Based near Ballymoney in Co Antrim, Alistair Taylor and his father Desmond have tried every system on the market when it comes to making pit silage. Milking 240 cows through four Lely robots, the pair aim to cut 800 acres across four to five cuts. Some of this silage is used to feed their 150kw anaerobic digester, which in turn powers the farm and heats their two chicken houses. The remaining power produced is exported to the grid.
The full circle
Alistair and his father have a long history of cutting their own silage. Alistair recalls running a PÖttinger MEX 5 trailed forager for 10 to 15 years up until the early 2000s. They began doing some contract work and moved to a used Claas Jaguar 695 Mega self-propelled machine. The duo ran this machine for 10 years, but due to high maintenance costs they opted to try a wagon.
The Claas forager was then traded in against a new Schuitemaker forage wagon in 2010.
“The wagon allowed us to cut silage at a lower cost, while reducing the amount of labour involved in the silage-making process. We ran it for five years and it worked well, but ultimately two factors led us to changing – the chop length wasn’t fine enough or consistent for either the cows or the digester and secondly, it had no metal detector. Small bits of metal such as rake tines were getting in to the then newly built digester, causing it to block up. We like a fine consistent chop in around 15-20mm. We find this suits our system best, and it’s also much easier on the diet feeder for mixing,” noted Alistair.
'Two weeks ago we lifted 110 acres of second cut and 20 acres of first cut from 9am in the morning to 12am that night,' explained Alistair.
For the following few years, the Taylors hired a neighbouring contractor with a self-propelled machine, while they carried out the rest of the tasks such as mowing, raking, drawing and pushing up.
“We moved to a contractor for about five years. It worked very well, but we were wanting to increase from a four-cut to a five-cut system. We were still getting a fair bill from the contractor for the forager and wanted to be able to cut when suited us best. We made the decision to take back control and buy a forager. Seeing as we were doing the rest of the silage-making process, it wasn’t going to be a significant investment on the scale of things,” explained Alistair.
When looking to the forager market, the Taylors came to the decision to either purchase a used self-propelled machine or a new trailed machine.
“Anything in terms of a self-propelled machine that was in our price range was around 10 years old and had over 3,000 hours clocked up which means it’s seen a lot of grass. We were seriously afraid of buying someone else’s trouble. I have friends running trailed harvesters and they’ve told me of the low running costs and simplicity in comparison to a self-propelled machine. In the end, we decided to go for a new trailed machine. We were willing to sacrifice some of the output per day for the reliability of a new machine that we knew would stay going. This, in addition to the fact we had use for a large tractor on the farm for tasks such as pulling a 3,500-gallon tanker, meant the trailed machine just made more sense for our system. It would have been mad to be paying high insurance costs for a self-propelled that would sit in the shed for most of the year,” noted Alistair.
Kongskilde 1260
Alistair took delivery of a new Kongskilde 1260MD from R Kennedy & Co Ltd just ahead of first-cut earlier this year. Since its arrival, Alistair has put in both his first- and second-cut silage, with the third cut set to be lifted in three weeks’ time. The forager has been married to a Massey Ferguson 7726, which has 260hp on tap and has handled the forager well.
“We decided to go for a 1260MD. I felt that putting 260hp through a 1060 machine would be putting it under too much pressure. By going down the route of a 1260, it means the forager isn’t under as much pressure, the tractor will give before the forager. After all, it’s rated for up to 300hp,” added Alistair.
The forager has been married to a Massey Ferguson 7726, which has 260hp on tap and has handled the forager well.
The 1260 is equipped with a 2.65m-wide pickup reel. The pickup has a double cam track and four tine bars which allow the grass to flow up through the auger and into the four feed rollers.
From new, either a 24-or 32-knife drum is available. Alistair opted for the 24-knife drum. Chop length can be altered by two settings on the gearbox, offering a theoretical chop length of either 16mm or 21mm. Kongskilde has a multi-knife system, meaning instead of one large knife, each row has four knives. Meanwhile, the rotor has a width of 720mm. Alistair said that by keeping the knives sharp, the forager is able to maintain this predicted chop length.
The Kongskilde foragers feature an upper cut system which cuts the grass at the shearbar, before throwing it directly into the chute. The firm claim that this system allows any friction between the knives and rotor housing to be avoided.
Output
“Two weeks ago we lifted 110 acres of second cut and 20 acres of first-cut from 9am in the morning to 12am that night. The draw was all less than two miles from the field to the yard. We were picking 30ft swarths at 10-11km/h, averaging around eight acres an hour. Once the swaths in front of it aren’t overly heavy, the trailed forager is well able to get through the acres,” explained Alistair.
Features
The machine is controlled by an electro-hydraulic unit which requires one oil outlet. This controls the drawbar, the pick-up reel, reverses the direction of the feed roller, turns the chute and controls the chute double deflector. The chute has a turning angle of 280°.
Alistair added: “The control layout is fairly straightforward, you’d get in on it after a few hours. Similarly, the knife sharpening is straightforward. The direction of rotation of the rotor is changed and the sharpening stone is pulled back and forth manually.”
When buying the machine, a metal detector was a must for Alistair. On the 1260, the feed intake is driven via the feed roller gearbox. If metal is detected, the slip clutch will block the transmission and the foreign object is stopped from entering the chopping rotor.
The trailed forager can work in either an offset position or inline, directly behind the tractor.
The verdict
After putting 400 acres through the machine to date, Alistair is happy with his decision to go down the route of a trailed machine.
“I’m happy with how the machine has performed. The forager appears to be well designed and built strong,” he said.
“It’s a wide machine, but still fairly maneuverable on the road. The only downside to getting it in narrow gateways is that the spout has to be lifted in order to shunt the drawbar, otherwise it will damage the spout. In saying that, it will fit in and out of 11ft gateways.
“Weighing in at 3,600kg and sitting on the larger option of 500/50-17 flotation tyres, it’s not a heavy machine which is another factor to consider when lifting silage into the shoulders of the year. So far, we’ve got all the silage in stress-free. Hopefully this will continue!”
Top likes
The simplicity.The use of the tractor when not foraging versus a self-propelled.Easy access for service/maintenance.Top dislikes
Pickup hasn’t huge clearance once lifted due to drawbar positioning.Spout has to be lifted in order to shunt the drawbar.Machine specs
Model: 1260MD.Pickup width: 2.65m.Feed rollers: four.Knives: 24.Theoretical chop length: 16 or 21mm.Weight: 3,600kg.Tyre size: 500/50-17.Transport width: 3.3m.List price: €91,374 plus VAT.
Based near Ballymoney in Co Antrim, Alistair Taylor and his father Desmond have tried every system on the market when it comes to making pit silage. Milking 240 cows through four Lely robots, the pair aim to cut 800 acres across four to five cuts. Some of this silage is used to feed their 150kw anaerobic digester, which in turn powers the farm and heats their two chicken houses. The remaining power produced is exported to the grid.
The full circle
Alistair and his father have a long history of cutting their own silage. Alistair recalls running a PÖttinger MEX 5 trailed forager for 10 to 15 years up until the early 2000s. They began doing some contract work and moved to a used Claas Jaguar 695 Mega self-propelled machine. The duo ran this machine for 10 years, but due to high maintenance costs they opted to try a wagon.
The Claas forager was then traded in against a new Schuitemaker forage wagon in 2010.
“The wagon allowed us to cut silage at a lower cost, while reducing the amount of labour involved in the silage-making process. We ran it for five years and it worked well, but ultimately two factors led us to changing – the chop length wasn’t fine enough or consistent for either the cows or the digester and secondly, it had no metal detector. Small bits of metal such as rake tines were getting in to the then newly built digester, causing it to block up. We like a fine consistent chop in around 15-20mm. We find this suits our system best, and it’s also much easier on the diet feeder for mixing,” noted Alistair.
'Two weeks ago we lifted 110 acres of second cut and 20 acres of first cut from 9am in the morning to 12am that night,' explained Alistair.
For the following few years, the Taylors hired a neighbouring contractor with a self-propelled machine, while they carried out the rest of the tasks such as mowing, raking, drawing and pushing up.
“We moved to a contractor for about five years. It worked very well, but we were wanting to increase from a four-cut to a five-cut system. We were still getting a fair bill from the contractor for the forager and wanted to be able to cut when suited us best. We made the decision to take back control and buy a forager. Seeing as we were doing the rest of the silage-making process, it wasn’t going to be a significant investment on the scale of things,” explained Alistair.
When looking to the forager market, the Taylors came to the decision to either purchase a used self-propelled machine or a new trailed machine.
“Anything in terms of a self-propelled machine that was in our price range was around 10 years old and had over 3,000 hours clocked up which means it’s seen a lot of grass. We were seriously afraid of buying someone else’s trouble. I have friends running trailed harvesters and they’ve told me of the low running costs and simplicity in comparison to a self-propelled machine. In the end, we decided to go for a new trailed machine. We were willing to sacrifice some of the output per day for the reliability of a new machine that we knew would stay going. This, in addition to the fact we had use for a large tractor on the farm for tasks such as pulling a 3,500-gallon tanker, meant the trailed machine just made more sense for our system. It would have been mad to be paying high insurance costs for a self-propelled that would sit in the shed for most of the year,” noted Alistair.
Kongskilde 1260
Alistair took delivery of a new Kongskilde 1260MD from R Kennedy & Co Ltd just ahead of first-cut earlier this year. Since its arrival, Alistair has put in both his first- and second-cut silage, with the third cut set to be lifted in three weeks’ time. The forager has been married to a Massey Ferguson 7726, which has 260hp on tap and has handled the forager well.
“We decided to go for a 1260MD. I felt that putting 260hp through a 1060 machine would be putting it under too much pressure. By going down the route of a 1260, it means the forager isn’t under as much pressure, the tractor will give before the forager. After all, it’s rated for up to 300hp,” added Alistair.
The forager has been married to a Massey Ferguson 7726, which has 260hp on tap and has handled the forager well.
The 1260 is equipped with a 2.65m-wide pickup reel. The pickup has a double cam track and four tine bars which allow the grass to flow up through the auger and into the four feed rollers.
From new, either a 24-or 32-knife drum is available. Alistair opted for the 24-knife drum. Chop length can be altered by two settings on the gearbox, offering a theoretical chop length of either 16mm or 21mm. Kongskilde has a multi-knife system, meaning instead of one large knife, each row has four knives. Meanwhile, the rotor has a width of 720mm. Alistair said that by keeping the knives sharp, the forager is able to maintain this predicted chop length.
The Kongskilde foragers feature an upper cut system which cuts the grass at the shearbar, before throwing it directly into the chute. The firm claim that this system allows any friction between the knives and rotor housing to be avoided.
Output
“Two weeks ago we lifted 110 acres of second cut and 20 acres of first-cut from 9am in the morning to 12am that night. The draw was all less than two miles from the field to the yard. We were picking 30ft swarths at 10-11km/h, averaging around eight acres an hour. Once the swaths in front of it aren’t overly heavy, the trailed forager is well able to get through the acres,” explained Alistair.
Features
The machine is controlled by an electro-hydraulic unit which requires one oil outlet. This controls the drawbar, the pick-up reel, reverses the direction of the feed roller, turns the chute and controls the chute double deflector. The chute has a turning angle of 280°.
Alistair added: “The control layout is fairly straightforward, you’d get in on it after a few hours. Similarly, the knife sharpening is straightforward. The direction of rotation of the rotor is changed and the sharpening stone is pulled back and forth manually.”
When buying the machine, a metal detector was a must for Alistair. On the 1260, the feed intake is driven via the feed roller gearbox. If metal is detected, the slip clutch will block the transmission and the foreign object is stopped from entering the chopping rotor.
The trailed forager can work in either an offset position or inline, directly behind the tractor.
The verdict
After putting 400 acres through the machine to date, Alistair is happy with his decision to go down the route of a trailed machine.
“I’m happy with how the machine has performed. The forager appears to be well designed and built strong,” he said.
“It’s a wide machine, but still fairly maneuverable on the road. The only downside to getting it in narrow gateways is that the spout has to be lifted in order to shunt the drawbar, otherwise it will damage the spout. In saying that, it will fit in and out of 11ft gateways.
“Weighing in at 3,600kg and sitting on the larger option of 500/50-17 flotation tyres, it’s not a heavy machine which is another factor to consider when lifting silage into the shoulders of the year. So far, we’ve got all the silage in stress-free. Hopefully this will continue!”
Top likes
The simplicity.The use of the tractor when not foraging versus a self-propelled.Easy access for service/maintenance.Top dislikes
Pickup hasn’t huge clearance once lifted due to drawbar positioning.Spout has to be lifted in order to shunt the drawbar.Machine specs
Model: 1260MD.Pickup width: 2.65m.Feed rollers: four.Knives: 24.Theoretical chop length: 16 or 21mm.Weight: 3,600kg.Tyre size: 500/50-17.Transport width: 3.3m.List price: €91,374 plus VAT. 
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