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Assessment of Qualitative Indicators Related to Hay, Haylage and Straw Harvesting
KOČÍ, Vojtěch
This Diploma Theses focuses on the assessment of two pick-up balers which compress crop into compact bales. The balers are made and delivered by different manufacturers with a variable bale chamber and cutting mode at the moment of haylage, hay and straw harvesting. Specifically, the given assessment compared John Deere 960 Baler and Kuhn VB 2160 Baler while considering the following parameters: quality of cutting, bale density, haylage, capacity and performance, economic analysis and recommendation for their use in agriculture. John Deere 960 Baler achieved better results in the majority of performed tests. The values of bale density were the following: 666.25 kg.m-3 (haylage), 221.39 kg.m-3 (hay), 176.62 kg.m-3 (straw). The assessment of haylage quality was excellent. The given baler (JD 960) also excelled at harvesting capacities: 20.89 t.h-1 (haylage), 15.61 t.h-1 (hay) and 12.54 t.h-1 (straw). Baling costs per 1 kilogram of forage revealed the following figures: 0.036 CZK (haylage), 0.079 CZK (hay) and 0.101 CZK (straw). Costs assessment for practical use of both balers per operating year indicates that the JD 960 Baler´s use is more cost effective by 1,320 CZK per 100 hectares (haylage), by 2,690 CZK (hay) and by 6,000 CZK (straw) in comparison with Kuhn VB 2160 Baler. As a consequence, the use and operation of John Deere 960 Baler can be recommended to large-sized companies with a sufficient amount of financial resources which can be invested in purchase of the given machinery. The baler is suitable for large areas with the demanding seasonal harvesting. On the other hand, Kuhn VB 2160 Baler did not show such an impressive result as JD 960 Baler. However, its use and operation is recommended to small or medium-sized agricultural companies which can appreciate the baler´s performance especially during hay and straw harvesting.
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