Eagle. RABE is widely recognised in Germany as of the highest quality, and is also a well respected brand in the UK.
The RABE company has made it’s name through slatted (skeleton) mouldboards, patented hardening systems on wearing parts, a non-compromise attitude to quality, and innovation in design.
Head Office for RABE
FMS Concept
The company has introduced the FMS concept in manufacturing (flexible manufacturing systems), allowing any item to be manufactured within 4 weeks from date of order. This is part of a new initiative to meet customer’s needs while significantly reducing the cost of holding inventory. Some of the new products will be presented at the National Fieldays 2003, and RABE’s Export Manager plans to attend.
A selection of RABE equipment in the field - notice the striking blue.
Allan Taute
Service Manager
Allan joined the company as Service Manager in August 2002 when Philip O’Neale left.
Allan and his wife owned and managed a farm machinery dealership and engineering shop in Zimbabwe employing about 65 staff. They also owned a farm, and Allan worked on the farm on his “weekends off”.
They had to leave Zimbabwe when the political situation became unstable, and decided to come to New Zealand where 2 of their 3 children live.
Allan’s experience in running a service based business is already proving to be very valuable to the company.