NSW farmer and contractor Phil Townsend’s move to a 816 kilowatt Krone Big X 1100 silage harvester has seen production go through the roof in the time critical application.
When crops are ready for silage harvesting the window for perfect results is very tight - every day can see a degradation in quality, Mr Townsend explained.
Getting the crop off fast is key to quality.
Since delivery last September the machine has already chopped through some 92,000 tonne of cereals and corn silage crops that have yielded 60 - 80 tonne per hectare.
The Big X’s 6.2 metre disc front has also mown through cereal crops at 200 – 300 tonne per hour - a massive productivity improvement on his previous harvesters.
“It’s not like a grain harvest, with silage you have to have the dry matter right and you have a small window - in spring it may be just a few days, in corn it's about a week,” Mr Townsend said.
“If you get wet weather you can lose days and every day there can be another 2000 tonne ready for silage.”
He said the machine’s design foundation meant its promise equated with its capability.
“Krone started with a big power machine and engineered everything to suit that power rather than building power up on a smaller machine and pushing it to within an inch of its life.
“The model range has seen them put smaller engines in the smaller models but keep the big drives and fittings - they are bulletproof.”
The Big X 1100 is powered by a MAN 24 litre V12 engine, with most hydraulic pumps direct coupled to the engine adding to its simple, strong reputation.
“It is very low maintenance machine - we expect to do three years or 300,000 tonne throughput before we have to do any significant maintenance,” Mr Townsend said.
He said the chain style EasyCollect corn front has impressed with its ability to work in dense crops - downed or standing.
Endless collectors feed the stalks to the middle, where they are turned 90 degrees and pulled in lengthwise.
“The most I saw out of the machine was 550t/h in really badly fallen sorghum - 700mm off the ground,” he said.
“It would have taken forever to get it through a drum style front,” he said.
“As long as you have a heavy crop in front of it, you will make this machine work and it will see you do double what a 500hp machine can do,” Mr Townsend said.
“We’ve never chopped so many tonnes, so quick, with so few breakdowns - it’s made harvest so easy.”
Corn silage production exceeding 2500 tonne a day has seen a need to run Steigers as pit tractors.
