Bailing on the farm is hard work, but farmers now have the choice to make it hands-free. Kaylene Ballesteros, the marketing manager for hay and forage products with John Deere, said hands-free changes the manual tasks done inside the cab into a coordinated automated process where the tractor and bailer work together.
“To really just help that operator accomplish more with less effort. Using legacy equipment like the John Deere features of Auto Track, and then also gate and speed automation that we’ve had with the tractor baler for many years now, when you combine that with last year’s new weave automation feature on the baler, they all really work together to automatically position the tractor across the windrow for consistent crop feeding, manage ground speed and stopping, and then it does the wrapping and the ejecting of the bale, closing the gate for you, as well as performing more of a turn automation, we call it, on the end of every pass. The operator still completely remains in control. But instead of constantly steering and managing those machine functions, they can really focus on monitoring the operation.”
Hands-free bailing can help less experienced operators and reduce the workload for the person in the cab.
“It could be a labor resource challenge, or it just could be trying to be more inclusive of making it a family affair, and you want to have maybe some of your other family members helping you out in that process as well. And so, really having that ability to bail hands-free, it helps bridge that gap by automating tasks that traditionally require more of that learned skill and additional attention through repetition. It allows your newer operators to become productive a lot quicker, while reducing really that mental load that you’ve got throughout the day in doing all of those tasks.”
Ballesteros said John Deere’s hands-free implementation was a priority for the company because it began with the customers.
“We spend a tremendous amount of time working alongside farmers and ranchers, understanding their operations, and the challenges they face every day in their operation and with our market. Bailer automation really is just a direct result of those conversations. We didn’t develop the technology first, and then look for a problem to solve. Over the years, we’ve worked really shoulder-to-shoulder with our customers to develop out the variety of automations, whether that’s gate, speed, weave, all combined together for hands-free, right? So, making sure that we develop those automation solutions that they can work independently or together, so that we’re providing the right tools for our customers’ toolboxes, so they have what they need, when they need it.”
Producers using the hands-free baling technology will notice improved efficiencies.
“We had improvements around productivity and fuel efficiency, while definitely reducing that operator activity. So, what does that really mean for an operation during a busy baling season? The answer is: every hour matters. Through our internal testing, we saw 8.4 percent more productivity measured in bales per hour. That is due to the density that we saw per bale. So, if you have a denser bale every time, that means fewer bales that you are baling out in the field. We also saw 4.4 percent improved fuel efficiency measured in tons per gallon. Then, you got that additional up to 76 percent reduction in operator activity, and that is purely less activity in the cab because of less looking behind you, and less looking and working with your display.”