Kidd Farm Machinery has drawn on its long-held experience of tractor-mounted straw grinder production to develop a static installation for high-volume processing at rates up to 2t/hour.

The Kombi-Grind features a new hammer mill in 24- and 36-blade versions, which are interchangeable to suit different finished product requirements and removable in their housing for maintenance.

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Electric drive comes from a choice of 90kW, 110kW, 132kW and 160kW four-pole, three-phase motors, and a tractor pto-driven setup is being worked on for next year.

An optional stone trap is available and also an extension cone to accommodate big square bales as they are loaded into the 2.13m diameter, 1.13m deep tub.

Bales can be placed individually using a tractor loader, telehandler or wheeled loader, or Kidd can engineer a hydraulically driven conveyor for high-volume operations, typically long enough to take up to four 1.2m x 1.2m cross-section “Hesston” big bales.

The variable speed conveyor can be regulated manually or automatically and a dust suppression shroud is available to limit air pollution.

Intake conveyor speed and stop/start can be operated automatically © Kidd

Processed straw is discharged on to a chain and slat elevator, a long conveyor or a chute, depending on the subsequent uses and storage facilities for the ground material.

When feeding a pelleting line, for example, an elevator will likely be used to discharge into a surge hopper that delivers material at a fixed rate.

Kidd highlights that both the grinding and discharge mechanisms have been designed to handle straw with a high moisture content, as well as dry material.