John Deere has launched its new powerhouse baler that produces longer, heavier bales to save the contractor time, fuel and labour, and it comes with all the precision agriculture integration that the company is renowned for.
Designed and built by John Deere in the United States, the L341R high-density large square baler features a bigger build chamber, reinforced hoops and is 45.7cm longer than a standard unit, which enables the machine to compress hay into a 3x4 bale with 30 per cent more density.
Since fewer bales need to be removed from the field, farmers spend less time travelling across the crop and trucks are loaded with the maximum amount of hay for enhanced efficiency, creating savings on each trailer load.
Despite its increased power and compression ability, the L341R operates under the same PTO power requirements as its predecessor, negating the necessity to invest in new machinery to pull it.
The machine’s MegaWide pick-up comes in two sizes on the L341R — a 2.2 metre wide pick-up and a 2.5m wide pick-up — which makes it easier to produce neatly shaped bales and improves crop pick-up in wide, windblown or scattered windrows.
Other highlights include the low-profile pick-up drum with a large-diameter roller baffle to efficiently pick crop up and compress it against the pick-up tines, meaning more crop in the bale and less debris in the field.
While the L341R high-density baler leverages product components, functions and technology that John Deere customers are familiar with, it introduces the local hay industry to new levels of sophistication through the data acquisition system, Bale Doc.
John Deere Australia and New Zealand hay and forage product specialist Roberto Scheidt said Bale Doc was standard in the L341R, providing customers with information they didn’t previously have to boost productivity and profitability.
“Bale Doc provides customers with yield data to inform decisions on whether to apply fertiliser to parts of the field, whether to let the hay re-grow for more cuts or plant a new crop,” Roberto said.
“It allows operators to monitor bale characteristics such as weight and moisture as bales are made, so they can make more consistent, high-quality bales, and the moisture maps allow the operator to understand where there are issues in the field with dry down.
“This precision technology seamlessly integrates data in near real-time for record keeping in the John Deere Operations Center.
“It’s the same system being used in broadacre cropping machinery, but the hay industry can now benefit from these new efficiencies.”
The L341R has been trialled under Western Australian conditions and hit the ground running, Roberto said, with excellent reliability.
“The farmer remarked on the ride and driveability of the new baler too, as the usual rocking motion of the tractor when baling was much smoother thanks to the Ride Control feature on the JD tractor,” he said.
“The new baler also features an integrated preservative applicator, to provide more precise application of innoculant to preserve the crop.”
The John Deere L341R high-density baler was on show for the first time at the Australian Fodder Industry Association’s National Fodder Conference in Coffs Harbour in late July, ahead of an official launch in Australia in September.