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Front Forage Choppers Now On US Market
Two new front-mounted forage harvesters that turn any tractor equipped with a front 3-pt. and pto into a self-propelled forage harvester are now available in the U.S. and Canada.
The Pottinger chopper from Austria, marketed by Lely, and the Zweegers chopper from Holland, marketed by Vermeer, both offer the advantages of better visibility, better traction and lower horsepower requirements. Spokesman for both companies cite the increasing popularity of Deutz and Versatile tractor models with standard front-mount 3-pt. and pto as one of the reasons for the growing demand for front-mounted choppers.
The Pottinger chopper is available in two different models - one for tractors up to 100 hp. and one for tractors up to 150 hp. The smaller model comes with a 2-row head and a 5 1/2-ft. wide windrow pickup. The larger model has 3-row head and a 6 1/2-ft. pickup.
A unique feature of the two-row head is that it has no gathering chains. Corn stalks are fed into a cutting blade by two 15-in. dia. notched discs that chop off the stalk.
Other features of the Pottinger machine include a hydraulic reverser for unplugging, a knife grinder that's mounted right on the unit, an independently floating pickup, a blade-to-head adjustment which can be made without using wrenches, and a length-of-cut adjustment made by changing belts.
The chopper requires a 1,000 rpm pto. The smaller model, with both heads, sells for $13,000. The larger model sells for $19,000.
The Vermeer/Zweegers 240S front-mounted chopper has a 3-row cornhead with a pre-set 3/16-in. cut.
The chopper uses 3 flywheel cutters, one for each row, and each equipped with 9 cutting knives to chop corn. They also double as a blowers to propel chopped material to the hydraulically controlled chute and into the wagon. Like the Pottinger chopper, the Zweeger head hasno gathering chains. Material is pulled in by revolving teeth.
The Zweegers chopper fits on Cat. II 3-pts. and requires 1,000 rpm pto. It sells for right at $9,000.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lely, Box 1060, Hwy. 3015, Wilson, N.C. 27894 (ph 919 291-7050).
FARM SHOW Followup, Vermeer, Box 200, Pella, Iowa 50219 (ph 515 628-3141).


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1985 - Volume #9, Issue #5