PÖTTINGER Agricultural technology - What the experts say

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DISC MOWER CONDITIONERS "WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY"

Pöttinger means quality and reliability worldwide. The "What the Experts Say" section takes you on a tour to farming operations all over the world. Farmers report on their experience with Pöttinger agricultural technology.

Bruce Richardson (Albany, Australia)

Bruce Richardson owns a Poettinger 265 H centre pivot mower purchased from C&C Machinery Centre, Albany, Western Australia. His farm is located at “Kentdale” which is between Denmark & Walpole within a 40 inch rainfall area in the southern part of Western Australia.

Bruce operates a beef cattle enterprise and a silage contracting business together with his wife Marion and his sons Andrew and David. They have 750 beef breeders and 100 steers on 2500 acres of pasture property.

Between clients’ and their own use, they bale and wrap 5000 rolls of silage annually. They use a Poettinger 265 H centre pivot mower on a 95 HP tractor for their work, traveling at approximately 14 kph. This mower cuts 600 acres over a wide range of conditions during the whole harvest season.

Bruce describes his Poettinger 265 H centre pivot mower as “being a long way ahead of any mower we have previously used”. Furthermore he mentions that “the centre pivot flotation is a great feature when compared to traditional cutter bars”.

Ferme Drapeau & Fils Senc, Quebec, Canada
Ferme Drapeau & Fils Senc	Total size of farm; 3840 acres (1,550 hectares) 700 acres (280 hectares, bush. Cultivated: 1,730 acres (700 hectares) consisting of 500 acres (200 hectares) Soya 400 acres (160 hectares) corn for grain, corn and silage 700 acres (260 hectares) hay, for silage, and dry hay. Milking 425 cows constant milking Holsteins (500 total milking cows). Total of 850 heads. Alfalfa/timothy mix silage and dry alfalfa hay is the main stay of the forage program, It must be cut/conditioned at its peak of protein level, done quickly and laid in the desired width in one pass in order to preserve all the nutrients of the plants.
The Poettinger 8600 disc mower conditioner with the width adjust rear conveyors, allows the crop to be laid in a full 15 foot (4.5M) wide swath in one pass, no leaf loss here! There is no need to move the crop again until the crop’s moisture is down just right for the forage harvester with its 16 feet (5.M) wide pick up, chops the crop and blows it into hauling trailers for the trip to the high capacity bunk silos then to be packed properly. The operation for the dry hay is similar to that of the silage except that it’s done in round bales. It takes a lot of management in order to have the crop cut and conditioned, ahead of the forage harvester and/or baler. Here, the use of the industrial buzz word “just in time” production is certainly a fact as all the steps in the chain of production flows very smoothly. The interesting thing noticed here is that the “lead hand”, the tractor operator for this most important first function in the chain, is non other than Sylvie (wife of Michel) who seems to have this most important instinct of how many hours the crop needs to be cut/conditioned ahead of the forage harvester and/or baler in order for the silage or dry hay to be at its desired moisture content, a most important management function in the production line. Sylvie seems to have this in her genes. I needed to ask Sylvie why she chose this machine instead of any other machine in the production line. After all, from the vantage point of the air conditioned cab John Deere 7710 with a Pottinger NOVACAT 306F-Alpha front mower conditioner and at the rear, the Pottinger NOVACAT 8600 with collectors seems to me to be the most demanding job of the whole production line! Her answer was short: “The Pottinger machine is so simple and easy to operate when compared to the “other” large mower conditioner we had. I enjoy the Pottinger as I can even cut on top of the drain ditches through our farm in order to leave a clean open field. I enjoy cleanliness and this goes for all of our farm!” Now I know why everything is so neat, flowered, equipment washed and well stored. Everything is just right. The management of this farming operation is systematically being passed on to the fourth generation of Drapeaus, grandsons Dominique and Eric. The word “selling the farm” does not exist here. With the enthusiasm of “grandpa” Marcel, father Michel and their spouses, it is easy to see that the plans are being laid out for growth, keeping up with technology. All seems to be in the plans for many future generations.

Jerry Bode, Petersburg, Nebraska

“I have been very pleased with the performance of this machine, cutting 15 - 20 acres per hour." "I purchased a 7800 ED Pöttinger disc mower unit from Landell - Thelen in May 2003. I mounted this unit on a 7810 MFD John Deere tractor. I have been very pleased with the performance of this machine, cutting 15 - 20 acres per hour. I have had good support on all problems from Landell - Thelen and the Pottinger people at WFC." Jerry Bode, Petersburg, Nebraska USA

Claus Herron, Thomasville, Georgia
	Claus Herron run a dairy unit, milking 900 cows at Thomasville, Georgia. He runs Pöttinger Europrofi 1 & 2, Jumbo 7200, Novacat 306 FED. They farms 600 acre hay/silage. “We were in a situation where we would like to do more than the normal 3 cuts a year. The problem was just that our contractor charged us by the acre and not by the hour! This would have made it more costly for us and therefore we decided to do it our self. Our local dealer was already dealing with Pöttinger and then the decision was easy, because we knew those machines from Germany.
We are happy about the loader wagon capacity; we save a lot of money when we do this our self and we think it will be difficult to find a better way to make grass silage. We are doing ryegrass, and with the loader- wagon we are getting more structure in the feed. Because of the structure, we are able to feed more silage to the cows“. Claus Herron Thomasville, Georgia

Jack Kempenaar, Como, Texas
Jack Kempenaar is owner of Meadow Valley Dairy Farm with 3000 cows. He runs 2 Novacat 8600 ED, Eurohit 91 AZ, 2 Eurotop. “We immigrated from Holland long time ago, and when we needed a new mower combination, we knew the Pöttinger brand from Holland and knew the quality and thinking behind. The capacity and the work are very good, but in the dairy farming today the grass silage making is one of the points where we can easily increase the output! Better grass silage is worth gold – and this is possible with machines from Pöttinger.
We had already Fendt tractors (also from Europe) and the mower combinations that we have can run in reverse mode, and this is for us the perfect way to go! Even the Pöttinger's North America head office is in Canada they are OK on the service, and the parts we can also get in a fair time“. Jack Kempenaar Como, Texas

Dann Volkmann, Henning, Minnesota
	Dann Volkmann has no specific farm, he owns and operates a custom work business, specializing in grass harvesting for quality hay production. Dann runs Pöttinger Eurotop 771 & 1251, Novacat 305 HED & 306 FED. “When we are doing high quality hay, we need good machines! After a research on the market the decision was quite clear. Pöttinger is not the cheapest machines, but if you com- pare the price/value, Pöttinger gives you the best for the money! The mowers are doing the cleanest cut I've ever seen, this is a very important thing in alfalfa growing.
When you have a clean cut you have a faster re-growth! We like the way the machines are built in general! They do not look too heavy, but the engineering behind, and the steel quality on the machines make them run for a long time without any kind of troubles“. „The service we have from Pöttinger was not too good, but since last year when Pöttinger made their own company in Canada, we have been really satisfied with the small warranty cases we had on our big rake“. Dann Volkmann Henning, Minnesota

FEPRO FARMS INC. (Cobden, Ontario)

Our 200 hectares dairy farm is a self supporting “factory” family operation with the milk production being our main marketable product. The secret is to produce all we can on our own farm; high quality alfalfa silage stored in our oxygen limiting silos, high moisture grains also in our oxygen limiting silos is the key feed ingredients for our 140 milking Holsteins and 160 heifers and dry cows. We also produce our own electricity using our manure in a digester producing methane gas which in turn produces our electricity; we might market some of our excess electricity in the near future.

Fritz and I and our families enjoy a high quality of life in this beautiful rolling geography of eastern Ontario. It is very important for us to set time aside and share in our faith through music and involvement in our local church. Productions 225 acres (90hectares) haylage mainly alfalfa; 3 to 4 times per summer. 150 acres (60hectares) corn crop, 50 acres (20 hectares) in corn silage and 100 acres (40hectares) in high moisture corn at 3.5 to 4 tons acres (8 to 9 tonnes/hectare) 50 acres (20 hectares) barley seeded with alfalfa for silage.

Owners of a NOVACAT 306 FRONT ALPHA MOTION front mounted disc mower and a NOVACAT 305 H rear mounted disc mower!

Barry Taunt (Stratford, Taranaki, New Zealand)
Barry Taunt with his father and brother in front of the new mower	MOWING grass under the shadow of Mount Taranaki can throw up plenty of rocks, logs and obstacles that would stress any mower and operator. For Barry Taunt of Taunt Contracting at Stratford, down time is less and productivity is up since he opted to put Pottinger Novacat mower conditioners behind his tractors. With one of the mowers now in its third season Barry says he can't go past the Novacats for productivity and sheer strength. "We have two now, with the latest being a year old. I have not had to change a thing on the older mower, it has put in some very long hours, and over some rough country too. I have not even had to replace the cutter bar, and there would not be a lot of mowers where you could get away with that" Last season one of the Novacats went for forty hours straight, with no problems. "The only thing we changed was the driver," says Barry. He runs the extensive contracting business with his brother Glen, and parents Lyn and Les. With a quarry and cartage business there is more than enough work to keep the family busy through the season, ironing out the usual peaks in a contractor's year.
Farmer feed back about the mowers' ability has been nothing but positive, and there has been a number of times the machines have worked alongside other brands, with superior results. "One farmer came and told me he could see quite clearly where our machines had been, the paddock was like a billiard table." He believes the fact the Novacats are pivoted in the middle makes for more even weight distribution, delivering a smoother cut and even condition across the swathe. Barry has also had the opportunity to compare the productivity of the mowers against competing brands, and found he can operate at at least 30% faster ground speed. "Most of the time we can operate comfortably at 12.5km per hour, with no blockages or clumping, while most others are going at 7-8 km per hour. This is despite some of the country around the mountain being rough in places and the worst damage the Novacats suffer is a shorn cutting blade. "The best thing there though is it is simply a case of unclipping the blade and getting another one on. There are no bolts to undo, it's spring action so down time is minimal and you are on your way again." Barry says the three point linkage hook up has significant advantages over the trailing mowers that are often popular with contractors. "It keeps the mower nice and close to the tractor for transport. You can lift it up and it folds in behind, which is good for narrower gateways and getting around on roads." He usually runs the mowers on a 140 horsepower 6900 John Deere. "It is not so much for the power, but for the stability the tractor provides, there is a decent amount of weight out there, and the bigger machine just sits nicely with it." This season Barry is looking forward to setting their latest Pottinger machine up on their new JD 6920S. It is a new Alpha Motion front mounted mower-conditioner and when coupled up with a Novacat on the rear will provide a massive 6m cutting swathe. "This is a very cost effective way for us to really get the most from all our gear. Given the results we have had to date with Pottinger, this should work very well."