STRIPPER CUTS
STRIPPER CUTS
CEREAL harvesting costs could be cut when a stripper header is fitted to a combine instead of a conventional cutterbar.
In a normal harvest, this higher output would allow more crop to be cut at the optimum time to conserve grain quality. In a wet time it could take a lot of the worry out of the job.
Trials conducted by Suffolk manufacturer Shelborne Reynolds on a Northants farm last harvest resulted in more crop being harvested each day.
With no damp straw clogging the drum and bringing a conventional combine to a grinding halt in late evening, the stripper header fitted to a John Deere 2066 combine was able to work until mist at 4.30am reduced visibility.
The rig harvested 46.6ha/day (115 acres) without any need for drying, as without straw wheat was coming off the field after midnight at 15% moisture. The JD machine fitted with a 7.4m (24ft) wide stripper header achieved a workrate of 60t/hour when unloading on the move.