- Two hay and harvest demonstration days held in Kenya
- Demonstrations were conducted on an Axial-Flow 4088 combine harvester, SB541 small square baler, MDX21A disc mower and WR102 wheel rake
- Attendees were very impressed by the performance of the machines
Some of Case IH’s most trusted hay and harvest machinery has been put through its paces during recent field demonstrations in Kenya. From the Axial-Flow 4088 combine harvester to the SB541 small square baler, MDX21A disc mower and WR102 wheel rake, the equipment proved its value to more than 80 attendees across two events.
The first event was held at the farm of Geoffry and Elizabeth Irangi in Njoro, in the province of Nakaru, and focused on mowing Rhodes grass, raking and baling. Ms Irangi was impressed by the capabilities of the Case IH mower and rakes.
“The very low cut of the mower, less than five centimeters from ground, and the cleanliness of the field after the rake collected the grass impressed me the most,” she said. On top, the narrow size of these two machines is just what we need in the narrow country roads here in Njoro.
“The small square baler demonstrated picking capability like no other machine in this area. No grass was left on the ground, and the density and perfect rectangular shape is something that farmers have not seen often in this province,” Ms Irangi said.
Case IH’s small square balers have a reputation for reliability, standing up to season after season of heavy-duty baling. The gear-driven twine tying system provides consistent, dependable tying with minimal maintenance.
At the demonstration at the Salaton farm in Narok, the baler again stood up to the challenge, with event attendees doing everything they could to try to break up the bales—lifting and throwing them and even jumping on top of them—just to test the superior bale density and reliability of the knotters. The bales remained intact.
Prior to the baling, the Axial-Flow 4088 combine harvester was used to harvest the four tonne per hectare wheat crop at the Narok demonstration. Case IH’s Axial-Flow single-rotor technology provides high harvesting capacity, thorough crop threshing, low grain losses, gentle grain handling and unsurpassed sample quality within the Axial-Flow 4088’s compact dimensions.
The wheat in the field was 15 days over-ripe and Mr Salaton was concerned grains would be cracked during harvesting. “At the beginning I was afraid, but after two runs with the Axial-Flow 4088 I collected samples from the tank and I was so impressed by the quality I could not believe my eyes!” he said.
“The cleanliness and total absence of cracked grain made me feel relieved and made me really understand what was explained to me about gentle grain-on-grain threshing.
“I delivered the load to the wheat mill the same day and I was assigned Grade 1 for the quality of the grains. This means I can obtain the highest possible profitability from my field,” Mr Salaton said.
The demonstrations were so successful that a number of farmers have already purchased equipment, with even more considering further purchases as a direct result of seeing the machinery in action in the field.