Category: Testimonial

Kuhn the right combi for Monaghan contractor

Posted on by admin

Meet The Owner

Mark Niblock runs an agricultural contracting business in county Monaghan, Ireland.

Mark has a wealth of machinery knowledge, backed up by a number of years working for local contractors.  Starting out with a stand-alone baler and wrapper, he is running his own contracting business since 2016. An issue for Mark was the unavailability of drivers to operate a separate wrapper, which got him thinking about a combi-wrapper machine.

Mark said: “I saw the Kuhn FBP 3135 working at the last Grass & Muck show and it impressed me”.

Mark made contact with a well-known contractor who has a long-standing history of Kuhn balers and got his opinion on the FBP 3135. Mark took his word and struck a deal with local Kuhn dealer Martins Garage.

KUHN FBP 3135 – Key Features

Pickup and Rotor

The FBP 3135’s ability to take in grass is a key feature for Mark. It is fitted with a 2.3m pickup complete with five tines bars which run on a cam track. The pickup follows the ground very well, putting a lot of this down to the positioning of the pickup wheels.

The FBP 3135 is fitted with the Opticut 23 rotor which spans the full width of the pickup. The close positioning between the pickup tines and the Hardox steel rotor makes for a smooth, steady crop flow, regardless of crop length. The rotor’s integrated augers at either end stops grass getting blocked.

If the baler blocks while the chamber is nearly full and net or film is about to be applied, causing the slip clutch to engage, the pickup and rotor can be disengaged at the press of a button. The bale can then be bound and discharged from the chamber without more grass being fed in. This saves valuable time without turning off the PTO.

Chopping Unit

Behind the rotor is the 23 knife selectable knife bank, which can provide a theoretical chop length as short as 45mm. The knives are automatically cleaned at set intervals.

“Chop consistency is good. I’d put a lot of it down to the fact knives are a good length, passing well through the rotor tines, creating a good cut.”

Net/film binding

Both net and film can be left in position for binding. A lot of customers are moving towards film binding over net. The two rolls need to be inserted so the full width of the bale is covered and replacing film rolls is quick and easy.

Having the option to bind bales with film, as an alternative to net, is a game changer in farming. The whole process is more cost effective and environmentally friendly when it comes to less recycling.

 

Chamber

The chamber consists of 18 rollers made from 3.2mm thick steel. The drive side of each is fitted with 50mm double-raced bearings, with all bearings centrally greased using an automatic greasing system.

The rollers have scrapers built in to push material away from the bearings. The pickup and rotor are driven from the left, while all 18 rollers are driven from the right.

Sensors on the rear chamber door monitor bale formation from 80% and inform the operator through the terminal whether to fill either the left or right side of the chamber. This feature keeps bales consistently well shaped.

Transfer and wrapping

The transfer system consists of two transfer arms. The first catches the bale as it leaves the chamber, passing it on to the main transfer arm and then on to the table.

When using conventional film, the bale is already 60% covered once on the wrapper. The 3D wrapping system will start by applying film to the edges and barrel of the bale. Once 80% of the bale is covered in film, the remainder is wrapped conventionally. The 3D system is extremely fast and efficient.

Marks Verdict

As he prepares the FBP 3135 for its second season, Mark is impressed with the baler: “Its intake can’t be faulted. Regardless of row size or if it’s short grass, it still swallows it. Its’ bales have all been well shaped and solid. A few farmers have even commented over the winter on the chop quality.”

Marks FBP 3135 is fitted with 500/45 R22.5 tyres which he says, along with the tandem axle, allows the machine to travel the ground well, even in wetter conditions. The low overall height, which he believes contributes to the good crop intake, also means the bale on the wrapping table can be easily seen while it’s being wrapped.

“It has a couple of unique features that stand out, particularly the pickup and rotor disengagement and film binding using conventional film”. 

Specifications

Weight: 5,600kg

Width: 2.97m (9.41ft)

Length: 6.4m (21.19ft)

Knives: 23 knife selectable floor (combinations 0-7-11-12-23)

Bale Chamber: 18 Rollers

Terminal: Isobus compatible

Pickup: 2.3m, five tine bar cam track

KUHN GA 7631 Twin-Rotor Rake Is Handling Irish Crop With Ease

Posted on by admin
The KUHN GA 7631 Twin-Rotor Rake is proving a successful purchase for Roscommon Contractor Kenneth Harrington. This Twin-Rotor Rake stands out from competing models. Its outstanding robustness, reliability and exceptional ground following are all key features that make this machine so popular.
 
Its MASTERDRIVE GIII Gearbox is designed to ensure reliability and durability even in the most challenging conditions. The Irish crop tends to be very heavy, but this is not an issue for the GA 7631 Twin-Rotor Rake. Swath formations are clean thanks to its double-curved arms. This feature reduces the distance between tine passes allowing for raking at higher speeds. The neat swath formation ensures faster drying and makes it easier for the baler/harvester to pick up. This leads to higher-quality forage for winter feeding.
 
Protecting the ground is an essential aspect of silage-making. The KUHN GA 7631 Rake achieves less ground pressure thanks to its perfect rotor adaptation. This helps protect the ground and plant stubble promoting clean raking for higher-quality forage. The ground is undamaged, encouraging faster regrowth for the second and third cuts.
 
Hydraulic work width and windrow width adjustment come as standard. The KGA 01S electronic control box is available to control individual rotor lift to prevent damaging rows and individual hydraulic adjustment of raking height.

Kenneths Verdict

“I find the KUHN GA 7631 Twin Rotor Rake unbelievably smooth and silent. Its suspension and ground following are exceptional on uneven ground! Its MASTERDRIVE GIII gearbox can easily handle the heavy Irish crop, which helps speed our work up when under pressure. This gearbox requires very little maintenance and is extremely reliable. Its hydraulic cut-off valves used instead of mechanical stops are a nice touch as the rake never fights against itself on the headlands. Its hyper-tangential tine arms provide cleaner raking making it easier for pick-up. This feature allows us to work faster and we don’t have to worry about breaking any tines. The rake is very compact and is easily transported on roads and through narrow gaps. We are delighted with the KUHN GA 7631 Twin-Rotor Rake and glad we chose KUHN.”

 

Meeting the need for quality forage

Posted on by admin

One contractor that exemplifies a modern approach with a focus on helping farmers improve efficiency and provide food more effectively is John Trefor Owen (24) from Wales. Although just starting out, his determination to give his farmer customers a first-class service has seen rapid growth in his business.

John Trefor Owen has invested in two KUHN baler-wrapper combinations to enable him to meet the demand for quality baled forage.

Meeting the growing demand for quality forage is a key factor in young agricultural contractor John Trefor Owen’s business expansion plans. Operating almost exclusively on Anglesey, an island in the north-west of Wales, he’s specifically noted an increased requirement for baled silage and has invested in specialist equipment to meet the needs of his customers.

Film binding, a game-changer

Last summer saw the arrival of his first KUHN FBP baler-wrapper combination and – such is the demand for his services – he’s already taken delivery of a second machine for this current season. Having experienced other makes, and worked with stand along balers and wrappers, John was attracted to the FBP BalePack for several reasons, but the stand-out advantage is its ability to bind and wrap bales using a single type of film.

“Having the option to bind bales with the film, as an alternative to net, is a game-changer for our customers. Once they have experienced film binding with this machine, they are reluctant to go back to any other kind of system.”

The film binding technology on the FBP is industry-renowned, having been recognised with several awards. The real benefit is higher quality silage, as bales are first made air-tight from the binding layers and then have the reinforcement of additional layers of film from the wrapping. As the same material is used for binding and wrapping, the whole process is more cost effective and there is the added advantage of having only a single material to deal with when it comes to recycling.

High-quality forage and flexibility

With two FBP baler-wrapper combinations operating simultaneously, John is now able to offer a very fast and effective service and is now working with some of the biggest dairy farms in the area.

“Bales are becoming more popular again, because they are now seen as a source of high quality forage and offer levels of flexibility that you don’t have with clamped silage.”

“With good grass crops, we can bale and wrap 45-50 bales an hour with one baler, so with the two machines we’ve no problem tackling 100 acres at a time. Apart from the film binding capability, the FBP is also second to none in terms of its pick-up and intake design. Features like the rotor disengage facility are really important in terms of keeping the machine running through a range of conditions,” adds John.

Whilst grass silage is a big part of John’s work, he’s also involved with hay and straw baling on Anglesey, so the ability of the baler-wrapper combinations to swap from film binding back to net binding is essential.

“We can very easily switch between the different modes, depending on what the customer wants,” he says. “Working as a contractor you need to be adaptable and its vital to have machinery that’s both versatile and reliable.”

The KUHN FBP BalePack has the capability to film bind bales, a feature that John says is a game-changer for his livestock farmer customers.

“Baled silage is the future”

With a close friend operating a large capacity rake, and John and his uncle running the baler-wrappers, J.T. Owen now offer a formidable service when it comes to round bale harvesting. In 2019, with one baler-wrapper running for part of the season, John managed around 13,000 bales. In 2020, he produced around 20,000 bales despite the dry weather creating late or delayed crops.

Looking ahead, John sees a good future in baled silage, as more farmers look to build greater resilience into their systems by relying more heavily on quality forage. Whether for supplementing summer grazing or as the basis of out-wintering, quality baled silage has a place on the modern progressive dairy farm and J.T. Owen Agricultural Contracting is gearing up to provide the best possible service.