If you harvest during the phase when the buds or panicles are forming, the crop has a dry matter content of around 20 %. In order for the crop to be stored properly, this must still be raised to a greater or lesser extent depending on the storage method.
For best storage stability, none of the forage should be wet. High volume forage crops require the use of a tedder. The forage must be distributed evenly over the surface without forming heaps and, if necessary, turned over one or more times. Depending on the rate of wilting, there is a greater or lesser risk of losing valuable organic nutrients through disintegration losses in the field. The drier the forage, the higher the risk. Forage conservation is therefore the be-all and end-all.
Gentle handling of the crop - that's what PÖTTINGER tedders stand for. The small diameter rotors and the sweeping tines on the proven DYNATECH rotors, in combination with matched rotor speeds, reduce the risk of disintegration losses to a minimum and at the same time ensure minimum dirt ingress.
When it comes to tedding quality, the diameter of the rotor is often the subject of discussion. In terms of forage quality, however, there is a lot to be said for small rotors:
Small rotors adapt ideally to bumpy ground and reduce the amount of crude ash entering the forage.
They pick up smaller portions of crop, resulting in neater forage handling.
You do not have to spread the forage so widely, which results in an exact spread pattern with homogeneous lateral distribution.
They can be operated at lower speeds because they do not have to spread the forage as far. That is how disintegration losses can be avoided.
In addition to using small rotors, PÖTTINGER goes one step further to further increase forage quality. Curved, sweeping tine arms ensure that the tines are guided dynamically through the crop. The forage is picked up more easily and more gently than with straight tines, this results in minimising disintegration losses.
In addition, the sweeping effect protects the sward. If the tines do contact the ground, the tines are guided in such a way that they have a much gentler effect on the sward and the machine.
First-class tedding across the entire working width places high demands on the ground tracking of the machines.
To achieve the best ground tracking, the MULTITAST jockey wheel system on the pivoting headstock tracks the ground immediately in front of the tine path and responds to each undulation. The jockey wheel ensures an exact working height. You are now able to drive faster and can achieve higher output as a result. On trailed high output tedders, it is the transport chassis that takes over the function of the jockey wheel.
If the tedder is set up properly, dirt ingress can even be minimised as drying progresses.
"As a supplier of high-quality hay to horse stables, forage quality is of great importance to us. Because the material needs to be as dust-free as possible, the ground tracking of the machinery has to be excellent. The ground tracking is awesome thanks to the jockey wheel out in front and the rotors being mounted on individual frame sections. With the small rotors and swept tine arms, the HIT 8.81 has a super spread pattern and no material gets snagged on the tine arms."
Sven Erlemayer, Ennepetal | Germany