New Holland’s new 130FB header can harvest trees of up to 15cm in diameter when harvesting short rotation coppice crops.
Faced with growing energy needs that are alternate to fossil energy, farmers and industries have developed short rotation coppices, poplars and other species cultivation. Pioneer and leader of the industry, Sweden grows 16,000 ha, but other European countries have also understood the potential of wooden energy.
Once established, the crops are harvested every two or three years, according to the growing rate of the different types. In the most favourable conditions, specific varieties of coppices are reaching a height of 10 m within two years, with a trunk diameter of 14 to 15 cm, as observed in northern Italy.
New Holland has developed the 130FB header to harvest coppice crops in the most difficult conditions. Built in Pennsylvania, in the United States, the header features a tension fork that extends above the header itself. It has the task of curbing the trunk prior to sectioning it. Once the trunk has been cut, the released tension fork pushes the trunk towards the feed rolls. With a hydraulically adjustable tilt angle, this fork adapts to the size and the stiffness of the crop.
To cut trunks of up to 15cm, the two large diameter cutting saws (76cm) overlap in order to achieve a neat cut. If part of the trunk is not cut, but pulled off, the tree foot may be damaged, thus hampering the re-growth.
Each saw is topped by four hooks and two vertical rolls. The latter, assisted with a paddle roll, drive the crop towards the cutter head and avoid losses. Still on the harvesting header, two other oversized pre-feeding rolls secure the horizontal positioning of the trunks, in a direction perpendicular to the cutter head centre line. In this way, all mechanical stresses are supported by the harvesting header and not on the cutter head or on the feed rolls, thus making up for the dependability of the FR9000 self propelled forage harvester.
Further, the machine has been initially designed to harvest such type of crop. With a weight of 670kg, the rotor takes advantage of a high inertia for a neat cut, while producing an even length of cut. With its diameter of 710mm and its length of 900mm, it is the largest rotor of the market, hence its ability to easily handle trunks of 15cm in diameter.
Furthermore, the hydrostatic drive of the harvesting header allows an accurate speed adjustment of the 130FB header, independently of the ground speed. The HydroLoc system allows in cab and on the go length of cut adjustment, between 25 and 50mm. In addition, the Lateral Float system combined with the 130FB gauge wheels provide a perfect ground follow up of the most irregular fields and an even height of cut, for the best re-growth.
While the new generation of New Holland forage harvesters FR9000 was already capable of harvesting a number of green energy crops, such as switchgrass or miscanthus, this new header attachment broadens the scope of usage of the machine; it gives the opportunity to better write off the machine investment with one or two weeks of additional work per year. New Holland aims at becoming the leader of green energy crops harvesting with the development of polyvalent products and front attachments that are adapted to those crops.
With more than 30 front attachments (Direct cut headers, rotary corn headers, combine grain headers, pick ups, corn headers), New Holland offers the largest choice of attachments for a forage harvester; it, therefore, provides the custom operators and the machine rings the best opportunity to write off their self propelled forage harvester investments.
The New Holland website can be found at: www.newholland.com.
