Practice experience of Karl D. Dethlefsen in

Agronomy Equipment & Combine Parts/Sieves + Settings
www.agri-broker.com tel.: 0049-212-64545-11
[email protected]
Germany – Solingen (near Cologne)
GRASS SEEDS & SMALL SEEDS
HARVESTING WITH AGRI-BROKER POWERSIEVES:
Agri-Broker Combine Harvester Precision Wind-Jet-Air Cleaning
Top-Output and High Quality when harvesting Alfalfa-, Buckwheat-,
Clover-, Flax-, Grass-, Linseed- and other small sized Seeds also
Canola / Oil Seed Rape.
Agri-Broker High Performance & Precision Cleaning
Combine Harvester
Universal Adjustable Air Foil Chaffers /
Adjustable Louvre & Slat Sieves /
Adjustable Pre-Cleaners / Pre-sieves
Increased capacity and almost Null-Losses in both flat and hilly terrain
in all climate conditions i.e. crops with wet to very brittle straw.
With the exception of grass seeds all the above mentioned crops have a bulk density over
700 kg/m³ and this is similar in most other cereals such as corn/maize, wheat, barley, soya,
soybean and other beans. Grass Seeds, Sunflower and oats have a lower bulk density of
between 400-450 kg/m³.
The basic difference with Cereals is that all the smaller sized seeds often give very low yields
and throughput so that when threshing a slow harvesting speed is used to keep the sieve box
losses slow.
When harvesting / cleaning smaller sized seeds with a high bulk density a higher fan speed is
necessary to reduce losses as well as increased harvesting speed to obtain a cleaner product.
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1.
Alfalfa & Clover
Both are very heavy crops (bulk density!) and can be harvested using higher Fan Speed. The
following ALFA CZ5 Louvres / Slats are recommended for precision cleaning and sieving.
Cleaning is quicker and more intensive.
The special rectangular
shape of the adjustable
CZ5 Louvre / Slat creates
an intense wind jet. The
strength of this uniform
pressure blowing through
the openings guarantees
an instant and high speed
precision cleaning.
ALFA CZ5.I (28) Long Louvre/Slat
ALFA CZ5.II(28) Short Louvre/Slats
ALFA CZ5.I (41) Long Louvre Slat
Non dessicated Red Clover Seeds when harvested
with the Ear /Grain collecting Stripper
Above: Very intensive Cleaning/
separation just at the beginning.
ALFA GRE Louvre Air Foil Chaffer / Top Sieve, below:
TESTIMONIAL Organic Research Farm near Hamburg
„An important characteristic of the Agri-Broker Powersieves is that they are not inclined to
smear in wet harvesting products and therefore the adjustable ALFA GRE Louvre/Slats –see
photo below- can be opened -in our New Holland TX65 combine- further if necessary than a
fixed hole sieve. Even when harvesting Red Clover Seeds in high humidity (=uneven ripening)
we had no problems with smeared sieves. Only the grain pan had to be cleaned. A clean
harvesting result with low losses is also achieved with mixed crops (Peas/linseed dotter;
Beans/Oats). Optimal results are achieved when harvesting different cereals without having to
change settings. For research reasons we cultivate small seeds also in mixed crops. Only in this
special case is it necessary to adjust the sieves.
One gets optimal cleaning results with very little effort when using the Agri-Broker Powersieves.”
February 2006
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2.
Oils Seed Rape
“The following Louvre / Slat when closed offers a 30mm long and 12mm wide hole opening and
this together with the downwards bent Wind Collector on the ALFA CZ4 Louvre / Slat –as
shown below- pushes a large amount of the thrash out of the combine. Only heavy “green
siliques” can fall through which can be eliminated, if needed, with other Agri-broker special
bottom sieves such as with the GRE or CZ5 Louvre / Slat.
pictures on the left: ALFA CZ4 Louvre / Slat
Results when harvesting 3 t/ha with a 6 m Auger-Header 6-7,5 km/h and with a lot of green
weeds in the Canola field: very clean canola in the corn tank & almost Null losses”, see below:
Siber, South Germany 2011 & 2012
TESTIMONIAL farmer Mark Dümichen, Brandenburg:
“In 2011 we had a very bad and wet harvesting year. All crops that we harvested were mixed with grass
and weeds. Despite high harvesting speed necessary because of cereals with maximum
3 tons/hectar and the very bad harvesting conditions we were able to make a good – optimal harvest.
The Agri-Broker Powersieves were always very clean with absolutely no blockages. At no time did I see
anybody having to stop because of sticking and smearing. I am a seed producer of the DSV since
several years. The quality and cleaness requirements for seed reproduction crops have been increased
… the purchase of the Agri-Broker Powersieves were a good decision …even in bad harvesting
conditions I could supply clean and good size pre-selected Seeds” 08.11.2011
If functional helpful the first part of the top sieve can be made independable
adjustable in order to intensify the separation of the seeds to the front
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3.
GRASS SEEDS
Harvesting swathed very dry grass seeds (picture left) or very wet standing crop grass seeds
(right) up to 100% perfect quality cleaning when using Agri-Broker Powersieves &
Powersettings.
Picture with
Standing Green
Grass Seed
Crop:
Meadow or
Yellow Foxtail
Grass Seed
Harvesting in
East-Switzerland
Meadow Foxtail/Yellow Foxtail Grass Seeds (Alopecurus pratensis):
Harvesting
Region.
Report
from
East-Switzerland,
Thurgau
Dipl. Ing. Agr. ETH Christoph Gämperli1), Agrovisa Int. GmbH
1)
Since 10 years Manager of the Grass seed production of the St. Gallische Saatzucht
The area in Switzerland where grass seeds can be cultivated is very small. The main region is
in East-Switzerland and is in the farming limit area with its 1200 mm annual rainfall and lying
600 meters above sea level. Because the Import of Grass seeds is open to all an economic
reproduction of grass seeds is only possible with special species. The cultivation is organized by
the St. Gallische Saatzucht.
For over 10 years the farmers of the St. Gallischen Saatzucht have successfully cropped
Alopecurus pratensis and early ripening German Weidelgras (Lolium perenne). Because of the
very wet local site conditions the reproduction fields are dense and have a very high production
potential both in seed yield and straw. Harvesting falls in June when there is a lot of rain and
thunder very often causing a lying crop. For this reason in East-Switzerland the grass seeds are
not as usual laid down in swathes but are harvested directly as a standing crop (see picture
above right). This requires special adaption of the header and the combine sieves. The
cutterbar of the header has to cut the dense mat close to the ground and the sieves have to
separate and clean a large amount of wet grass seeds with approximately 50% of water.
All the combines which are used for the grass seed harvest of the St. Gallische Saatzucht
belong to the contractor Werner Oswald from the Swiss Thurgau Region. He has equipped his
combines both with special Gras-Cutterbars of his own design and with Agri-Broker
Powersieves ALFA GRE. These ALFA GRE Sieves are fitted permanently in his combines and
used for the harvesting of Grass Seeds, Canola and Cereals including Corn/Maize.
When the standard louvre sieves are replaced with the ALFA GRE Louvre / Slats adjustable
sieves / air foil chaffers the amount of stems in the corntank is radically reduced and the quality
of the cleaning is substantially increased together with the net gain. The seeds in the graintank
often achieve 100% cleaness and can be transferred directly into the seeder.
Pic. 2: Dried samples of Meadow or Yellow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) seeds from grain
tank with different sieves and combine settings
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Standard Sieve
ALFA GRE Sieve
ALFA GRE Sieve
+ Tuning Settings
Ripening of the cariopses of the Alopecurus pratensis challenges the sieve technique because the seeds
are more and less mature at the same time. Germination capacity of the cariopses is controlled and
made visible with a back light. If there is a large amount of underdeveloped cariopses then the
germination test has failed and the seeds are consequently unacceptable for purchase and a total loss
for the farmer. Thanks to the ALFA GRE Louvre / Slat Sieves however it is possible to blow the empty
and badly developed Alopecurus pratensis seeds out of the combine sieve box.
This is only possible when the combine settings are adapted daily to the individual field. Therefore as
well as a versatile combine operator it needs an experienced partner monitoring the parameters to
ensure that the necessary fine tuning settings are made by the combine operator.
There has not been one germination test failure since Mr. Werner Oswald has fitted his 3 combines with
the ALFA GRE Louvre Sieves / Chaffers. When using the ALFA GRE Louvre Sieves / adjustable Airfoil
Chaffers there are two important advantages for the grass seed harvesting: (1) on one side there is a
very high guarantee for the success of the germination test and on (2) the other side the post harvesting
cleaning costs are very low because of the high net yield of valuable seeds.
Practice experience of Karl D. Dethlefsen in Northfriesland,
near Denmark in Germany.
“We harvest Wheat and Canola and since 2008 Gras Seeds. Our combine is a Deutz-Fahr Topliner
4070, which we bought second hand in 2006 already equipped with an Alfa GRE Bottom Sieve and a
Standard Top Sieve. We received the following suggestions for the optimization of the combine when
participating in a Combine Training Seminar in 2011:
1.To fit our Schumacher Cutterbar with the new rolling guiding equipment;
2. To fit the first two openings of the concave with filling bars;
3. To exchange the standard top sieve with the ALFA GRE Louvre Top sieve;
4. To set the concave paralllel to the drum as much as possible;
5. To increase the fan speed.
I was very satisfied with the above guiding measures. The machines performance increased with less
broken grain and minimal dirty parts. My field advisor praised me for the minimal after harvesting
cleaning necessary. However the last harvest 2011 was the most difficult that I have ever experienced.
Even so I achieved a residual amount of dirty parts of under 7%. For grass seed a good result is
normally 20-25%, in bad years 40%. I am certain that my good results are due to the second ALFA GRE
Louvre Sieve / Air foil chaffer and that I am therefore able to use more fan speed. The losses are lower
than before”. February 2012
Practice Report from Christoph Foth, Vorpommern, North of Berlin
In our farm we harvest not only Wheat, Triticale and Canola / Oil seed rape but also more and more Grass Seeds.
Of the grass seeds we harvest three different kinds Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne), Red fescue (Festuca
Rubra) and Commom Meadow Grass (Poa pratensi) as well as blue and yellow sweet Lupins and Phacelia.
We use 2 identical John-Deere CTS 9780 combines. At the beginning of the harvest 2001 one of these machines
was fully equipped with ALFA GRE Sieves and the other combine continued with the original standard sieves.
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st
We had the first positive results when harvesting Common Meadow Grass (Poa Pratensis) harvesting on 21 July
2001. The grain tank in the JD combine equipped with the ALFA GRE Sieves was filling up quicker right from the
beginning and there was far less short straw in the harvested product. The usual wind reduction was necessary but
the cleaning result was better and the losses less.
The same result was achieved when harvesting Red Fescue (Festuca Rubra) because of the dried ripeness and
the harvesting conditions available. The harvested variety was chaff layered and therefore hindered the fluency of
the throughflow.
Advantages were also achieved with the ALFA GRE Sieves / Chaffers as well with the Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium
perenne). Not only was the product cleaner but the off-loading out of the grain tank was quick and fluent without
any additional manual help. The driver of the other John Deere combine had to continually push the product with a
stick to ensure no further problems when off-loading.
Oil seed rape / Canola is cleaned more intensively when using the ALFA GRE Louvre / Slats sieves / chaffers in
comparison to the standard sieves. Because of the typical JD-CTS threshing system this produces a lot of trash
and pods which come onto the sieves and this over-stresses the sieves. The ALFA GRE Sieves / chaffers come to
the overstress point much later.
Generally the ALFA GRE sieve / chaffer system is very easy to set. Even the very open ALFA GRE
Sieve / chaffers and with high fan speed do not lead to losses or to “dirty” grain tank content.
Wheat and triticale were likewise also very clean with less chaff in the grain tank sample. Depending on the
varieties however there were sometimes more unthreshed ear tops when comparing these results with the
standard sieves.
Investing in the ALFA GRE Sieves / Chaffers is worthwhile for many reasons:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sensitive and fine seeds are harvested cleaner with almost null losses;
Quicker harvesting because of less standing time – faster offloading;
Lower drying costs as the harvested product is much cleaner;
Uncomplicated settings – very important when using external help or untrained operators;
5% increased output and relief of the sieves when harvesting cereals.”
27.08.2001
Consequently in 2002 the second JD-CTS combine was also equipped with a set of GRE Louvre Sieves as well as
two combines acquired later.
Harvesting Performance Comparisons 2003 in Denmark
Results when harvesting Red fescue (Festuca Rubra)
Sieves fittet
Standard-Sieves
ALFA GRE High Performance Sieves
Cleaness of Seeds
in Grain tank
85 %
93 %
Both results were achieved when using 2 identical JD-CTS combines
Basnaes Gods Farm, Jørgen Bøje (Farm manager), Seeland- Denmark
Conclusion: 8% increased cleaness with ALFA GRE High Performance Sieves.
Results harvesting Hybrid- Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne)
10 Liter weight
Combine used
Sieves fitted
3,2 kg
Claas Lexion 460
Standard-Sieves
3,2 kg
John-Deere WTS 9660
Standard-Sieves
3,5 kg
New-Holland CX 880
Standard-Sieves
3,7 kg
Claas 116 CS
ALFA GRE High Performance Sieves
Nordkaer Farm, Klaus Aage Bengston, Nordjütland - Denmark
The Claas 116 CS combine fitted with the ALFA GRE High Performance Sieves
harvested 100% clean grass seeds although it had 8 separating rotors which produced more
short straw behind the threshing system as the other combines. However this short straw
could not fall through the Alfa GRE Louvre / Slats.
Conclusion:
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4.
HOW TO DETECT SEED LOSSES?!
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