But with careful attention to some key factors, you can help ensure that you’re keeping as much nutritional value in the crop as possible through harvest and storage.
Crop maturity at harvest plays an important role in determining forage quality. Forage crops harvested as young, leafy plants will have greater protein and better digestibility than overly mature large-stemmed plants. Early cutting also offers other benefits, such as improved digestibility of the second cuttings and potentially more total cuttings throughout the season. When you start mowing depends on many factors – acres to be harvested, type of forage, equipment and labor available, and of course, the weather.
Rapid drying is essential to preserve nutritional value, and conditioning crops is critical no matter how quickly you mow. Without rapid crop drying, feed values are reduced by metabolic processes and mown crops are exposed to greater weather risk. To harvest crops more quickly and produce more nutritious, higher value feed, selecting the proper conditioning system for your crop and conditions is vital.
Today many producers choose the gentle conditioning of rubber chevron intermeshing rolls that save delicate leaves. Others harvesting long-stem grasses, winter forage crops and delicate legumes choose steel chevron intermeshing rolls. When environmental conditions are right, some producers take advantage of dry climates with high-contact rolls that provide a full-stem crushing action.
Lastly, many grass hay producers choose flail-tine conditioning for fast drying of grass hay while other operations harvesting legume crops as high-moisture and haylage also choose the flail-tine system.
Traditional chevron rubber or urethane intermeshing rolls
This system is best for legume crops and crop mixtures, and the design prevents material from wrapping around the rolls. Gentle chevron rubber intermeshing rolls provide full-stem crimping and cracking with a scrubbing action while handling high feed value leaves delicately; it is especially helpful for alfalfa and clover. The rubber rolls crimp and crack stems evenly along the entire length of the plant for fast dry down.
A large roll diameter has five continuous intermeshing lugs that fit together closely to crack and crush the stem. Precision roll gap and pressure adjustments should be conveniently placed, allowing producers to adjust the system for ample conditioning while maximizing leaf retention. Together, the roll design and these features work to grip and flow crop through the rolls and help form fast drying swaths or windrows.
Chevron steel intermeshing rolls
Durable chevron steel intermeshing rolls are also a popular choice today and require the same adjustability as traditional rubber rolls. The steel rolls should also have a similar large roll diameter, but the steel rolls have additional lugs to crimp the crop adequately as they lack the broad crushing profile of the traditional rubber rolls.
Steel intermeshing rolls, like rubber, are designed for use with all crops, including delicate legumes. The steel chevron intermeshing rolls, however, show a conditioning advantage in cane-type crops, grain forages and extra tall grass crops. The chevron pattern provides aggressive full-stem crimping, smooth crop flow and even distribution into fast drying swaths or windrows. Rugged all-steel roll construction resists wear better than rubber, providing a long life even in highly abrasive conditions.
High-contact or intensive conditioning rolls
These rolls are highest in cost because they are machined to an exact tolerance, and when they are run true, the roll gap can be set to very little clearance. High-contact rolls are ideal for alfalfa production in dry climates. These rolls crush the entire stem without crimping, protecting delicate leaves while releasing stem moisture quickly to promote rapid drying. A pattern design or chevron pattern grove is essential on the roll surface to grip the crop, promoting uniform feeding and smooth windrow and swath formation.
Flail-tine or impeller conditioning
Flail-tine or impeller designs deliver more effective conditioning of difficult-to-crimp grass crops by striping wax from the plant’s cuticle layer. This type of system offers some producers a lower cost solution that works well in high-moisture and silage applications. Flail-tine systems are not recommended for use in thick-stemmed or very tall cane-type crops. A basic system is comprised of free-swinging or fixed tines to move the crop past an adjustable conditioning hood.
The hood can be raised to decrease or lowered to increase the conditioning action, and most provide a low speed setting for more delicate crops. Some older designs may feature an adjustable conditioning rake that counters the tines and may require care when working with delicate crops. Today’s modern systems feature independent flail-tines made ideally with a wide pivot to resist wear.
Semi-swinging designs work with centrifugal force to ensure the tines are ideally positioned to pick up as they swing past the cutter bar, and the flail-tines carry the crop past an adjustable conditioning hood. Look for designs that help create additional outward pressure against the hood for more thorough conditioning. Some may also provide an option for a special hood liner for more aggressive conditioning of difficult-to-condition crops.
No matter what system you select, the key is starting with an eye to crop maturity, observing weather, understanding the fundamentals of the conditioning adjustments and then optimizing your machine to the harvest. FG
Jordan Milewski is a marketing manager of mower-conditioners for New Holland.
