Forage – RealAgriculture: Recent Episodes
Forage – RealAgriculture
It’s a frustrating problem farmers face when stacking bales — you need a few more inches of loader range to stack that bale but the loader is coming up just a little short. That’s a challenge Stoll is looking to solve, especially for farmers who work with 4-cylinder medium class tractors, a popular choice for... Read More
When it comes to forage production, tedders play a key role in quickly transforming green, freshly-mowed forage to a crop with consistent quality and moisture that’s ready to bale. In this report from Agritechnica, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney and Krone territory manager David Taylor take a close look at the new Krone Vendro C 1120, part... Read More
Round balers come in many sizes with a wide range of capacities and capabilities, but it’s important for farmers to find the right baler for their operation and a service dealer they can rely on to keep them running through harvest. In this report from Agritechnica, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney and Krone territory manager David Taylor... Read More
CLAAS is celebrating 50 years of Jaguar self-propelled forage harvesters. The company launched its first Jaguar in 1973 and have produced 45,000 machines over the last half century. Last November at Agritechnica, CLAAS showed off a new special edition of its Jaguar 990 Terra Trac with an exclusive anniversary colour scheme. In this report, CLAAS... Read More
From closing the bale chute to kicking that last bale out of the baler, Case IH, with help from ISOBUS technology, now delivers a higher level of automated baler controls from inside the tractor cab. In this report from Agritechnica, CNH Industrial baler automation guru Gerd Gerdes shares some of the features North America farmers can... Read More
New Holland is redesigning and restyling its line of forage harvesters. Up front, farmers will notice a renewed version of New Holland’s UltraFeed grass pickup on its range of FR forage harvesters for 2024. The UltraFeed will be available in working widths of 3.o, 3.5 and 4.0 metres. In this interview from Agritechnica, Laurent Libbrecht,... Read More
How low can you go? When it comes to silage, a lower harvest height can add real tonnage to the final yield tally. Kayla Slind, acting general manager with the Western Applied Research Corporation (WARC), says that harvesting close to the ground requires land rolling to protect the harvester from damage due to picking up... Read More
New Holland says it will redefine the disc mower conditioner with the introduction of its new Discbine PLUS Series. The discbines made their first appearance earlier this year at the 2022 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. The mower conditioner improves productivity, optimizes quality and preserves valuable feed nutrients, says Jordan Milewski, conventional hay tools... Read More
A successful dairy farm requires incredible investment — from cows and quota to crops, to land base and labour, the list of key inputs is huge. One of the key pieces that drives a dairy operation forward is silage quality. On this episode of the The Sharp Edge, Maizex Seeds agronomist Greg Stewart visits custom... Read More
New Holland is expanding its round baler offering with the launch of its Pro-Belt Series. The new balers made their first appearance at the recent Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. In this video, Jordan Milewski, New Holland’s conventional haytools marketing manager, says producers can expect both durability and reliability from the new baler. “When... Read More
Whether it’s wet silage, dry hay, or stalks that need baling, Case IH says its round baler family — which includes Standard, Premium and Pro models — has been improved to give growers the efficiency and reliability they need in one machine. The latest addition to the Case IH round baler lineup, is the RB6... Read More
The Straw Master straw spreader is a tidy unit that makes the job of bedding quick and easy. Filmed at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Richard Karst says the unit comes in three sizes, and can work with straw or shavings to process and spread bedding in tie-stall or free stall barns. At just five-feet wide,... Read More
Massey Ferguson is rolling out some updates to its 2200 series square balers, including the pickup, interior components and technology. Dane Mosel, tactical marketing manager with Massey Ferguson, says the LB update to the series packs new tech and plenty of features for reliability and longevity. The LB features a continuous five bar pickup with poly... Read More
Hay season can be demanding, and there’s nothing worse than hay on the ground and a rain cloud coming in. Case IH has a new line-up of windrowers, the WD5 series, that it says offers more consistent dry down and fast speeds, which could be an operational solution for hay producers out there. “The new... Read More
Kuhn’s new OptiWrap OWR 6000 inline round bale wrapper — a brand new offering from Kuhn North America — launched at Farm Progress Show at Decatur, Illinois held in late August. Matt Murdock of Kuhn joined Kara Oosterhuis at the show to have an up-close look at the new forage wrapper. Kuhn is building on... Read More
Bale moisture probes are great once a bale is made, but trying to determine moisture of a hay swath is another challenge entirely. Most methods — including drying down a sample and doing some quick math — still take more time than is ideal, especially if hay is drying quickly and is intended as ensiled... Read More
AGCO is introducing the latest in their baler lineup: the Massey Ferguson RB 4160P Protec combo baler. The unit, which produces 4-by-5-foot bales, combines all the features found on the RB Series silage balers with an integrated bale-wrapping unit, allowing producers to harvest and ensile high-moisture forages in one process. Whether harvesting forage for a... Read More
Farm management and cropping practices can be complimentary to a livestock operation. Making use of all the months of the year can be quite the challenge, but Chris McLaren, of Larenwood Farms near Drumbo, Ont., has managed to do just that by integrating a cereal rye into his rotation. In this episode of The Sharp... Read More
Woods Equipment has been around since the 1940s and was one of the first companies to produce tractor-mounted rotary cutters. The BrushBull rotary cutter has been around for quite some time as well, with many improved iterations since the original. The latest model made its debut at the National Farm Machinery Show at Louisville, Kentucky,... Read More
Strautmann’s new self-loading forage wagon line, the Magnon, launched at Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany, is the biggest in its range. “That’s a completely new machine, designed especially for big farms, using it for silage making…with a completely new system on the pick-up,” says Strautmann’s Felix Rademacher. The new Flex Load pick-up system uses elastomer plastic... Read More
Krone’s BiG X 1180 was on display at Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany in November, and the company claims it’s the biggest in the business. According to Krone’s Henrik Feldmann, the machine focuses on maneuverability and maximum capacity. “And highlights on the machine is, of course, the lift cab, that allows you to lift the whole... Read More
Complete with a huge 925 horsepower engine, Claas has released two new forage harvester models that, for the first time, are offered with tracks. Matt Jaynes, Claas of America product manager for self-propelled forage harvesters, says that the new Jaguar 990 and 960 are available with Terra Trac, for rider comfort, reduced soil compaction, and... Read More
Forage producers can rake up to a 30-foot swath with the New Holland Rolabar 230 twin basket forage rake. New Holland product marketing manager George Rigdon says the high-capacity rake is a good fit for producers looking to increase overall efficiency and productivity by reducing the number of field passes. The manufacturer unveiled the Rolabar... Read More
Automated feed pushers save time and reduce workload. These robots can free dairy producers from the constant grind of pushing feed back within reach of their animals. It’s a win/win, as having feed within reach of the animals is just part of the recipe for higher feed intake and great milk production, too, notes Gravin... Read More
Looking to cut your hay close, clean, and quick while conditioning it for faster dry down and nutrient preservation? If that’s the plan, it may be time to take a closer look at New Hollands’s new Discbine 209 and 210 disc mower-conditioners. The side-pull mowers were rolled out at the recent Farm Progress Show at Boone, Iowa.... Read More
The new Massey Ferguson RB Series silage baler is engineered for durability, reliability, and high throughput, according to AGCO. It’s the first silage-specific baler ever offered by Massey Ferguson, says Matt LeCroy, tactical marketing manager for hay and forage at AGCO. He says the RB Series is a tough, heavy-duty choice for producers who bale corn... Read More
Yes, Guinness has a record for hay mowed in an eight hour period. And a custom haying operator near Greeley, Colorado holds that record, as of July. Tate Mesbergen says he was inspired to attempt breaking the record while visiting Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany last November, when he saw a Polish manufacturer advertising how its... Read More
John Deere’s new 9000 Series self-propelled forage harvesters claim to deliver both high-capacity harvesting and forage quality. The 9000 Series harvesters, which provide up to 400 tons of throughput per hour, debuted last week at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. In this video, Deere senior marketing representative Shaun Fritchey explains how the four new models... Read More
Whether driven by a respect for operator time, a desire for simplicity, or a means of drawing down input costs, the agriculture industry has seen a movement towards fewer manned vehicles. Many farmers have moved to no-till and straight-cutting, and some silage operations are now skipping the swather too, with the help of Italian-based agricultural... Read More
Claas has extended its track technology from combines and tractors to forage harvesters, with Terra Trac now being trialed on the Jaguar line, with a feature designed to reduce scuffing when turning. The option to use tracks, according to the company, means increased traction, and lower rut formation, complete with an automatic reduction of contact... Read More
Where rabbits and many other wildlife will run when a tractor approaches, baby deer will instinctively hide in tall grass. And that can be a problem when harvesting forages in areas with high deer populations, especially during first cut in spring. Austrian-based company Pöttinger has come up with a solution, for which it received a silver... Read More
Krone has unveiled its new line-up of forage harvesters, equipped with a unique feature — a scissor-lift cab. Through the push of a single button, the operator can raise the entire cab 70cm, allowing a better view of a tall crop, and the trailer operating beside it. Additionally, the move reduces noise levels, improves field-of-view... Read More
After acquiring ‘Shredlage’ technology from its inventors last year, Claas is emphasizing the cow health benefits of the forage harvesting process. Shredlage, says Matt Jaynes, self-propelled forage harvester product manager with Claas, is a patented term used to describe the harvesting technique that takes corn through a special kernel processor, as well as cutting it... Read More
Krone North America has announced their highest retail sales volume dealers for fiscal year 2016 and a big surprise is that a Canadian retailer made the list. Krone manufactures and sells hay and forage equipment in 40 countries around the world but has relatively small distribution in Canada. With a heavy focus in the forage market, Krone... Read More
AGCO is expanding its forage equipment business, acquiring the forage division of Lely Group. Lely, which is known more for its dairy equipment in North America, manufactures balers, loader wagons, mowers and rakes in Europe. The two companies have reached an agreement-in-principle, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. “The integration... Read More
New Holland plans to add tillage equipment to its product lineup after signing a deal to purchase Kongskilde Industries’ tillage and forage equipment business. The Danish company manufactures and sells farm equipment under several brands, including Kongskilde, Överum and JF. “The acquisition of the tillage and hay and forage activities of Kongskilde adds a key... Read More
The latest generation of New Holland’s flagship BigBaler promises to raise the bar for big square density and uniformity. New Holland unveiled the BigBaler 340 Plus last month at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. In this video, New Holland hay and forage marketing manager Seth Doman explains that the key feature making this... Read More
It’s been an exciting year for Fendt’s forage branch. The company presented their brand new rotary hay rake at Agritechnica in November and have since received two silver awards for the innovation. The first, from Agritechnica itself, and the second from the International Agricultural Machinery Fair, FIMA, in Spain. “We believe that there is a... Read More
John Deere wins at the Agritechnica’s 2015 Innovation Awards had RealAgriculture representatives hopping in Hanover, Germany in November. You’ve already seen footage from their ProCut technology and their GoHarvest combine simulation system. In this episode of the TechTour, we move over to forage production, and Deere’s “Active Fill Control Sync” (AFC Sync). Don’t Miss Out: Enter to Win a Meridian... Read More
Krone launched its new Big X 770 forage harvester at Agritechnica, bringing updated technology and new style to the Big X lineup. The forage harvester boasts a 16.16 litre V8 engine, and outputs 775 horsepower, with improved safety features, including: additional indicators in mudguards, an extra step on the access ladder, and better overall visibility of all... Read More
A large silver tub hangs in place of a front-end loader, accentuated by its own strikingly red grapple. “It’s an all-in-one machine,” Fliegl’s Christoph Hierl explains in the video below. “So with one tractor, you have the possibility to load…the bale, to cut the bale, to mix it, and to feed.” Don’t Miss Our Next TechTour... Read More
John Deere’s new ProCut technology won the company a gold medal in innovation at Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany this year. The technology revolves around sensors incorporated in the shearbar on self-propelled forage harvesters. Don’t Miss Our Next TechTour LIVE – Register Today! “The ProCut really is on-the-go measurement of the condition of the knife, and... Read More
Not all booths at Agritechnica provide the most highly technical of products. Sometime innovation comes from the simplest of ideas. Fortschritt introduced RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney and Jason Stroeve to the Silage Compactor at the Agritechnica show in Hannover, Germany. One of the interesting features of this product is the packers look and feel like train wheels.... Read More
A short-line ag equipment manufacturer headquartered near Lacombe, Alberta is adding another Alberta-based equipment line to its business. RENN Mill Center has acquired the manufacturing and distribution rights to Jiffy Agricultural Equipment from ProAll International Manufacturing at Olds. With a product line that includes bale shredders, hay rakes, combine headers and harrow drawbars, Jiffy equipment has... Read More
Every year in the US, feed left in the bunk costs dairy producers $2 billion. That’s about eight percent of all the feed placed in front of dairy cows, says J. W. Schroeder. The North Dakota State Extension Dairy Specialist told a packed presentation room last month at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin,... Read More
Have you tried baling corn stalks? Agronomist Pat Lynch thinks you can’t bale enough. At Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show last month, Lynch helped co-ordinate the Corn Stalk Baling Demonstration. Afterwards he joined the Corn School to share his thoughts on whether Ontario farmers should be jumping on the stalk baling bandwagon. Today’s corn hybrids are... Read More
New Holland has upped the ante on its Forage Cruiser line for model year 2016. The line has five models, with the smallest (the FR480) listed at 476hp and the top model (FR850) at 824hp. The line has seen the replacement of the engines in the smaller models, now Tier 4B compliant with ECOBlue He-eSCR technology. The... Read More
Author’s Note: Okay, there are probably plenty of reasons you should bale instead of pellet (like: we don’t really have a choice yet). It’s just, well, it’s not every day that I get to use a noun as a verb in a headline. Last week I stumbled upon one of the coolest tweets I’ve seen all... Read More
The Hesston 1375 isn’t only the newest of the 1300 series by Massey Ferguson, it’s also the biggest. Weighing in at over 7000lbs, the centre-pivot mower conditioner is 4.6m (15’3?) wide. The machine uses 10 rotary discs, each with 10 free-swinging reversible knives, to cut crops at 1.3 to 3? in height. And just when you thought... Read More
John Deere recently launched its 8000 Series of self-propelled forage harvesters with five new models. “The 8000 Series builds upon the best features of our popular 7000 Series Self-Propelled Forage Harvesters,” said Shaun Fritchey, marketing representative, John Deere Ottumwa Works, in a release. “This new series integrates cutting-edge crop analysis and documentation with an innovative machine design to provide... Read More
New Holland’s new Discbine models, the 313 and 316 centre-pivot disc mower-conditioners, offer 13 and 16.3-foot cutting widths, respectively, and improvements in cutting, floatation, efficiency and durability. The models, which are available as both flail and roll conditioning units, feature what New Holland is calling the MoxMax II cutterbar. The cutterbar has larger discs and heavier components,... Read More
The idea isn’t new — non-stop round balers have been toyed with for years by manufacturers — but its one that has yet to be perfected. In 1986, Claas unveiled the Rollant Rapid 56, a non-stop round baler with a pre-chamber. In 2012, Krone unveiled the Ultima, a commercial, non-stop baler/wrapper. Now, Vermeer, along with... Read More
Whether you’re looking to make a great ration, improve livestock bedding or feed the cellulose ethanol industry, John Deere says you need to check out its new L340 large square baler. Jeremy Unruh, John Deere’s baling and mowing product line manager, gave us a tour of the new balers at the Farm Progress Show last... Read More
Getting recognized by your peers can be special. For three equipment manufacturers, getting recognized by the North American Equipment Dealers Association is very special. Without dealers, a machinery manufacturer has very limited access to the farmer and the farmer has limited access to warranty and service. Recently the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) announced... Read More
It’s hard to think of cutting crops when we haven’t finished shoveling the seeders out of snowbanks, but boy is it nice to imagine sitting in this harvester in the sunshine. Meet the Jaguar 960, from Claas. This harvester runs with at 653 hp, with a large cooling system in the centre and a Tier... Read More
Keeping bales from losing value is a difficult endeavour, and unfortunately, we don’t always have the ability to store straw and hay under a roof. Many ranchers have taken a keen interest in net wrap, as it typically offers better weather protection than twine and takes a fraction of the time to wrap and remove.... Read More
New Holland will be making its new Roll-Belt 560 Round Baler available in a few months. The baler has some significant upgrades from previous models, including ActiveSweep pickups, bale-slice systems, monitor choices and a specialty crop option. According to New Holland, the ActiveSweep pickups will increase the capacity of the machine by 20% and are... Read More
In case you haven’t heard, there are a few new balers in town. We caught up with Cole Carling of Case IH at the Agri-Trade Exposition in Red Deer to talk about the RB 565 in particular. The baler comes in standard and premium models, with 4 and 5 bar pick-ups (respectively), an overshot feeder... Read More
When you’ve got many hungry mouths to feed, efficiency counts. And while a big tractor or TMR mixer may help, the process of creating rations and feeding cattle can be made faster and more efficient through the use of a piece of equipment engineered specifically for the task at hand. The Faresin Ecomdoe self-loading TMR... Read More
Canada’s Farm Progress Show is a great event to take in if you’re looking for neat new pieces of equipment to make life on the farm easier and more productive. The show even hands out awards to those inventions that offer a new way to tackle an old job. Haukaas Manufacturing, based at Mortlach, Sask.,... Read More
Perhaps I should preface this list with a caveat — the best way to make perfect hay is to ensure it doesn’t get rained on. And now that we’ve all stopped belly-laughing we can get down to the business of making hay in a more realistic setting. I’ve listened to Dr. Dan Undersander, from the... Read More
This week Iron Solutions launched a new version of its machinery sales site, IRONSearch.com. With some great new added personalization features, improved keyword search, and cool tools like changing your searches with visual sliders, the new IRONSearch.com will really impress new and veteran users of the site. Shaun Haney spoke to Iron Solutions, Chief Information... Read More
Last week it was reported that family-owned MacDon Industries Ltd is being put up for auction. As one the world’s largest manufacturer of windrowers, Reuters reported that the price tag could be for over one billion dollars. At this point no reasons for the sale have been released but rumors of the potential interested buyers is purely... Read More
From the outside it looks like another piece of John Deere machinery — a swather (or windrower, if you’re so inclined) with the trademark green paint and jumping deer. But underneath all that green and yellow paint is a Canadian success story. What you’re looking at is actually a product of Winnipeg-based MacDon Industries, and... Read More
The world of machinery is really getting smaller. Ritchie Bros announced today that they sold more than one billion dollars worth of machinery in Canada in 2012. This is a new company record according to the company. Follow @RitchieBros on Twitter The Tweet From Ritchie Bros NEWS RELEASE: We sold more than CA$1 billion of... Read More
It seems farming equipment gets bigger and bigger every year, but instead of only striving for bigger, Canada-based Jaylor developed its line of mini TMR mixers to suit any sized operation. From a self-contained mini unit, to a tractor-mounted version or even a pick-up truck ready mixer, Jaylor’s line of mini mixers has a size... Read More
The name of the game for dairy at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show is automation. Lely Canada has been showcasing its robotic milker set up at the Outdoor Farm Show for 12 years, but has expanded its automation technology to feeding, cleaning and all things dairy. This year’s show highlights all of these units. We caught... Read More
Usually producers talk about buying equipment in the US when the Canadian Dollar swings above par. This time though the deals on US based farm machinery are being driven by the severe US drought. With the US corn and soybean harvest looking very poor in comparison to prior years, US farm machinery dealers have a... Read More
Is there anything quite like being in a hurry, plugging up your haybine and spending hours unplugging it while your precious life blood is being drained by helicopter sized mosquitoes? They say necessity is the mother of invention, so I imagine a few nights like that could create a need for something like the haybine... Read More
In a great many cases there is a very short, specific window in which producers can find ideal conditions to get a hay crop off the field. When that opportunity presents itself, you have to move quickly and get those bales off the field with as little difficulty as possible. Being able to load and unload those... Read More