Purpose

The forage harvester is one of the few farm machines that can be used equally well for several purposes.

The primary purpose is to chop field crops and place them in a wagon or truck. Both cutter bar attachments and row-crop attachments are provided; so both field-crop and row-crop forage can be cut, chopped, and blown into the wagon in one operation.

A pickup device may be used to pick up crops already mowed and raked into windrows. This method permits the forage to wilt before it is chopped, and some people consider wilting necessary. When silage is picked up from the windrow you can get a load with less travel than with the direct-cut method.

Another use for the pickup attachment is to chop hay and straw. Chopped hay and straw are much easier to handle than long material.

Some farmers have used their forage harvesters to chop and load their grain crop, which is then run through a threshing machine to finish separating the grain.

The row-crop attachment harvests one or two rows, cutting the crop into pieces and depositing it in a wagon or truck. You can harvest very tall corn and even down corn with this attachment.

Types

The tractor-drawn harvester is supported by two rubber-tired wheels and a tongue that is attached to the tractor drawbar. There are two main types of trailing harvesters – PTO-operated and engine-operated.

The tractor-mounted harvester may be fully mounted or semi-mounted. Fully mounted models are carried and supported entirely by the tractor.

The self-propelled harvester is one complete unit, for large-farm operators or for custom operators.

The pickup and cutting units of all these machines are quite similar and will be studied together.

Versatility. The number of attachments available varies with the different manufacturers. Of 18 manufacturers of forage harvesters, 17 make pickup units, 18 make cutter bar units, and 13 make row-crop units. So you can get a unit that will do several jobs on your farm or one suitable for custom work.

Method of Cutting. Two main types of cutters are used. About half the models have cylinder cutters and half have flywheel cutters. The cutting cylinder usually has knives like a lawn mower reel. But one manufacturer (Lundell) makes a revolving cylinder (or drum) with attached hammers or knives, usually called flails. This is an adaptation of a stalk cutter to forage harvesting.