"Practice tests are very important to the development of new machines"
At the farm Agrar GmbH Sonnenberg in Schönermark - with land in excess of 1,700 hectares - roughage for 300 milking cows and 140 head of young cattle is harvested by means of a full range of Lely machines. After the grassland (540 hectares) has been mown with the aid of the Splendimo 320 F and 320 T mowing combination, a Lotus 770 Stabilo is used for tedding the crop. For the first time this year, the farm also uses a Lely Hibiscus rake to rake the dried forage together.
Manager Friedemann Karl explains "that the farm's preference for Lely equipment stems from the good impression that the first Lely machine has left at the farm". Shortly after the Fall of the Wall the company bought its first Lotus 675 Stabilo tedder, which was sold in the federal state of Brandenburg at the time. Ten years later this machine was replaced by its bigger sister, the Lotus 770 Stabilo. In the process, the presence of dealer Lamadi as well as the quality of the machines definitely had an influence on the decision of Agrar GmbH Sonneberg to opt for Lely grassland machinery.
For the 2007 season, Agrar GmbH Sonnenberg has undertaken to test a prototype of the new Lely Hibiscus 1315 twin rotor side delivery rake in practice conditions. "So far, we are pleased with this new model", says Friedemann Karl. The Hibiscus 1315 is based upon its bigger sister Hibiscus 1525 but it is fitted with smaller rotors and features a simpler construction and control. Operator Manfried Bloch explains that the machine ensures very clean raking, which is also due to the stable wheel assemblies underneath the rotors, the sophisticated three-dimensional rotor suspension and the rugged H-frame.
The construction of this machine makes it possible to rake at high speeds, which - in conjunction with the large working width - gives an outstanding output. Manfried uses the machine to rake grass together for both big self-loading forage wagons and Welger balers. The Hibiscus 1315 rake makes it possible to rake the appropriate amount of crop into an exceptionally even swath. These swaths can be handled very well by harvesting machines. Throughout the testing process, Manfred noticed some details that might be improved. This is exactly the type of input - emerging from working in real practical conditions - that Lely always greatly appreciates and consistently improves when going to serial production. Before any prototype is being tested in practice, it is subjected at Lely's to rigid strength gauge testing as well as arduous field testing. Consequently, all prototypes that are deployed for field testing are already in their final development stage.
All in all the prototype of the Hibiscus 1315 rake has done such a great job at the Agrar farm that manager Friedemann Karl was happy to purchase the machine at the end of the season.