Evo Article

SPECIAL REPRINT FROM 05/2014

RS Agrimix Evolution 40 feeder:

Grub’s up, girls

Large dairy herds need large mixer wagons to provide them with large amounts of feed. We take a tour of a new tri-axle, 40m³ machine that was recently delivered to a 1,400-head dairy farm in Kent

RS Agri Ltd Balstone Farm Ibworth Basingstoke RG26 5TJ Tel: 01256 850777 Email: enquiries@rsagri.com Web: www.rsagri.com profi Tractors and Farm Machinery: An Daragh · Lealands · Hellingly · Hailsham · East Sussex · BN27 4DY · UK Tel: + 44 (0) 1323 441 823 · E-mail: marketing@profi.com profi Tractors and Farm Machinery: D-48084 Münster · Tel: + 49 (0) 2501 801 281 · Fax: + 49 (0) 2501 801 856 · E-mail: Stefanie.Buerger@lv.de

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Large dairy herds need large mixer wagons to provide them with large amounts of feed. We take a tour of a new tri-axle, 40m³ machine that was recently delivered to a 1,400-head dairy farm in Kent

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n the basis that cows need feeding every day of the year, there can be few agricultural machines with a more demanding existence than the mixer wagon. Responsible for providing feed rations to dairy and beef cattle through long winters and on into the summer months when supplementary buffer feeding is required, there is very little, if any, respite.

Prince among feeders. The RS Agri Agrimix EVO40 is laden with spec — 40m³ tub capacity, steering axles, Scharmüller hitch and stainless steel components in wear-prone areas.

Reliability, then, is the order of the day and, while it could be said that designing a machine capable of mixing ingredients to create rations doesn’t generally require a high degree of sophistication, the repetitive nature of the job, the frequently adverse operating conditions and operators who are not normally renowned for their diligence when it comes to maintenance, mean that the mixer wagon needs to be robust.

Such a requirement is not lost on Peter Joules who, with his wife Hillary and son Rob, runs a 1,400-head dairy farm at PHR Farms, Brabourne, near Ashford, Kent. With

turned out to grass as soon as conditions allow, to graze their way through the spring and summer months.

“I think the cows are happier out in the fields when the weather is fair and the grass is growing,” he says. “And for a few months, apart from providing a buffer feed, we are happier too as we get a break from the work cattle demand when they’re housed.”

With ground also needed for silage production the business’s grassland requirement is relatively high: around 320ha is allocated for grazing the cows; a further 105ha is used by the heifers; and for silage the first cut takes the grass from 305ha.

And while on the subject of silage production, it’s interesting to note that the farm now has access to the full complement of harvesting kit — mowers, tedders, rakes and

a self-propelled forage harvester — to bring the crop to the clamp. “It’s a sweet feeling to know that you have absolute control over the job and not to have to worry about contractors turning up when you want them,” he says. “And better still, according to my calculations, the costs also add up.”

But it’s the feeding of silage and other ingredients that’s our focus, and in particular the arrival of a new 40m³ tri-axle mixer wagon to do it with — a machine Mr Joules has on a contract hire agreement from RS Agri. The Agrimix Evolution 40 is one of a range of vertical-auger mixer wagon models produced by Hampshire-based RS Agri; the company offers sizes from 8 to 46m³ with varying numbers of augers, axles and feed delivery configurations to suit individual

the herd split into two groups, the main farm sees 950 autumn calving cows being milked in a 70-point rotary and, a couple of miles away, 450 spring calvers milked through a 22/44 swing-over herringbone.

“With the incoming heifers the herd size will increase again this year,” says Mr Joules who, over the 12 years since taking on the tenancy has instigated the construction of extensive cubicle housing, milking parlours and a host of other developments needed to create the modern dairy unit that it now clearly is.

Unlike most other farms that run large dairy herds, however, the cows at Brabourne are

Feed can be delivered to the right or left of the wagon.

The conveyor has two hydraulic motor drives to keep it on track.

Data sheet RS Agrimix EVO40 Capacity Mixing

40m³ Three vertical augers each with 12 knives Running gear Power steered tri-axle Tyres 435/50-19.5 Brakes Air/hydraulic Drawbar Scharmüller hitch Feed-out Left or right Unladen weight 14.5t approx Height 3.43m Width 2.62m

A JCB Farm Master 416 loading shovel is employed to load the 40m³ capacity tub.

Note the Scharmüller hitch and the two hydraulic rams that connect to the steering rams on the tri-axle undercarriage.

requirements. This one, though, has been equipped with a host of specifications requested by the business.

“Our dependency on having a reliable mixer wagon that can deliver the goods is high,” he says. “And we wanted one that was big enough to make sense of our feed requirements, but was also manoeuvrable enough to make tight turns into passageways.”

The mixer wagon it replaced had been on farm for about five years, and he reckons to have put about 125,000t through it. The profi 5/2014

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plan is for this one to last 10 years which, with herd expansion, could see it handling upwards of 300,000t of feed.

First impression of the EVO40 is to see a huge tub on top of a tri-axle undercarriage.

Inside the tub, to do the mixing, are three vertical augers and, at the front, a feed-out conveyor that can deliver to the left or right of the machine.

“To pull and operate the mixer we bought a new 170hp John Deere 6170R, which was delivered to RS Agri’s premises so the first part of the specification could be implemented,” he explains. “This was the Scharmüller ball hitch and the metal plate required for the attachment of the hydraulic rams for activating the steering.”

The positive steering system employs a hydraulic system that’s pressurised to 100 bar and has gas accumulators in the circuitry to provide a degree of cushioning. When the tractor turns, the front pair of rams extends or retracts accordingly and, with oil flowing, operates the hydraulic cylinders on the steering axles. This is a system that can also be operated when the feeder is being reversed.

“Without this steering on the front and rear axles we would really struggle to manoeuvre around the buildings,” he says. “As well as allowing tighter turns it also reduces wear — both of the tyres and the surface they’re running on.”

the EVO40 is 3.43m and, while we’re considering dimensions, the width is 2.62m.

Even so, braking capacity and handling are considered to be more than satisfactory.

“There is multi-leaf springing on each wheel rated at 36t. This takes the shock loadings but doesn’t cause any sway as the loaded wagon is towed,” he explains, adding that having a strong, well designed undercarriage is a critical part of creating a reliable, high volume mixer wagon.

Up in the mixing tub, the three augers are powered by the pto, which drives through a two-speed gearbox before the driveline continues to the first bevel gearbox driving the first auger; the drive then heads to the second and third augers. Oil levels in these boxes can be seen from three separate reservoirs at the rear of the mixing tub.

For the 12-bladed, three-helix augers it was requested that the 14mm metal be overlaid on the flight with 4mm stainless steel 316

So with the specification list complete, how does the EVO40 perform? For such a large mixer wagon it would seem inappropriate to use anything less than a loading shovel for filling it, so the JCB 416 and its capacious bucket are a perfect match. The first task, however, is to take on board the blends, which involves driving the wagon under large storage tanks and then releasing the required quantity into the tub by opening a chute.

achieve the same, cost more and they can go wrong,” he says.

With the blend on board, the mixer wagon is ready for the heavy stuff. The JCB loader appears with a bucketful of silage, which promptly puts the weight display up by a couple of tonnes when it’s tipped over the edge. It’s time to start the mixing and, with the pto engaged, the mixing augers rotate, chopping and mixing the ingredients as they are added.

Inside the tub there are three x three-helix augers, each with 12 knives, for mixing.

The tri-axle has power steering on the front and rear axles to improve manoeuvrability.

Steering system has oil pressurised to 100 bar and accumulators to absorb shock loadings.

Rob Joules: “We wanted capacity and manoeuvrability. The EVO40 appears to offer both.”

and 16mm stainless steel 316 rod around the outer edge of the flight. Stainless steel — 8mm thick — is also used for the first 1m of the tub’s side, where it will be subjected to the most wear, while the remainder of the sides are of 8mm regular steel. The floor is constructed from 20mm regular steel.

“The 316 stainless steel has improved corrosion resistance when compared to other grades, and its structure provides a high degree of toughness that will help ensure it lasts longer.”

Next on the list of specifications was to have a conveyor that could deliver mixed feed to the right or the left, and this too differs from what has gone before in that the conveyor has two hydraulic motors — one at each end, with both powering the conveyor belt. It’s an arrangement designed to help with the tracking of the 2.35m wide conveyor; feed is delivered to it through a wide slide-controlled door.

There are six weigh cells, and the weight of material added is displayed on the digital DS2500 weigh box — a simple, uncomplicated unit that does little more than display weight information and supply, if required, a print-out of what has been added.

“I don’t believe we have a need for anything else. We manage to put together accurate rations, and the more complicated systems

“The milking cows are fed for 32 litres and are topped up in the parlour as required,” explains Rob Joules. “We don’t push the cows too hard — our average is currently about 6,200 litres for the spring calvers and 6,700 litres for the autumn calvers. I want the cows to last at least eight lactations, and they won’t do that if you try and squeeze 10,000 litres out of them.”

Farm facts PHR Farms, Ashford, Kent Size 670ha

Still with the undercarriage, Mr Joules insisted on having the best braking system available and that 10-stud commercial axles were also part of the spec. The reasons are clear: with the unladen wagon coming in at 14.5t, the tractor 7.3t and a full load of feed, the gross train weight does begin to rise to large numbers.

For this reason the mixer wagon was specified with air/hydraulic load-sensing brakes and the largest brakes (406 x 120) that could be fitted with the 435/50-19.5 wheels.

Height restrictions for some of the buildings mean that larger wheels — and larger brakes — are not an option. The overall height of

Dairy herd 1,400 cows total Two herds Autumn calvers 950 cows; spring calvers 420 cows Milking parlours 70-point rotary, 22/44 herringbone Herd average Autumn calvers 6,700 litres, spring calvers 6,200 litres Housing Cubicles

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Summary: “Overall I think we now have a mixer wagon that has the capacity and reliability to feed our livestock, and having it on contract hire means that we know the annual costs for the business and can plan accordingly,” Peter Joules concludes.

“But it’s not just about the machine, as many milk producers have discovered. It’s also about having the confidence in the supplier to provide a good back-up if things should go wrong.”

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It takes about half an hour to fill and mix the ingredients thoroughly; the precise time is down to the experience of the operator and the type of ingredients being mixed.

Feeding out is straightforward, and Rob says he is getting used to holding his breath as the mixer wagon slides with just inches to spare under some of the sheeting above the entrances to the feed passages.

“We put three loads together in the morning and two in the afternoon,” he explains.

“But this obviously reduces when the cows are out at grass.”

With the expectation that this high specification EVO40 mixer wagon will keep going for 10 years, regular routine maintenance is clearly important. In its design RS Agri set about making the greasing of key components as simple as possible with the result that the entire undercarriage receives its lubrication from four banks of 10 grease nipples sited at waist height on the sides of the tub. These nipples need to receive a shot of grease every other day, and gearbox oil is scheduled to be changed after 12 months.

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