The productivity of Italian dairy cattle has been steadily increasing over recent decades, both in terms of quantity and quality. Alongside genetic selection, improved veterinary care and refined nutritional techniques have contributed to this growth, providing increasingly rich rations while ensuring maximum digestibility. Various types of hay, whether from grasses, legumes, or mixed, can also contribute to this goal, provided they meet certain requirements in terms of dry matter and overall cleanliness. In this regard, the timeliness and technical quality of mowing, and the subsequent practices of aeration and final windrowing, play a fundamental role.
One Fifth of Nutrients at Risk
Timeliness is crucial because the residual cellular metabolism of mowed plants can consume up to one-fifth of their initial nutritional value. Technical quality is important because these losses are compounded by those caused by the mechanical action of haymaking equipment and by fermentation if the hay is collected with inadequate moisture content, i.e., above 15 percent. Only below this value do the metabolic processes due to cellular respiration slow down. The simplest equation, therefore, links forage quality to careful mowing practices that respect the forage, followed by immediate conditioning of leaves and stems to quickly reduce moisture in the tissues. Lastly, proper management of the hay deposited in the field, through initial aeration and subsequent windrowing, is essential. Kuhn has structured a haymaking range that allows intervention in each of the phases mentioned above, always relying on the highest technological level of the equipment used. Among the mowers from the Saverne company, one of the most recent innovations introduced to the market stands out: the “Fc 3515 R” rear-mounted mower-conditioner, which is particularly aimed at professional haymaking practices.
Roller Conditioning
The rapid reduction of forage moisture is ensured by the roller conditioner, which allows optimal operation on all different crop types. The new “Fc 3515 R” joins the “Fc 3115 D” models, with finger conditioners, and the “Fc 3115 R” models, also with rollers. Compared to the latter, the new technical proposals offer a larger working width, around three and a half meters instead of three meters and ten centimeters. Like its smaller counterparts, this mower-conditioner also benefits from the vertical folding of the cutting unit up to an angle of 126 degrees, thus providing maximum compactness during transport. The “Fc 3515 R” versions are also equipped with the established “Optidisc Elite” bars, an optimal combination of structural robustness and cutting quality that remains consistent even under suboptimal working conditions, thanks to the “Lift-Control” suspension that manages the bar’s flotation relative to the field surface.
360-Degree Maximum Protection
This allows for maintaining the optimal cutting height, as well as protecting the grass cover, while the cutting organs are protected by a specific disengagement system that activates in case of contact with foreign objects. The result is a simple and direct management, also facilitated by a maintenance-free cutting bar equipped as standard with the “Fast-Fit” quick knife attachment system. The dehydration of the forage is finally achieved by the “Squareflex” conditioner, featuring 24-centimeter diameter rollers whose exclusive profile maximizes the effectiveness of action on all types of forage, such as alfalfa, ryegrass, or mixed meadows.
Perfect and Easy-to-Create Windrows
The last step before collection with square or round balers is done by the windrowers. In this market segment as well, Kuhn offers a wide range of recently introduced solutions, starting with the “Ga 8131 Cl,” with double rotor and central placement, moving to the four-rotor equipment, also with central placement, like the “Ga 13231” and “Ga 15231.” Finally, the side-delivery windrowers, single or double, “Ga 6632+,” “Ga 7932+,” and “Ga 9032+.”
All models feature the “Masterdrive GIII” transmission housing as standard, developed to ensure maximum protection of transmission components, improving wear resistance. Regarding operational fronts, the double-rotor machines for central windrows cover widths up to eight meters, while the two four-rotors increase to eight meters and 40 centimeters with the “Ga 13231” and to 14 meters and 70 with the “Ga 15231.” Finally, the side-delivery equipment, with the three new models ranging from three meters and 55 centimeters to six meters and 45, the “Ga 6632+,” rising with the “Ga 7932+” in the range from four meters and five centimeters up to seven meters and 45. Finally, the “Ga 9032+” ranging from a minimum of four meters and 65 to a maximum of eight meters and 60.
Title: The Kuhn range of mowers and windrowers: high-performance solutions
Translation with ChatGPT
