Ernie Luchsinger bought one of the first maximum air velocity residue managers on the market in 2004, and had it installed on his new New Holland CR970 last fall.
The producer from Rosthern, Sask., put 4,000 acres on the combine without a problem. He said if the high performance residue manager does eat extra power, he can’t tell.
“Last fall was our first year with this 400 horsepower combine, so that was a new experience,” he said.
“I turned the MAV off for a while so I could drop some straight straw for some guys who wanted to bale it. I couldn’t tell the difference in power whether it was on or off. I just know that it works. We run a 36-foot header and we were spreading straw a lot wider than that. It’s a much finer chop than I’ve seen before. Our last combine was a John Deere with a Redekop chopper. But this new one does a much better job.”
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Luchsinger, who direct seeds his 4,000 acres, said the new residue manager has eliminated the need for heavy harrows.
He said once he set the split tailboard the way he wanted it, he didn’t need to change it again all season. However, he said he’s looking forward to using the in-cab adjustment, which was installed in early June.
“I always watch the straw spread pretty carefully in the mirrors. It looks like we can program this new controller to adjust for side winds and all kinds of things.”
Dale Hart equipped both his John Deere 9600s with MAV units for last fall’s harvest. The producer from Minitonas, Man., combined his usual 3,000 acres and concluded the new choppers were a big improvement.
“We’ve been looking for a very, very fine chop to help our seeding operation,” Hart said.
“This spring, we had no trouble at all seeding where we used these new Redekop choppers.”
He said he ordered them with the tight knife option so he could achieve the best possible chopping.
“That’s a one-inch spacing on the paired knives. They worked very well. Now, we didn’t get into any straw last year that was waxy or a little bit alive, but from what I’ve seen so far, I’m sure they’ll handle it.”
He also ordered knives with the self-sharpening option.
“That works real slick. Half the blade is a hardened steel. The other half is a mild steel. It’s like two wafers laminated together. As the soft metal wears, it continuously exposes a fresh sharp edge on the hardened steel.”
Hart described his seeding operation as “one step below direct seeding” because he first applies anhydrous, then uses the drill.
“I still harrow just to smash things up a little bit, but I probably don’t need to anymore with this fine chop.”
Hart has 30-foot headers on his combines and although he bought only the chopper unit without the spreader, he said the combines now are able to throw the chopped straw wider than his header widths.
Since he is achieving more throw than he needs, Hart said he doesn’t see a reason to spend the extra money for tailboards.
“It almost throws too far, even without those special tailboards. When I’m on a hillside, it’s throwing fine stuff over into my unharvested crop.”
Hart spent $3,500 per MAV kit, which included the self-sharpening blades and the tight knife options.
