The wilting process of a crop during harvest is one of the most important elements of saving a good-quality crop for animal feedstuff. Over the past number of years, Acres has proven that its crop conditioner range brings a real difference to the drying time, consistency and quality of feedstuffs from crops.

The wilting process requires the use of multiple machines and typically can take several days from start to finish. David Doran from Acres points out that with poor and unpredictable weather conditions, especially in this part of the world, drying is a constant problem.

Getting the required DM content is not easy in these circumstances. Weather conditions, time and machinery are crucial factors in the process. David adds that up to three different machines are required in the wilting process – a tedder, a rake and a conditioner. Having three such machines not only involves high capital expenditure, but also high operational costs, and translates to longer drying times which in turn can lead to a poor-quality feed.

ADVERTISEMENT

David says this innovative patent-pending design, called Supercrop1, can bring substantial cost savings of over 30%, but can also increase the nutritional values of your crop, giving you better quality animal feed.

The new Acres Supercrop1 is three machines in one. It can rake, condition or spread crops with the flick of a switch, giving farmers better flexibility in the field and enabling them to make instant decisions. In typical silage-making circumstances, the spreading process can be eliminated.

Firstly, the mower should be set to leave the swath at maximum width for the most effective drying coverage. After the preferred drying period, the grass can be raked and conditioned by the Supercrop1 into one formed swath, making it ideal for round balers. David believes the aerated conditioned swathes should be left for a further period of drying for better consistency before finally being baled.

The manufacturer claims that the Supercrop1 is also the most compact machine of its kind on the market. It has a smaller transport size than a rotary rake on its own, making it versatile and easy to manoeuvre on narrow roads. Acres will also introduce a crop data collection option on the Supercrop1 machine in 2017 – the future of precision farming.

David is convinced that this machine will offer many benefits to farmers and contractors. David and the team at Acres Machinery can be seen on stand 503, block 3, row 21.