German firm M&R Maschinen (BioMaRo) has developed a novel device to harvest the stubble and surface residue following a crop of maize. Called the Strohmax, and first seen by visitors to last year’s Agritechnica, the second generation of the 3.5-tonne heavy and 5m-wide (6-row) machine was on display at EuroTier last week.
Fitted to the front of a SPFH, main updates inside the Strohmax 5000-2 include a set of spiral rollers, which allow soil drawn into the machine by the 2.5m-wide flail mowers to fall back to the ground. Operating at speeds from 3-6km/hr, the company reckons it is possible to salvage as much as 90-95% of the remaining maize stubble and surface residue, which can be used by biogas plants, pressed into pellets for heating purposes or fed to dry cows. Covering up to 2ha/hr, outputs are claimed to be in the region of 20-30tph. As well as providing contractors with some additional autumn work, the manufacturer reckons the resulting cleaner field surface requires less cultivation ahead of the following crop.
