INTENSIVE FORAGE CONDITIONING APPLIED TO A SELF-PROPELLED MOWER

Different designs of an intensive forage conditioning (IFC) system were incorporated in a commercial 4.2-m (14-ft) wide self-propelled swather with a cutterbar mower. The objectives were to evaluate a six-roll configuration, a three-roll configuration, a windrow deposition conveyor and different roll forces. The six-roll configuration provided a significant drying rate increase, between 41 and 73% in the first four hours of drying, when compared to conventional mowing-conditioning. The three-roll configuration provided a drying rate increase of 28 to 38%. The drying rate advantage persisted under good weather conditions but decreased when the subsequent weather became humid or rainy. A deposition conveyor designed to delicately handle the intensively conditioned windrow did not improve the drying rate nor decrease the observed field losses. Adjustments like roll force could improve the drying rate under very good weather but had little influence otherwise. Energy required to process forage through the three-roll IFC system was in the order of 2.0 to 2.6 kW·h/t (2.4 to 3.2 hp·h/short ton) of dry matter.