Forage harvesting is about collecting all the forage lying in the field. But only the forage.
Collection losses must be kept to a minimum so that the full potential of nutrients can end up at the feed barrier. At the same time, dirt ingress needs to be avoided. This is because forage contamination has a doubly negative effect in terms of supplying nutrients to livestock:
Lower forage value
Lower forage intake by the livestock
The increase in crude ash content due to dirt ingress inevitably results in dilution of all other nutrients. For every 10 g of crude ash, about 0.1 MJ of net energy content for lactation is lost in each kg of dry matter due to dirt ingress.
In addition, contaminated forage is consumed by ruminants in smaller quantities. The reason for this is because it tastes different, and it is not as digestible.
Harvesting machines therefore need to work as close to the ground as possible without scraping. If the field is not level, special attention must be paid to ground tracking of the machinery.
In keeping with the PÖTTINGER philosophy, MERGENTO is also characterised by its unique ability to adapt to every contour and undulation of the terrain.
The interaction of tracking rollers and the advanced kinematics of the centre pivot mounting results in three-dimensional ground tracking that is second to none.