Machinery

Farm Machinery: Kuhn sets raking record; Bourgault seeder; Tractor sales slump + more

Neil Lyon, September 19, 2019

What’s the latest in the farm machinery world?

  • Bourgault produces frame-mounted seeder
  • Kuhn sets world raking record
  • Tractor sales slump in drought-hit market
  • Fendt launches Gen 6 900 series tractor range
  • New Case mower-conditioner
  • CNH Industrial acquires AgDNA
  • Kuhn baler launch at Henty
  • Henty Machine of the Year

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Bourgault Australia operations manager, Phil Hartley, with a prototype of the HD848, frame-mounted seeder.

Bourgault produces frame-mounted seeder

NEW-MODEL, frame-mounted seeders specifically designed for Australian conditions are set to roll off the production line of Canadian manufacturer, Bourgault, this month.

In the lead up to production, the company has been running extensive tests in Australia this year with two prototype frame-mounted machines – a CD484 disc unit and an HD848 tyne unit.

Bourgault Australia operations manager, Phil Hartley, said the machines had been put to the test to ensure the frames were robust enough for the Australian market.

“Each of those units has been on around 40 farms with 40 different operators in 40 different sets of conditions. And a minimum of 1000 hectares each, so we have put them through the paces,” he said.

“We have completed the testing regime and have pressed the button on production.

“The first units will roll off the production line in Canada in September and come onto the Australian market around Christmas time for the next seeding season.

“They are manufactured and part-assembled in Canada for the Australian market specifically on our request to provide Australian farmers with a very solid, frame-mounted seeder around 6-8 metres wide.”

Mr Hartley said the frame-mounted seeders had the bin mounted on the rear of the unit and the frame bar at the front.

The openers for the disc machine are on a two-row bar and the tyned machine features a three-row bar.

There are three section metering bins which include a small seeds box in the middle.

On the 848 the bin breakdown is:

  • Tank 1 – 2000 litres
  • Tank 2 – 800 litres
  • Tank 3 – 2000 litres
  • plus an optional saddle tank 300 litres

Mr Hartley said the main advantage of the frame-mounted seeder range was their accessibility.

“These units have a transport width of three metres which is very narrow,” he said.

“One of the key advantages is all the opener technology is our existing opener technology straight off our broadacre units. There is nothing new, aside from the frame.”

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A Kuhn GA 15131 gyrorake has set the first world record for raking.

Kuhn sets world raking record

KUHN has set the first world record for raking with the GA 15131 gyrorake covering 188.9 hectares in eight hours.

The record was set on August 26 in Braedstrup, Denmark, with the four rotor gyrorake GA 15131, a standard machine, hitched to a John Deere 6250R tractor in the presence of the German institute, Deutsche Landwirtschafts Gesellschaft (DLG).

The DLG Institute confirmed: “188.9 hectares were raked in 8 hours, which represents an average of 23.6 hectares per hour.”

Kuhn’s GA 15131 gyrorake offers a working width of 9.50 to 14.70 metres.

Its 100 per cent hydraulic drive allows adaptation of the rotor speed to the forage type and yield whilst minimising maintenance tasks.

The machine’s Boost function increases the speed of the front rotors by 20pc compared to the rear ones in order to form a homogeneous and airy windrow.

The individual rotor lift allowed the driver to achieve the record by avoiding obstacles despite the varying paddock shapes.

The CCI 1200 ISOBUS terminal allowed the driver to visualise the work performed and to optimise the rotor adjustment without any downtime, as well as the ease of use of the WTK joystick.

A dairy farm in the hilly Central Jutland region of Denmark was chosen to set the record.

Mikael Skeldal, who runs the farm with his two brothers and sister, drove the John Deere 6250R tractor equipped with AutoTrac guidance system, the intuitive Gen4 CommandCenter and the ergonomic CommandPRO joystick.

The representative from the DLG institute who certified the record, carried out several measurements on the spot. The time and surface were precisely determined, and the quality of the work was measured by various samples collected, confirming the good forage quality.

Video: The Kuhn raking world record

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Tractor sales slump in drought-hit market

August Sales for agricultural tractors have suffered another steep decline, down 19 per cent for the month and now 12pc behind last year.

Tractor and Machinery Association (TMA) executive director, Gary Northover, said falls were felt in all size categories in all states, including the very buoyant Western Australian market which was down 27pc on the same month last year and was now sitting 6pc behind last year.

 

Across the nation, it continues to be New South Wales suffering the greatest declines with a further 27pc drop in August, now 22pc behind last year.

Queensland, which had been showing signs of recovery, slipped 14pc in the month and is now 7pc behind for the year.

Victoria had a solid month, exactly in line with August last year but remains 8pc behind for the full year.

South Australian sales have gone from bad to worse with a 48pc drop in August, now a full 25pc behind last year.

Tasmanian sales are having a good year, now 7pc ahead year-to-date (YTD) figures.

Sales in the Northern Territory dropped for the month and are now 5pc behind last year.

Mr Northover said the market across Australia was being hampered by a lack of confidence arising from the drought in the eastern states, combined with a circumspect attitude in the leisure sector which continued to contain low horsepower tractor sales.

“The growth of this lower end of the market has been a standout for the industry over the past decade but it is showing signs similar to those in the wider economy,” he said.

Sales in the 200hp (150kw) and above range were down substantially, 36pc behind for the month and now 4pc behind YTD.

The 100 to 200hp (75-150kw) segment also suffered a big drop down 10pc for the month, remaining 14pc behind last year.

The 40 to 100hp (30-75kw) range was also down 25pc, now sitting 14pc behind last year. It was a similar story in the lower under 40hp (30kw) range, down 13pc in August and 10pc on a yearly basis.

Combine harvester sales are tracking sideways with levels at around half of last year’s sales and this trend is expected to continue through harvest season.

Baler sales continue to be the one high point in the market as the demand for hay is still strong. August sales were up 46pc on last year and are now 22pc ahead on a YTD basis.

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Fendt launches Gen 6, 900 series tractor range

GERMAN manufacturer, Fendt, launched the new, Gen 6, 900 series tractors onto the Australian market in August.

Fendt Australia/New Zealand product manager, Donny Cloney, said the new tractors were the sixth generation of the 900 series.

“The story started with the first Fendt 900 which was the first high horsepower, stepless, CVT transmission which was released at Agritechnia in Germany in 1995. It was the first generation,” he said.

“Each generation has introduced more and more technology into the machines. They now have a brand new MAN engine with the latest Tier 5 diesel technology. The benefits of that are more power, better fuel economy and 1000-hour engine oil changes which is unprecedented.

“Another new feature it the Vario-drive transmission. It is completely stepless from 20 kilometres/hour all the way to 60km/hr.”

Mr Cloney said the 900 series came in a range from 225 to 315kW (300-420ha) and featured independent torque distribution.

“It is not like a conventional front-wheel-assist where you drive the power through the rear axle, then a shaft joins to the front axle. The Fendt basically has two separate transmissions so the front wheels can turn and the rear wheels run separately, which is very good for traction,” he said.

Fendt Australia/New Zealand product manager, Donny Cloney, with the new, Gen 6, Fendt 900 series tractor.

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New Case mower-conditioner

WITH hay equipment sales on the rise, Case IH has launched a new mower-conditioner, the DC103, which builds on the proven centre-pivot Disc DC3 and the DC2 side-pull designs.

Case Hay and Harvest product manager, Tim Slater, said the key to the DC103 was its simplicity when it came to operation, adjustments and maintenance, with the reliability and ruggedness required to get the job done within often demanding timeframes.

“Due to the ongoing drought across many regions, the demand for hay-making equipment has been high, so the launch of this new DC103 has come at a good time for customers looking to upgrade machinery, or for those new to this market,” Mr Slater said.

“It retains everything customers appreciated about its predecessor, the well-established DC102, but then introduces a raft of enhanced features that are now standard, such as revised cutter-bar flotation and additional tilt adjustment and quick-change knives. It’s a practical and user-friendly design that produces outstanding results in all conditions.”

Mr Slater said cutterbar flotation was the biggest change on the model.

The range of motion as the cutterbar floats up protects the knives from obstacles.

In addition, each disc also has its own independent protection with a shock hub (frangible splines) that protects the main cutterbar drivetrain if it’s not possible to float over an obstruction.

“The cutterbar itself has a really robust design, with each disc having its own enclosed gearbox module. This makes the cutterbar very durable and is ideal for working on slopes as the oil doesn’t run to one end, but is instead retained in each module. Each gearbox module can also be serviced individually,” he said.

The new Case IH DC103 disc mower-conditioner.

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CNH Industrial acquires AgDNA

CASE IH’s parent company, CNH Industrial, has acquired AgDNA, one of the world’s most connected and comprehensive Farm Management Information Software (FMIS) platforms, in a move to continue its investment in digital farming.

The acquisition will enable Case IH’s customers, and those of third party agricultural machinery, to benefit from AgDNA’s single point data integration, mapping and analytical tools globally.

In Australia, AgDNA are partners with Case IH in ClearVU, a next-generation FMIS platform that is distributed through Case IH dealers.

“This is an exciting announcement for all of our customers, and one that will bring wide-ranging benefits and opportunities for agriculture in our local market. It enhances the agronomic feature-set capabilities of Case IH AFS Connect and complements our existing range of precision farming software solutions partnerships, paving the way for rapid advancement in this precision farming space,” Case IH Australia/New Zealand general manager, Pete McCann, said.

“ClearVU is unique in our market for its ability to automatically synchronise with connected Case IH equipment and can import historic and current data from a variety of different sources, so growers can manage all their data in one place. We’ve always believed there are great opportunities to grow our ClearVU product and the acquisition of AgDNA is a major step forward in this plan.”

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Kuhn baler launch at Henty

KUHN presented its new SB 1290 iD baler to the Australian market with a launch at this week’s Henty Machinery Field Days in southern New South Wales.

The company’s Australia marketing manager and baler product specialist, Michael Murer, said the Kuhn SB 1290 iD was designed with simple, efficient techniques like integral rotor and power density that produced rock-hard, perfectly shaped bales.

It can work in various crops such as silage, hay, straw, lucerne, maize straw and sugar cane leaves.

Where crop cutting is required, the Omnicut 23 cutting system with individual hydraulic protection on the knives ensures a perfect cutting quality regardless of working speed and crop type.

Mr Murer said the new generation large square baler was designed to achieve high capacity and high bale weights.

“The SB 1290 iD boosts profitability by producing heavier bales, increasing the compaction by 60 plus tonnes and provides the highest density bale by a margin of 25 per cent over conventional balers,” he said.

Kuhn SB Series baler

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Henty Machine of the Year

THE simple combination of a grain chaser bin and a spreader has earned bin manufacturer, Coolamon, the Machine of The Year title at this year’s Henty Machinery Field Days in southern New South Wales.

Coolamon general manager, Heath Hutcheon, said the spreader chaser bin was not only generating sales interest in Australia, but also overseas, and it’s a long way from a small farm machinery operation to now receive this recognition.

Click here to see earlier Grain Central story on the Coolamon spreader chaser bin.

The Coolamon chaser bin/spreader combo.

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