PRACTICAL TEST: In 1996, Greenland introduced the Vicon HPC intensive mower conditioner. Many claims have been made for the machine, the most important of which is a faster wilt than a conventional mower conditioner. Last year the HPC was put through its paces to see if these claims stand up in practice
Mow in the morning, windrow in the afternoon and forage/bale in the early evening. This is seen by many as the silage making ideal, a fast wilt resulting in fewer nutrient and crop losses.
In the right conditions, silage making in a day is possible, but toget dry matters of 30% with a conventional mower conditioner calls for a pass or two with the tedder to help speed drying. The Vicon HPC (High Performance Conditioner) is designed to attain this fast wilt without the need for a tedding pass.
This is achieved in two ways. Firstly, the mown grass passes through a steel cage roller and bristle rollers for a really intensive conditioning. Secondly the grass is thrown onto a deflector which guides it onto a free spinning roller which lays the grass in a fluffy mat across the mower’s full working width
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