Author: Damir Rukovanjski, Published by Agroklub.com, 24.5.2024, Foto: Damir Rukovanjski
The Čerba family farm in Croatia prepares forage for around 60 dairy cows. Mowing, Josip Čerba pointed out, is done exclusively with SIP machines.
The owner of the family farm is Josip’s wife Zorica, who, together with their daughter Danijela, does the milking and works in the barn. Josip and his son Mihael are both arable land managers and have a lot of experience with SIP machines.
They use six SIP machines for forage production, including the SILVERCUT DISC 300 F and 300 S mower combination, the AIR 300 F pick-up rake and the ORION manure spreader.
We visited father and son, Josip and Mihael, at Donji Miholjc’s 17-hectare field during the mowing season. They were preparing hay and silage and, according to Josip and Mihael, they don’t waste much time with this task because they mow these 17 hectares in four to five hours.
The solution for raking grassland and harvesting residues
The latest machine on the farm, the SIP AIR 300 F, deserves special attention. Thanks to its unique pick-up system, the investment in a pick-up rake is compensated in the form of clean forage with a higher nutritional value, which improves production yields. The machine is the perfect solution for raking all types of grass, straw and other harvesting residues.
“The pick-up rake has a working width of three metres. It has a belt that lifts the grass off the ground and deposits it on the left or right side. It only picks up grass, no dust or soil, and it is very important to us that it does not damage the leaves of the plants,” explains Josip, who points out that their latest machine, the SIP AIR 300 F, works perfectly even at speeds of 24 kilometres per hour. “The machine’s operating parameters are set and then it runs smoothly,” he says. “Another advantage is that the tractor wheels do not run over the forage,” he explains.
The free-rotating skids are mounted directly behind the pick-up unit, which means the trailed spring tines are always clear of the ground, ensuring less wear and tear, longer pick-up unit life and clean forage collection. Transparent side guards give good visibility over the forage flow and the operation itself.
It was also emphasised that it is important that the turf is protected while harvesting. The rotating skids, located immediately behind the pick-up unit, ensure a high degree of reactivity and excellent ground adaptation, preventing damage to the pick-up unit. As the skids rotate freely, they do not trap dirt.
Long-term and reliable use
On our visit, they were working with a SILVERCUT DISC front and rear mower mounted on a 130 hp tractor. Both mowers are set to 1000 rpm and were mowing a mixture of wheat, oats, peas and triticale, which is used to make hay. In addition, they have lucerne, which, like other grassland, is cut five or six times a year. They also cultivate about 20 hectares of maize for whole-crop silage and grain production to meet the needs of the farm and to produce the milk they sell to Dukat.
They also have an ORION manure spreader from SIP. The farm is certified organic, so they only use liquid and solid fertiliser from the farm to fertilise the grass mixtures and alfalfa. And the Čerba family is particularly proud of this, as these practices preserve and protect the soil.
Read more in the original article, which you can find HERE.
Keywords: SIP machines, forage, dairy cows, alfalfa, silage, hay, farm, grassland, mowing, harvesting, grabbing, mower, mowing combination, front mower, side mower, pick-up rake, manure spreader
