| Grassland
High moisture bales – the enemy of
profitability and quality
We have often seen round bales left in the field to “sweat” the
moisture out before stacking as no one wants to risk a barn fire.
Whilst that cooling period allows for piece of mind; has the loss of
feed value as mould and yeasts consume the plant sugars or the cost
of mycotoxins on livestock’s respiratory systems and reduced feed
conversion been thought through?
ew for harvest 2018, PFC is
offering a new low-cost
moisture meter option for round
balers with precision levels only
previously seen with PFC
automatic applicator systems.
The system designated as “H2O” is available
for all makes and models of round baler and
enters the market with a competitive RRP of
£995. Whilst slightly higher priced than bale
probes, this system is superior in precision and
range. H2O allows the operator to achieve
more bales per day through longer baling days,
and importantly, not needing to stop to
measure the bales’ moisture.
This is achieved by sending an electrical
charge through the outer 150mm of the forming
bale 5 times/second and measuring the voltage
drop. With an impressive working range of 8 to
60 % moisture and accuracy levels of +/-
1%.This is a level of flexibility that round baler
operators have never had without utilising the
Harvest Tec automatic applicator from PFC.
Understanding the customers desire to keep
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26 | Farming Monthly | May 2018
the systems price competitive is shown by the
flexibility of the information display. The data is
transmitted from the moisture meter ECU via
Bluetooth, after downloading the free app from
either the Apple app store or Google play store,
allowing a compatible iPhone or iPad, or an
Android based phone to become the screen.
Acknowledging smaller screen sizes, the
system utilises an icon-based architecture
keeping the display simple and easy to read.
Two sets of moisture data are shown; the
moisture of the bale being produced and the
average moisture of the last bale while using
the moisture system. The operator can still
make and receive calls, emails and SMS
messages.
PFC feels that the H2O moisture system
integrates well into our current equipment line-
up which consists of:-
• Moisture meters and automatic applicators
for all balers, wet bale markers for all square
balers and relative feed value analysis for large
square balers.
• Fixed rate manual electronic applicators for
silage and haylage producers, and
• Our flagship automatic applicators suited to
both round and square balers. These automatic
systems utilise the same moisture meter as the
H2O but with added capability. Input the bale
weight, size and time to make a bale and the
computer does the rest. These units can be
either baler or front linkage mounted. Used with
our pH6.0 non-corrosive hay and straw
preservative Balers Choice allows you to bale
crops up to 30 % moisture by controlling the
growth of moulds and yeasts in the bale.
Achieving additional baling time each day,
maximising baler productivity and producing
optimum quality forage
PFC supply equipment with full baler
integration through the AGCO and CNH dealer
network, also available through other
equipment dealer networks. These would
operate through an iPad with a Bluetooth
connection or through the tractor ISObus.
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