The ADAS Arthur Rickwood farm in conjunction with Bio-Renewables Ltd have successfully grown Miscanthus grass over the last few years to be burnt as “green” energy in UK power stations. Having used various makes of 3m mowers in the past, this year they trialled the Krone Big M II to mow the up to 10 feet tall grass. The machine’s layout, with all mowers in front of driving wheels, make it ideal for a clean, no blockage operation.
Mr Richard Wright, who was driving the Big M II, says “The machine did a good job and had no problem cutting the grass. We managed to cut about 50ha in one day. However, it is a little disconcerting when the grass comes up to the cab even on a Big M II!”
Early cutting was required to harvest the grass rhizomes for replanting and multiplying the stock and so the grass had not fully matured to the optimum moisture content when it was mowed. Yet, the steel conditioning tines of the Big M II were able to break the grass up sufficiently, allowing the grass to dry before baling with a big square baler.
For next year, Bio-Renewables Ltd will now look into chopping the grass after mowing with a forage harvester instead of baling to compare results.