Straight Cut Header On Forage Harvester

Straight Cut Header On Forage Harvester COMBINES Headers 23-5-9 When custom forage harvester Dan Prefontaine got frustrated with his inability to go fast enough for optimum profitability, he decided to try something unconventional. What resulted is something that he believes is a one-of-a-kind unit. The 10-year veteran of the silage business mounted a 25-ft. Honey Bee header on his New Holland FX45 self-propelled forage harvester. He built all the brackets and mounting mechanisms for it himself, including an adapter plate on the header. He also had to modify the feeding auger and drive clutches. "Since the header was designed for grain, it had to be beefed up to handle the much wetter forage," Prefontaine explains. "I used the feed auger out of a Field Queen forage harvester and, as a drive clutch for the header auger, I used the feeder house clutch out of a 751 Massey combine." At the time we interviewed him this year, he had already harvested 4,000 acres with the first-of-its-kind harvester and everything was running smoothly. "To do this, your forage harvester must have 4-WD and be heavily weighted on the back end. I used the manufacturer's weights and specifications so that the rear weights equal the weight of the header. Also, a good braking system is crucial," he says. "You have to blow the silage into a wagon behind the forage harvester because the header is too wide and interferes with a truck. A braking mechanism must be built into the wagon so it can't push you down the hill when loaded. "Setting up a straight cut header on a forage harvester isn't simple, but once it's working, it's a wonderful piece of equipment," he says. Prefontaine uses an electric-operated air brake system to control the 15-ton Jiffy "accumulator box" he pulls behind his harvester. It unloads on-the-go into tandem axle tracks. Load time to fill a truck is a mere 35 seconds if there's enough feed in the wagon. His ground speed on light crops is up to 7 mph and he has cut heavier 6 to 7-ton crops at 5 to 6 mph. Prefontaine says his modified forage harvester has dramatically increased his volume per day and the durability of the machine. "I never pick up dirt or rocks and went from sharpening the knives every 4 hours to every 15 to 18 hours. There's 90 per cent less wear on the knives," he says. Prefontaine recently harvested some 7-ft. tall clover in eastern Saskatchewan using his system. He had no trouble and says this height of clover is not uncommon in that part of the province. When he placed an ad in the paper, looking for work for his straight cut forage harvester unit, he had 20 to 25 calls from other custom harvesters curious about how he had made the modifications. Prefontaine says he may consider converting systems for others as an added service. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Prefontaine, Box 2137, Moose Jaw, Sask., Canada, S6H 7T2 (ph 306 692-7899).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.