Claas cuts a swathe through world silage-making record
CLAAS has set a new world record for the amount of silage mown in an eight hour period in Colorado in the US.
The record was set with the Claas Disco 1100 RC mower conditioner unit, and during this time frame the machine mowed a total of 141.1 hectares of alfalfa with a roller conditioner and an average yield of 5.24 tonnes of dry mass per hectare.
The previous world record was surpassed by more than 40 hectares.
On July 1, just after midday, Tate Mesbergen from Mesbergen Farms set about creating a new world record with a combination of an Axion 800 tractor and the Disco 1100 RC mower conditioner.
Exactly eight hours later, he climbed out of the cabin of his tractor as a new world record holder. A support team and impartial witnesses can confirm that Tate mowed a total of 141.1 hectares in four different fields.
With a maximum speed of 30 km/h in the field and more than 50 km/h from field to field, he mowed an incredible average of 17.6 ha/hour.
“Not all fields were close to one another, so it was a real challenge to quickly fold up the mower units for transport and hurry along the roads,” he said.
Not everything went according to plan
Thunderstorm
The day before the attempt, there was a thunderstorm with heavy showers of 12.7 millimetres of rain.
This meant that the subsoil in particular in the first field was significantly wetter than usual.
The start was delayed by a few hours, and during his record attempt, Tate also made two unplanned stops. His first was between the first and second field.
“I hit a piece of concrete on the first field and had to check whether the mower unit was damaged,” said Tate.
A quick examination showed that no harm was done. Not one blade had to be replaced.
The second interruption took place to check that the Disco mower unit was correctly folded before it was transported along the road to the last field.
The previous world record was set on grass, not alfalfa, and a mower without conditioner was used.
The Disco 1100 RC has a conditioner with two V-shaped interlocking polyurethane rollers, which compress the hard stems while simultaneously preserving the precious leaves.
This reduces the wilting time required and guarantees maximum feed value, because the leaves are preserved.
The conditioner increased the mower’s power consumption, but that did not thwart Tate.
During his attempt, Tate mowed 5.24 tonnes of dry mass per hectare. Claas will now be sending the necessary documents to Guinness so that the world record can be officially confirmed.
NOT ALL THE FIELDS WERE CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER SO IT WAS A REAL CHALLENGE