the history of silage machines?

sidewaysdrivin

I'm looking into the history of silage machines as we want to get an evolution of silage working demonstration in our show nextyear at the Dunmore Vintage show. Some of yous may have heard what we did lastyear with the single chop world record, if you didnt heres the vid:


Brand new video footage of the Dunmore Single chop forage harvester world record just released. It'll be happening again on August 5th 2012 in Dunmore, Co. Galway with over twice the amount of harvesters cutting. pre-registration is essential for compeditors

anyways as a sideline to that we're planning on doing a history of silage demonstration where we will try to get every type of machine over the past 100 years working having searched a bit in the past few weeks i'm trying to get some information off some of yous that may know bits, and track them down

firstoff, the green crop loader. Who made it? when was it first made? and are there any in Ireland still in working order? its a ground driven machine towed behind the trailer, as you can see in this pic. as far as i can tell it was a mid 40's machine
pic thanks to bogman




next then in the late 40's came the wilder cutlift type.. now i really need to piece together infromation on these, and wilder. again i want to know when were they built, and more info on the wilder company, and to find one in Ireland in working order. they were able to cut & lift all in one, a finger bar mower was attached. and was not pto driven i think. again i need confirmation on these







after this machine was the 50's the era of the forage harvester, what was the first one produced (for the uk & eire market).?

i know in 58 David Brown made a Hurricane, need some info on that as i've found one. as far as my knowledge extends they were one of the first single chops but wasnt great at cutting, & with heavy grass needed a finger bar infront of it.. would i be right with that? the first had a fiberglass chute & was... well, ****e to say the least, they revamped it & made it metal & it was much improved. i know that much atleast.







What year did Taarup start making their single chop side mounted, what models available, the 43 inch & the 53 inch wasnt it, what was the "handy"?

jf also made a range of harvesters, again what years were these produced? same with gyro? all info would be great.



then the 60's, was the first self propelled forage harvester the new holland sp818?
this is it i think, or atleast very similar looking for silage, had a pickup reel i thought


i'm getting pieces here & there & slowly beginning to build a picture of what was happening so please any info please do share it it would be great

any other machines i've forgotten up as far as the 60's apart from the buckrake that you thin should be mentioned, and any snippets of information, contacts that may know something ect

would be great to have them all together one after the other as a demonstration, followed then by 100 or so single chop harvesters cutting simultaneously after the evolution demonstration

fastrac

Sounds good.

masseys scrap and zetors no better

Hello,i must say that thats a fantastic idea! we had a green crop loader before the single chop.It was just like the one in that picture,I cut it up for scrap 2 weeks ago,wasnt in the best of health.The name on the side of it was a Br green crop hay loader.it was towed behind the trailers and ground driven,it was a late 1940's machine from what i heard,the generation of the green crop loader has passed on in my family and im afraid thats all i know about it,it was replaced by a small tarrup single chop and that was replaced by a Jf FH 132 single chop,not sure of the year

epfff

masseys scrap and zetors no better wrote: »

Hello,i must say that thats a fantastic idea! we had a green crop loader before the single chop.It was just like the one in that picture,I cut it up for scrap 2 weeks ago,wasnt in the best of health.The name on the side of it was a Br green crop hay loader.it was towed behind the trailers and ground driven,it was a late 1940's machine from what i heard,the generation of the green crop loader has passed on in my family and im afraid thats all i know about it,it was replaced by a small tarrup single chop and that was replaced by a Jf FH 132 single chop,not sure of the year

On horsee and country last week their was a programme the history of agriculture.it briefly showed a machine working very simular to what your calling a green crop loader but it was loading hay on dairy farm in late 1940s.
im too young to be of any more help
Very best of luck to ye on this project.hopefully I will get over to support ye in august

sidewaysdrivin

yea they were also known as hay loaders, only after finding that out there, different header on them for peas but same machine

im just after finding a bit on caseiH that they trading as mccormack deering used sell them back in the day

sidewaysdrivin

masseys scrap and zetors no better wrote: »

It was just like the one in that picture,I cut it up for scrap 2 weeks ago,wasnt in the best of healthr

oh lad you'll be sickened by what i'm after finding. they're sought after, found a for sale thread in the US where one wrecked one sold for 1000 usd

Askim

sidewaysdrivin wrote: »

yea they were also known as hay loaders, only after finding that out there, different header on them for peas but same machine

im just after finding a bit on caseiH that they trading as mccormack deering used sell them back in the day

seen one working on youtube last week, just search for Amish

A

sidewaysdrivin

Just got this over in the uk.. Daecent

Tha Ulsterscot wrote: »

HI,we have an IH green crop loader here in Co. Down. It is in working order, I'll try to post a pic. Paddy. Our first silo was filled with the Grey fergy and buck rake direct from the field, after being cut with an ordinary reaper, it was a slow job. Ten you spent days rolling the silage and carting water and molases onto it

blue5000

I think the big REPS cleanup had a lot to answer for. I gave away a gearbox for the david brown silerator pictured above.

I have the (grim) remains of an earlier yoke with 2 alumunium square blades on the front of it still around the place. If you look back far enough on bff you'd find pictures of something similiar pulled by a land rover I think, but could be wrong. It ended it's life as a very bad thistle topper.

Don't forget to add these to the list
Kidd double chop
Hesston 4000 self propel
Galligani
NH 1895

vanderbadger

http://farmingforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=62571
pics of the same event that i found on uk forum
I know that guy on the 185 without the cab

barryoc1

Sidewaysdrivin, you might like to have a look at this link. A charity day last year in Limerick. A kindof harvest day really. I can give you contact details for the organiser of it if you like. My highlight of the day was two self propelles filling a silage wagon at the one time and picking up 60 feet of grass at 1 time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoSAFNSnO2E

sidewaysdrivin

yea thats me aswell, all the photos are up on the website DunmoreVintage.com & probably more on our facebook page Facebook.com/DunmoreVintage

sidewaysdrivin

heres a few bits about the inventions that have influenced silage cutting as we know it today


1892 : Rudolph Diesel patents the compression ignition engine that became known as the Diesel engine

1900 : Hart-Parr Gasonline engine Co in wisconson and and later in Iowa, they produced the first product that they called the "Tractor"

1919 : International develops the first commercially available PTO

1927 : International are the first to sell swathers to windrow hay, the first were ground driven, & followed with PTO versions

1926: Irish mechanic Harry Ferguson patents the three point linkage, hydraulically operated.

1928 : SAME are acredited with producing the first comercially available diesel powered tractor

1929 : Ray Moore McDonald produced the Ann Arbor baler, and is recognised as the worlds first Pickup Reel baler

1932 : Fox river tractor co in wisconson make the first commercially successful pickup forage harvester

1933 : Allis Chalmers join with Firestone rubber to develop the first air-filled rubber tyres for tractors, tests found a 25% improvement in fuel economy

1933: Harry Ferguson's three point linkage is attached to a david brown tractor in england, produced as the Ferguson-Brown model A. by 1937 sales dropped and relations between brown & ferguson became hostlie & broke down. Ferguson went to Henry ford and in 1939 they together released the Ford model 9N (also known as the "naan"). this partnership dessolved resulting in lawsuits over royalties.. 1960 fergusons patents expired and the three point linkage became the industry standard


1933: Massey Harris had been developing a M-H tractor since 1930 & was finally released, the industry's first 4 wheel drive tractor. in 1936 they modernised it with rubber tires but sales failed to increase, the benefits of 4wd was not quite understood at the time




1946: Woods brothers Equipment are acredited with the first tractor mounted rotary mower

1958 : linde launched the first hydrostatic transmission, intended for forklifts

1960 : New Holland produce the first self propelled forage harvester, the SP818

1060's New Holland went on to produce the first conditioner mower, known as the Haybine 460, designed to speed up the wilting process. they also produced the first "automatic bale wagon"


1962: Allis Chalmers produced the first (mass produced) tractor fitted with a Turbocharger. the D19 was a 4.3 L engine and it increased power by 10%. it was concidered a major technological victory over compeditors at the time

1986: Massey Ferguson introduced the first electronic lift (ELC) and was standard equipment on their tractors

1995 : Fendt introduced the Vario (CVT) and was developed by Fendt and sauder-Danfross (at the time known as Sauder Sundstrand). Using a combined system of the hydrostatic transmission using a modernised version of the 1958 system linde developed, with planetary gears splitting the output to the hydrostatic transmission and the conventional type gearbox with powershift. this completely eliminated gears

2004: fendt introduced the TMS, first electronic link between the engine and transmission relative to ground speed and load on the tractor




ofcource theres bits missing but theres a few interesting bits in there
two other random facts i found are
1958 : John Steiger along with sons Douglas & Maurice built the first Steiger tractor in a barn, was built from truck parts and powered by a 238 Horsepower Detroit Diesel engine
1959: Wagner TR was the first tractor with 4wd and 4 wheel steering, powered by a cummins 8.1L 90Horsepower engine and also a 12.2L 155 horsepower engine


anything else that influenced silage? keep them coming and keep the other info on the old silage machines coming

within the club here we have a ferguson brown, so in the demonstration of silage event id be hoping to have that on the buckrake demonstrating, i'd say that would be daecent
and also have found the oldest self propelled in ireland, its the New Holland i mentioned above. the owner travelled over 250 Kilometers with an artic to bring his single chop harvester up to our world record lastyear, and is mad to bring it. so keep them coming & we'll put on a right show, and for anyone who cant make it we'll make a daecent youtube production of it... but we need to find these old machines & put them working at the show

sidewaysdrivin

need to find info on the wilder cutlift type && find one.. Theulstercoot has me sorted with a Green Crop loader i think, so thats brilliant news
also a bit of info on the silarator vs the Hurricane, which came first. the Hurricane dates to 55', and was really one of the first single chops.. any year on the silarator? would love to find one in Ire
keep it coming lads thanks

blue5000

sidewaysdrivin wrote: »

need to find info on the wilder cutlift type && find one.. Theulstercoot has me sorted with a Green Crop loader i think, so thats brilliant news
also a bit of info on the silarator vs the Hurricane, which came first. the Hurricane dates to 55', and was really one of the first single chops.. any year on the silarator? would love to find one in Ire
keep it coming lads thanks

I had a look on bff and the silarator pics match up with what I have. As I said above have some grim remains, a blade, a part of the chute, a bit of the pickup. There really was heavy stuff in them, have to 'fess up I use the shaft for a blade as a drawbar pin.......:o

So if you hear of anybody looking for parts I'll do a swop for a brand new lely MC, not fussy on the width, but would prefer a mounted one over a trailed:D

The blade has high sentimental value as I use it for keeping empty fert bags tidy when I'm spreading on a windy day;)

I reckon the hurricane came after the silarator though, must ask the ol lad.

sidewaysdrivin

blue5000 wrote: »

I had a look on bff and the silarator pics match up with what I have. As I said above have some grim remains, a blade, a part of the chute, a bit of the pickup. There really was heavy stuff in them, have to 'fess up I use the shaft for a blade as a drawbar pin.......:o

So if you hear of anybody looking for parts I'll do a swop for a brand new lely MC, not fussy on the width, but would prefer a mounted one over a trailed:D

The blade has high sentimental value as I use it for keeping empty fert bags tidy when I'm spreading on a windy day;)

I reckon the hurricane came after the silarator though, must ask the ol lad.

do find out please, the silarator used cut different to the hurricane, the hurricane as far as i can make out was really the first of the single chops altho it wasnt very good. the hurricane used cut like a disc mower which is fairly unusual too. again if i can find one i'll stick it in there. the silarator was late 40's early 50's i would imagine

Heres all i have on the silarator




and a trailer they used sell with it..


and here's a pic of a green crop loader in trim 2011, anyone know of it

blue5000

Ya sideways, I saw those pics over on bff. Those belts driving the square discs must have been some headache. I reckon we might have some of the belt pulleys somewhere round the gaff as well. There is a cover missing on the photo, it goes over the pto shaft, I remember one of those as well.

sidewaysdrivin

theres a few bits missing off that silarator, there should be a box over the gears aswell there. and you could buy circular discs instead of the square ones it was an optional extra

masseys scrap and zetors no better

sidewaysdrivin wrote: »

oh lad you'll be sickened by what i'm after finding. they're sought after, found a for sale thread in the US where one wrecked one sold for 1000 usd

ah this one was taking up space and i just wanted it gone and the price of scrap had a big influence! £195 per tonne,i still have a back wheel with the screw on it and the pick up reel with tines and a few good tines for the boards if anyone needs parts

sidewaysdrivin

the lad i found up north i think has all them attached & intact, if its a mccormack deering type you have i may get back to ya if he's stuck for some tho

any more info/pics/machines for me?

sidewaysdrivin

bump cmon lads, was doing great till now

thanks for the help so far keep the info coming

sidewaysdrivin

my lineup is beginning to take shape slowly for the first 50 years anyways

1910's was still the Horse & ground driven finger bar mower, dating well back to even 1880

1920's. the late 20's came the GC loader, with thanks to the Ulstercoot we're hopefully going to have the 1929 model all going to plan. I have a quite good selection of tractors to work these machines with & it will be a 20's tractor. Itl be something unusual maybe a Harr Parr 18-36 or an International 10-20 or something odd. if i can find one, it'l be the first commercially available diesel tractor, the SAME

1930's came the Wilder CutLift (1935), i'm on a mission to find one of these. again pick an unusual tractor to go with it from the years, or something fitting & apt, maybe even the Allis Chalmers & Firestone with air filled tyres, or a massey harris 4wd, being the first 4wd tractor

in 1933 the first tractor with 3 pt linkage the Ferguson Brown was available. so i'm going to get this working with the BuckRake. another subtle but crucially important invention

1940's
fairly quiet, war & post war era. i'll have to check back again make sure nothing mentioned was invented

1950's
era of the single chops, 1955 came the DB Hurricane, have not had it confirmed was this the earliest but i have three of them lined up. the silarator would be great aswell, as the mk3 was in 57 but was not like the rotoflail type. Kidd came out with theirs in 58. I think i have a kidd lined up aswell

1960's
First Self Propelled, the New Holland SP818. Have one of these lined up aswell. infact the first one in Ireland

thats where i'm at so far, thats more or less the first 50 years

blue5000

Silarator came before the hurricane, ol lad had one in the early 50's. Says it was bought 2nd hand at an auction in Dublin, so it is possible that they date back to the late 40's. Maybe someone on bff remembers more?

sidewaysdrivin

blue5000 wrote: »

Silarator came before the hurricane, ol lad had one in the early 50's. Says it was bought 2nd hand at an auction in Dublin, so it is possible that they date back to the late 40's. Maybe someone on bff remembers more?

i would've imagined it did alright, as it was not like the new single chops but used disc mowers

sidewaysdrivin

Big thanks to Danielle in the University of Reading's Museum of English Rural Life. She has managed to dig up a new pic for me & is helping me try to find one in existance today excellent

sidewaysdrivin

bump lads cmon

any of ye see the piece in classic tractor magazine this month?

sidewaysdrivin

Was the hayter "rotary grass cutter" in 1952 the mk1 silorator? or what was it

the mkii was out in 1954

this is the mkii i think



anyone have a pic of the mk1 or the rotary grass cutter.. i have a suspicion as to why they were square, as the rotary mower was invented in 1948, if hayter wanted to do something similar their system probably clashed patents if they used round drums.. only my suspicion now anyone have any remark to that?

Muckit

sidewaysdrivin wrote: »

bump lads cmon

any of ye see the piece in classic tractor magazine this month?

Yes! JUst got it the other day. Yer aiming for 100 machines!! Wow. Working on 25-30 acres. That will be some site.

Are ye looking for extra trailers?

sidewaysdrivin

Muckit wrote: »

Yes! JUst got it the other day. Yer aiming for 100 machines!! Wow. Working on 25-30 acres. That will be some site.

Are ye looking for extra trailers?

everyone is expected to bring their own trailers tbh, most of the men especially those further away seem to be bringing down full fleets yet alone a single chop & a trailer, one man from Armagh is bringing two other tractors & going doing period trailer swaps.. there will be a lot more than the 100 or so single chops working.. it'll be mental

Muckit

excellent

sidewaysdrivin

anyone here ever see a green taarup single chop, or indeed a taarup from 1959

JF claims to have the first side mounted single chop in 1960, this kinda blows that out of the water, it was at the balmoral show in 1959 & one of our club members is after buying it in armagh. Brilliance






aswell as that, the wilder cut-lift i've been onabout, there was one in belfast in 1942, on a farm just 3 miles from stormont. trying to track that down at the min




IMPORTANT:
I also need to find a man with trained horses, with a horse drawn finger bar mower, does anyone know of anybody around?





also to mention just as a side note, classic tractor june issue has a reader rebuild on one of the rarest tractors in Ireland, keep an eye out, its one of the members in our club