XtraBlatt Issue 02-2020

INTERNATIONAL
Loading up the bales takes
place without stopping.
Will Murphy contracts two farmers for
collection and stacking of bales. They have to
supply their own machinery.
Stacking the bales eight-high and pressing
them tightly together keeps rain
from seeping in.
WITH MOISTURE METER
The electricity power plant accepts straw at up to 25 %
moisture content (mc), but the contractor stops baling when
this reaches 18 % in the field, giving a safe margin. After all,
the straw is stored out in the open after baling. The HDP
High Speed with the MF managed almost 15,000 bales in
season 2018. Average weight for wheat straw (at 10 % mc)
was 490 kg, representing a baling density at the terminal of
95 %. The HDP II manages bales of 530 kg with a 70 % setting
at the terminal. “The HDP II should manage around 20,000
bales per year”, Will Murphy is sure. In six weeks, the young
entrepreneur estimates a production of over 30,000 bales
from around 4,000 ha.
When there’s baling straw lying ready in the bout, the drivers
leave the depot by 8.30 am and this is often a little early
in the day, the moisture meters on board indicate when
it’s safe to start baling. Will Murphy says of his strategy: “I
would rather that the drivers are already on the spot and
have maybe time for a cup of tea than when they set off
at 10 am and maybe miss an hour of baling before they
eventually get started.”
Will Murphy specialises in
straw baling with his farm
contractor business.
This is also right for the farmers involved. It’s in their interest
when the stubble is cleared as fast as possible. Mostly,
both balers drive to the same field. As a rule, the HDP High
Speed bales the headlands and any irregular border areas.
Then the HDP II goes in set at maximum performance on
the long swaths.
Information on the areas to be baled is sent to the contractor
via Shape file, but also per printed maps from the farm
computer. The data can also be read and managed on smart
phones using the app Harvestyield. In this case, all the driver
needs to do is enter starting and finishing time plus bale
count. This information is the basis for subsequent invoicing.
FAST BALE COLLECTOR
Will Murphy hires a couple of farmers for
bale collection and stacking. Both bring
tractors pulling Heath Super Chaser
QM Extra trailers, specially conceived
for the 120 x 90 cm bales. The drivers
collect bales at a good lick with usually
no stopping. A dozer blade mounted
on the tractor front weights is used
to push each bale in line with trailer
travel direction. Pick-up spikes
in front of the offset trailer lift each bale, placing it on the
trailer floor from where each is hydraulically pushed back.
The sides of the baler load are also continually pushed in by
side-gates, also hydraulically powered. Up to 16 big square
bales make up a load on the chaser trailers. The loads are
then towed to a collection point where the trailer is tipped
to a vertical position and backed against the existing stack
(if already established) before jerking away to leave the load
on the ground. The trailer system apparently makes for very
compact stacking of the bales, offering good protection
against rain seepage.
STRAW STACKS
The stack stacks built by the chaser trailers have a maximum
height of eight bales with, once again, very tight packing.
Moisture must be kept out this way because no rain covers
are used. The straw collecting team is hired directly by Will
Murphy, the two farmers having to supply their own kit:
the bale collection trailers being leased by them for the
season. Subsequent road travel to the biofuel power plants
is then by truck.
A truck load is usually 54 120 x 90 cm bales which means
a height of just over 5m. The season for road transport
is usually from harvest through to Christmas time and
this easier timetable reduces stress for the truck loading,
which takes place with two telescope loaders owned by Will
Murphy. Lift capacity is 3 t and reach 9.50 m.
During our visit it had rained heavily in the previous night,
which meant a start couldn’t be made to the planned
barley straw baling. However, the oilseed rape straw was
dry enough to get started on. One aspect that gave the
visitor something to ponder over was the possible longerterm
effects of baling and completely removing virtually all
organic material left on the combined fields.
Otherwise, the enterprise certainly seems to represent a
good business model for everyone concerned. For instance,
the combines don’t need to chop the straw, which makes
for an easier threshing job and less power requirement.
The cereal growing farmer has no lying straw to cope with.
The material is quickly baled and removed. On average,
our contractor this year was paying the farmer 15–20 GBP
(17–22 €) per tonne straw baled and carted off the field. The
contractor calculated his costs right up to delivery to the
power plant at 36–42 GBP/t (40–46 €). This takes account
of all inputs: baling twine, collection, further transport.
The costs Will Murphy calculated for the baling seemed
extremely low. What the contractor actually received for his
straw on delivery at the power plant, he did not wish to read
about in this magazine. But in the light of the high work rate
and the low costs this appears to be a profitable business.
The principle of investing in optimal baling technology
and protecting it through extra warranty seems to pay off
here. Maintenance is carried out by the local dealership.
The young contractor reports he’s experienced no serious
problems with the Krone balers. «
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