Not just dry matter of silage but also protein and energy content will soon be measured continuously while the forage is being loaded from clamp into Strautmann feed mixing wagons. Real-time analysis will be introduced by the south German manufacturer as a reliable solution to problems of variable-quality silage in daily ration mixing.

The Strautmann approach features an near infra-red (NIR) sensor for the head of the silage loader as part of its new SenToMiRa system.

It’ll probably be a few months after EuroTier before the protein- and energy-measuring capability can be added, cautions Strautmann. Some aspects of the SenToMiRa system are already used for assessing forage dry matter on John Deere forage harvesters.