Row crop heads are expensive, doubly so if you buy a second head for a different row spacing.
Geringhoff’s response is to introduce new heads capable of harvesting multiple configurations.
The German company has a new manufacturing facility at St. Cloud, Minnesota, and has announced a new product line named Independence heads.
The line rolls out with the Freedom head and the Patriot head, according to a recent release from the Minnesota office.
The line attempts to address a need now that growers are beginning to use a wider variety of planting configurations based on conditions, varieties and changes in how they want to manage their crops.
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Until now, multiple planting configurations created problems at harvest. Either the farmer was forced to invest in another row crop head or, in the worst-case scenario, would hold off upgrading his crop management scheme.
The Freedom head is engineered with an angled, two-chain system to better feed the crop, reducing plugging and crop loss. The gathering chain provides aggressive feeding in down corn, allowing harvest closer to the ground by putting the gathering chains underneath down, tangled corn.
Geringhoff said new gearbox technology allows row units to be placed in close proximity, giving good performance in narrow row spacing and in difficult harvest conditions.
“Its radical new gear box design can handle row spacing of various planting configurations. Also, its Rota Disc technology offers best-in-class residue processing, which is critical for high population corn,” according to the release.
The Patriot head was developed in conjunction with Stine Seed and was engineered to handle high-yielding, high-population, twin-row plantings, which increase the volume of crop and residue processed.
Double sprocket gathering chains gently guide crop into the row units, almost eliminating whipping and cob loss common to conventional twin-row harvesting heads.
Extra hard surfacing extends the life of snapping roll supports and deck plates and stainless steel wear guards extend the life of row dividers.
Growers can also add end row augers to improve crop feeding and direct overhanging crop into the header, and optional Integrated Crop Flow (ICF) sweeper to aid in a smooth harvesting by reducing the slug feeding and plugging.
Like the Freedom head, the Patriot is designed to handle high yields, tough conditions and provide more harvest options. Both heads have a standard two-year warranty.
