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Forage Wagon Contractor Report - D.Tiffin & S.Fisher, Carlisle, Cumbria

After working on the buck rake for other contractors over the past five years Daniel was looking for an opportunity to branch out on his own and establish a new business. “Unfortunately Cumbria is flooded with self propelled foragers and so I needed a feasible alternative to offer customers with tangible benefits.” Daniel felt the forage wagon offered such benefits and he purchased his Giga Vitesse I in the spring of 2007. “The first year saw 483 acres go through the machine, with 2008 seeing 1000 acres. Two of the wagons big plus points are the saving of fuel and labour. Working in the field the operation is not slowed down and the Strautmann can easily hold up to 2*10t trailer loads,” continues Daniel.

“I have had comments back from farmers saying the longer chop length is more palatable for the cow and has assisted in less twisted stomachs. It has also increased butter fat content and protein for a number of my customers. In addition to this I’ve also used the wagons for zero grazing, which is an added string to the machines bow” says Daniel.

Following Daniels success a number of other contactors in Cumbria looked at the system during 2007 this resulted in Steven Fisher buying a Giga Vitesse I Duo in November 2007. Stephen’s father has been an agricultural contractor for 45 years, so it seemed second nature to Stephen to leave school and follow in his footsteps. Stephen has now fulfilled this role for twenty four years and partakes in all general agricultural contracting work. Stephen tells me that he always looks for opportunities for his customers to save time and labour costs as farmers are very reliant on the service given to them.

“I had been operating a self propelled forager, but when Neil Robinson from Strautmann UK discussed the forage wagon with me, I was interested to see if the fuel and labour saving could be of benefit to me. Lloyd Ltd the local dealer left me their demonstrator for a day and I was impressed, we moved 50 acres in a 12 hour day used 50 gallons of diesel and all with one operator.”

“The Strautmann completed 1500 acres in the 2008 season with all customers retained for 2009 and a number of new customers keen to try the system. It’s been a significant help to farmers keeping costs to a minimum and producing a quality silage that has been shown to assist butterfat and yield increases in the herd which is another significant bonus for this style of silage making.”

Mr Brian Salisbury farms 93 acres at Beech Farm, Netherwelton, with 55 dairy cattle plus 35 replacements. Last season Daniel suggested that he had his silage cut and brought in by the forage wagon, although he initially had reservations he decided to give it a go. “I’m so glad that I did,” he told me “as I have had the best silage ever. I like the way that it just cuts grass and doesn’t pulp it. It is much gentler on the crop, and I have noticed that the cows spend longer chewing the cud, which has assisted in there being no rumen problems during the past year. The grass retains its goodness and I have noticed an improvement in butterfat and protein.

John Armstrong decided to adopt a zero grazing system last year with the help of Daniel and the Strautmann forage wagon. “I did this for a couple of reasons; our grass tends to poach easily after heavy rain, which created weed grasses in the poached area. Also with a herd of 160 dairy cows, it is not easy moving from field to field on today’s busy roads, and with the added benefit that the cows came in clean after wet nights,” continues John “I found that feeding this way the cows were filled in a short space of time and their energy levels were up. They were given half ration of the fresh grass along with half ration of whole crop.”

Source: Cumbria Farmer (May 2008)

Forage Wagon Farmer Report - Terry Miller, Higher Monkton Farm, Stogursey, Devon

An improvement in milk quality was the reason that Terry Miller changed from a trailed forage harvester to a forage wagon to make the grass silage for the 300 head dairy herd. “Initially we were looking for a system that was easier to operate with less labour,” explains Terry, who farms together with his two sons, Paul and Simon and cuts a total of 600 acres of grass for silage. Other enterprises are a 130 head sow unit with progeny to pork, oilseed rape, 900 acres of cereals and maize, which is harvested by a contractor.

“But milk quality is paramount,” Terry continues. “Strautmann demoed us a wagon for the second cut in 2005 and the improvement in the milk butterfat and protein from the longer material the machine produces convinced us to buy.”

“It also suits us, it’s an easy system to operate and doesn’t tie up labour; there is one man on the forage wagon and one man on the clamp rather than one man on the forager, two men on 12t trailers and one at the pit.

“We cut with a 3m mower conditioner, ted and then put three rows into one in front of the Giga Vitesse II. Its capacity also means that it’s not always running in and out of the clamp and, at 50+ acres a day, it has a similar output to the trailed forager system, but from one man.”

Terry comments that another significant benefit the forage wagon has brought is reduced fuel consumption. “We run the Giga behind the 180 hp John Deere that we used on the trailed forage harvester – we don’t need the power for the wagon but for the hills and we’ve halved our fuel usage,” he says.

Source: Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer (April 2007)

Forage Wagon Contractor Report - T.K.Robinson, Greaves Farm, Old Hutton, Kendal, Cumbria

TK Robinson are a farming and contracting company with a 200-head dairy herd and followers on 350 acres of grass and 100 acres of maize. On the contracting side the company is involved in ploughing, primarily maize ground, fertiliser and lime spreading, manure spreading and hedge cutting. It also makes some 1500 acres of grass silage a season in 3 cuts for the home farm and for clients.

Last year the crop was harvested for the first time with a Giga Vitesse 1 forage wagon. “I worked with another contractor and we were cutting around 4000 acres of grass and 1000 acres of maize silage.” Says Ian Mason, “I supplied the mowers, tedders and rakes, and he provided the self propelled forage harvester, which I drove. It had got to the point where I had no family life in the summer, so I decided to go on my own. I also wanted to down size.”

When it came to harvester choice, Ian opted for the forage wagon, running cost being the deciding factor. “I’ve also had a lot of experience with the trailed harvester system in the past, and both it and the self propelled need attendant tractors and trailers, their drives and associated cost in wages and fuel. With the forage wagon there’s the tractor and driver, a man on the rake and one at the clamp with the buck rake,” he points out.

The wagon will carry 11t of fresh grass and last season output was 50-70 acres/day (approx 9t/acre) with the longest run to the clamp being 5 miles. “It still went well, but that is probably the furthest I’d want to go” Ian admits. “It might take longer with the forage wagon, but it is far more economical than a self propelled system. The wagon uses the same amount of diesel/acre as the self propelled, but by not having the additional tractors and trailers we saved £2000/cut in fuel and labour costs. It’s also a low maintenance machine. Other than routine servicing, you only have to sharpen the blades every 200 acres and their good for at least 2000 acres. There’s minimal down time.

“And the quality of the silage is good. It feeds well and the animals and my customers are happy with the results; they all want me back and others have shown interest. I’ll be looking to expand the service this season. I was cynical at first as I’ve always been involved with trailed or self propelled foragers but for our operation the forage wagon makes financial sense; with the two systems the tractors and trailers are the killers”

Source: Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer (March 2009)