Double Chop Silage

deutz.agrostar · Feb 11, 2016

Reading the Bales Vs Pit thread thought I'd share this.......

Last June I cut 10 acres of whole crop wheat with my fairly up together tidy New Holland Double Chop, did it all on my own one Saturday, filled trailers pulled them in and tipped then pushed it up, went back and cut a bit more. 2 x 5 acre fields on 200m from pit. Only did it on my own as no one else about that weekend.

Now it made lovely stuff (I topped it off with 2 loads of grass) and the beef bullocks (12 month stores) loved it, wish I'd made more.

Now I am seriously thinking about doing a few more acres this year but what about Grass Double Chop? We have the kit and the man power so I think I might do less bales and see how we get on doing some.

What do you reckon, many people in South West doing Double Chop these days?

NB. It is a little hard mentally when you are crawling along cutting 5ft with 160hp on the front...... perhaps I should find a smaller tractor for the harvester so tempting to flick up a gear.... only to push the crop down!

Derrick Hughes · Feb 11, 2016

We used to wilt with a double chop

Willy A · Feb 11, 2016

Use double chop here. New Holland 339 and case ih 1494. Suckler cows eat it no problem. I think it does not pass through the cows as quick. Saves mixing in straw as roughage.

Penmoel · Feb 12, 2016

deutz.agrostar said:
NB. It is a little hard mentally when you are crawling along cutting 5ft with 160hp on the front...... perhaps I should find a smaller tractor for the harvester so tempting to flick up a gear.... only to push the crop down!

Years ago we had a NH 37 behind a 5000, bought a County 7600 on it instead and the old NH blew up, I fear you will have the same problem.
NH339 we replaced it with went ok

multi power · Feb 12, 2016

Nothing wrong with double chop silage. Makes sense if you have the kit and the time

The Agrarian · Feb 12, 2016

One word -

Seep

jamesy · Feb 12, 2016

With recent wet summers it's hard to get grass consistently dry from cutting to chopping. There is possibly merit in going in with double chop when the grass is standing dry?

multi power · Feb 12, 2016

jamesy said:
With recent wet summers it's hard to get grass consistently dry from cutting to chopping. There is possibly merit in going in with double chop when the grass is standing dry?

At least you can stop if it rains

james ds · Feb 12, 2016

Willy A said:
Use double chop here. New Holland 339 and case ih 1494. Suckler cows eat it no problem. I think it does not pass through the cows as quick. Saves mixing in straw as roughage.

All the benifits the same as wagon silage, if you wilted it you will end up with a cleaner cut.

Penmoel · Feb 12, 2016

We used to try and wilt by mowing first and picking up the swath, double chop hated two rows pulled together, admittedly it was a haybob in those days.
If I remember the bearing's on the cross auger used to go. I always wished we had bought an FC 80 instead

Thick Farmer · Feb 12, 2016

It's a shame there isn't a new double chop machine made.

I reckon you could clear some serious acreage with a machine designed to cope with 250hp on the front of it.

Nenuphar · Feb 13, 2016

Thick Farmer said:
It's a shame there isn't a new double chop machine made.

I reckon you could clear some serious acreage with a machine designed to cope with 250hp on the front of it.

Would a wholecrop header work?

GTB · Feb 13, 2016

Forage Trader said:
We used to wilt with a double chop

How?

My father had a double chop behind a fordson major when I was very young. I think he said it cut something like 2'6" at a time..... Long day would see four, maybe even five acres cleared.

He then bought a forage wagon. If I never see one again.....

Yazzie · Feb 13, 2016

Thick Farmer said:
It's a shame there isn't a new double chop machine made.

I reckon you could clear some serious acreage with a machine designed to cope with 250hp on the front of it.

http://www.elho.fi/en/products/choppers/elho-dc-2100-double-chopper.html

Penmoel · Feb 13, 2016

I did not know any one was making them still, that's really a NH339 copy not the machine @Thick Farmer is dreaming of.
Better with the trailer hooked nearer the tractor though than on the back of the forager.

Pity its a terrible translation into English....

GTB · Feb 13, 2016

Yazzie said:
http://www.elho.fi/en/products/choppers/elho-dc-2100-double-chopper.html

Interesting. If they could make one a shade bigger...

Derrick Hughes · Feb 13, 2016

GTB said:
How?

My father had a double chop behind a fordson major when I was very young. I think he said it cut something like 2'6" at a time..... Long day would see four, maybe even five acres cleared.
He then bought a forage wagon. If I never see one again.....

Kid Double chop, open back flap acts as a mower, leaves it in good rows, run back over 24 hours latter and pick it up , I thought everyone did that before precision chops took over

jamesy · Feb 13, 2016

Back in single chop days, I believe my Grandad mowed down with 5'6" mower & dad picked up following day with side mounted jf.

Dad left the farm in 1980 & a pottinger forage wagon was purchased..... Not an entire success as the pick up & chopping mechanism was made of tin foil! Fast forward to 2001 & I bought basically the same size of wagon but with an improved pickup & chopping mechanism.

Thick Farmer · Feb 13, 2016

We used to start mowing at 4am with 5'6" new Holland disc mowers and then pick up after breakfast with Wilder double chop inline harvesters.

Selectamatic · Feb 13, 2016

Picking up 5ft6in mower rows with a Double Chop was a ballache, if you pushed on you overloaded the cross auger, it would spill over the back and you would have to go around again!

Dad thought that back in the day some of his best silage was made with a DB 1200 and New Holland 37 DC.

Double Chop Silage

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