The Geringhoff TruFlex Razor front on one of Tighe Ag Pallamallawa’s John Deere S780 headers harvesting lodged barley last season. Photo: Waringa Distribution

A SLOW, wet start to Tighe Ag’s 2024 winter-crop harvest has prompted the northern New South Wales operation to buy an additional combine harvester fitted with a header front newly launched in Australia, a trend Tighe Ag expects to follow for future upgrades.

Tighe Ag crops around 4400ha in total of wheat, barley, canola and chickpeas in the Pallamallawa district north-east of Moree, and also grows around 750ha of summer crops.

Yields were high during the latest winter-cropping season, and wet conditions that slowed harvest resulted in the addition of another harvester to its fleet, while the need for a header front with an upper cross auger to effectively direct-head canola saw it teamed with a new Geringhoff front.

Tighe Ag now has three John Deere S780 combine harvesters and complementing the manufacturer’s hinged draper fronts is a Geringhoff TruFlex Razor front featuring a three-sectioned frame with both a rigid and flexible cutterbar.

All fronts are 12m wide to suit Tighe Ag’s controlled-traffic farming system.

Manufactured in Germany, Geringhoff corn header fronts have been available on the eastern seaboard for years and after working closely with its Australian distributor, Waringa Distribution, a range of Geringhoff fronts are now being offered to suit all crops and local conditions.

In widths from 9.15-13.7m, the range of fronts includes Flex, a rigid frame with a flexible cutterbar, and TruFlex, a three-sectioned frame with a rigid cutterbar; all fronts can incorporate an optional fully integrated air system to ensure maximum reduction in harvest losses.

Tighe Ag’s Caleb Austin said the business already had a strong relationship with Waringa Distribution, using Elmer chaser bins for its harvesting program.

Tighe Ag appraised the Geringhoff header fronts at AgQuip field days at Gunnedah earlier in the season.

“We were originally going to test one of the fronts and then due to the weather situation we had at harvest and the need for a top cross auger, one was available and we had it on a header in the paddock within two weeks,” Mr Austin said.

Caleb Austin with the Geringhoff TruFlex Razor front on one of Tighe Ag’s John Deere S780 combine harvesters on the farm at Pallamallawa. Photo: Waringa Distribution

The large-diameter, three-sectioned hydraulic cross auger on the Geringhoff TruFlex Razor works across the entire cutting width, while the air system operates directly behind the knife to guide crop on to its belt.

“We were cutting the canola high and it was great.

“We also had a lot of lodged barley that we were picking off the ground and we just ran it in hinge-flex mode with the rigid cutterbar.

“It followed the ground better and there was less dirt getting in the front than our other fronts.”

The Geringhoff front’s three-sectioned frame acts independently, allowing it to adjust from one end to the other by up to 760mm.

The flexible cutterbar can add another 150mm for total adjustment nearing 1m, while the reel also remains close to the cutterbar as it flexes, making it ideal for lodged crops.

“It made it easier in the barley and there are (grain) savings with the air behind the knife.

“There was a noticeable visual difference in (grain) losses off the front when walking behind the header.

“In high-yielding or high-volume crops, there will be great savings; this is where the Geringhoff really shone and it starts to pay for itself very quickly.

“It’s not a big, bulky air reel; it’s a thin air wall and it’s incredible to watch.”

Mr Austin said the Geringhoff front had completed about 1000ha without any major issues.

“There were a couple of minor things, but parts are available at Moree and it was fixed very quickly.”

Source: Waringa Distribution