Watch: New Holland forager has cutting edge for Cork contractor

Based just outside Conna in Co Cork, Noonan Agri Contractors is run by Moss Noonan and his two sons, Padraig and Seamus. The family has been running two self-propelled forage harvesters for the past 12 seasons. Up until last year, the company had been running a 2001 Claas 900 and a 2011 New Holland FR9080.

After demonstrating a number of machines and checking out what was available on the market, the Noonans opted to purchase a new New Holland FR920 ahead of the 2018 silage season.

Why New Holland?

The Noonans chose the New Holland forager for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Padraig explained that they were impressed with the low running costs of their 2011 FR9080.

Secondly, they explained that the New Holland harvester had a wide feed intake. This was very important for the Noonans.

The family cut the grass using a Krone Big M, often grouping the outer swaths before following on with a Krone Swardo 1400 four-rotor rake. As a result, the forager is required to pick up swaths from 50ft to 60ft. They explained that they needed a machine with a high throughput capability that would be used to chop grass, whole crop and maize.

The machine

Replacing the FR850, New Holland introduced the FR920 in late 2017 ahead of the 2018 silage season. Branded as New Holland’s flagship forager, it is powered by an eight-cylinder FPT Industrial V20 engine, capable of churning out a significant 911hp. This engine delivers between 1,600rpm and 1,800rpm. Maximum engine torque is 4,095Nm and it boasts a 44% torque rise of 1,600rpm to 2,100rpm.

Padraig explained that he is very happy with the fuel economy of the harvester for the amount of torque that’s in the engine. It is averaging four to five litres of diesel per acre at grass and typically 10 to 18 litres per acre at maize.

The harvester is equipped with a four-speed 40km/h hydrostatic transmission. It has a turn-dial gearbox. Padraig explained that some of the competitor brands have an automatic gearbox which he would prefer for climbing hills, etc.

Weighing in at over 15,500t, this monster machine has the full heavy-duty wear plates and lining. Four-wheel drive is engaged and disengaged automatically at the headland depending on the steering angle of the rear wheels. A new heavy-duty drive system increases torque transferred to the wheels by 60%.

Header

The 3m header on the FR920 sees the addition of an extra row of tines, bringing it from four to five rows. The operator can alter the speeds of the pickup reel and the auger to match the varying types of grass.

The forager is equipped with New Holland’s advanced header height control. This system uses a combination of sensors to help the header follow uneven terrain, and automatically adjust its position hydraulically to maintain uniform height.

Padraig explained that the header is a good improvement on its predecessor, but he feels that it is still not perfect. He outlined a number of areas that he thought were a little weak on the header and points where he felt it could be improved.

He said: “I would like to see the flights on the auger altered. They can sometimes struggle to take in a lumpy swath of grass. Overall, I’d like to see the whole header beefed up by about 15% to 20% and built a little stronger.”

Feed roller system

Padraig noted that he likes New Holland’s strong feed roller system.

The FR920 has a widened crop channel by 12.5% in comparison to its predecessor model.

Padraig explained that whenever there is a break in the weather during the silage season, he and his team like to take the whole chopper box out from the harvester and run through it from top to bottom to ensure everything is as it should be.

He said: “With the new harvester, it is really easy to take out the chopper box. With two bolts, two pins, a few hydraulic hoses, grease pipes and a few belts, we can pull it out using a bracket on a three-point linkage attached to one of our tractors.”

The Noonans sharpen the knives on the harvester every day. Padraig said that it only takes five minutes and it is easily carried out from inside the cab. The forager is fitted with 20 knives.

The Noonans chop grass from 16mm to 26mm depending on the customers’ requirements. The hydraulic feed rollers allow this variation of chop length which Padraig explained was another reason they opted for a New Holland harvester.

Cab

Padraig explained that he likes the new simple and straightforward cab layout, especially the new display monitor. He said: “The new touchscreen IntelliView monitor is simple and easy to follow. All the information I need while operating the machine is easily displayed on the screen.”

Padraig noted that visibility is very good from inside the cab. He also said that his forager is equipped with the full LED lighting package, which is a very good job when working at night time.

Blower

The Noonans opted to fit a speed on kit to the blower to drive the drum a bit faster to increase the blow from the machine. Padraig also noted the new forager has a lot more automatic grease points than its 2011 machine.

The machine has New Holland’s metal detector and rock detector systems, both of which will stop the feed rolls within 300 milliseconds of detecting an issue. Aside from a small issue with the metal detector, which was only down to a calibration error, the machine has operated smoothly.