Equipment Focus: Pronar joins the light-weight butterfly membership

Butterfly mower units are the protect of huge contractors with huge budgets, or so it is perhaps thought, however the state of affairs is altering quickly as producers downscale the burden of the items and convey them into the monetary orbit of much less intensive customers.

But it’s not the worth alone that’s bringing these merchandise to market, tractors are having extra energy crammed into shorter wheelbases.

And though they could have the punch to function them, they haven’t all the time the dimensions to deal with heavy mower units safely.

Chasing the pattern

Enter the light-weight butterfly units from Pronar SP, the Polish firm’s reply to this pattern for extra compact excessive horsepower tractors.

Pronar has had a presence in Eire for some years now, however has lately launched into a sturdy advertising and marketing marketing campaign to get its product extra extensively offered right here, with the JF Centre of Tullamore, Co. Offaly being one among its extra energetic sellers.

The JF Centre is run and owned by Alan Gethings who began as a contractor and runs the dealership as a separate enterprise to his nonetheless ongoing contracting enterprise.

With this background, he’s effectively positioned to evaluate the qualities of a machine and its suitability for the Irish market.

Naturally he has in curiosity within the model, however his enthusiasm for the mower goes past the anticipated salesman’s pitch; having used the unit for the primary time this season, his zeal is rooted in a real regard for the machine.

Straightforward on the tractor

Generally known as the PDD830C the mower conditioner set has a working width of 8.3m and is designed to work with a entrance mower of no less than 3m.

The good benefit is that its weight is simply 1,390kg, and what’s extra, that weight is balanced fairly than hanging to the right-hand-side of the tractor, making it way more steady and predictable on the headlands.

It’s also a easy machine with no electronics or advanced hydraulic programs to go mistaken.

The closest it will get to sophistication in that space is the auto reset of the break-back system, but there are nonetheless solely two hydraulic connections required, one among which must have a float operate.

Every bed has seven discs and the conditioner is fitted with typical metal tines; each are pushed by shafts fairly than belts for reliability.

Energy requirement

In its literature, Pronar states that the minimal energy requirement is 120hp, Alan, nonetheless, means that 150hp could be a greater wager in Irish situations and with that it’s completely doable to chop 11-15ac/hr.

On the day that Agriland visited, it was mounted on Alan’s Case 195CVX which strolled simply by way of the crop at round 11km/h, with out placing any pressure on both machine.

He later known as to say that by shifting up a gear or two he manged to chop an extra 92ac on the identical afternoon, and was nonetheless house at an affordable hour. A formidable efficiency, albeit on second lower silage.

To these used to a side-mounted mower on a tractor within the 100hp+ bracket, the velocity at which the mix cleared the sector was spectacular.

It was exhibiting the kind of work charge one would usually affiliate with a big contractors’ outfit based mostly round a 250hp tractor.

Nicely priced

But that is solely speculated to be a light-weight machine. It retails at €28,000 plus VAT.

Add in the price of Pronar’s newest 3m front-mounted unit, which sells for €13,000 plus VAT, and it turns into doable to purchase a full butterfly mower set for €41,000 plus VAT to match a brief wheelbase tractor of 150hp.

Ought to potential prospects be cautious of shopping for from a lesser recognized model, the three-year guarantee, which comes as customary on all Pronar tools, ought to assist mood any fears.

With regard to back-up, Alan claims that for each machine he sells he retains an analogous mannequin in inventory, along with a rising variety of spare components, not that he has wanted to interchange something apart from carrying objects.

The butterfly turns into inexpensive

Typically, important developments creep onto the farming scene with no nice fanfare or announcement; the emergence of light-weight butterfly mower units could grow to be a kind of moments.

No-one is pretending that the Pronar PDD3000 is finest suited to reducing hundreds of acres a yr operating 24/7; that kind of intensive use is finest left to heavier machines as Alan could be the primary to level out.

Nonetheless, as ever extra energy is extracted from four-cylinder engines, these machines will give shorter, lighter, tractors with 150hp or extra, one thing helpful to do and the fee just isn’t prohibitive for bigger farmers or baling contractors who might supply sooner mowing as an extension to their providers with out breaking the financial institution.

Pronar just isn’t the primary to enter this market however it’s aggressive in value and it seems effectively engineered, though they do lack the the bells and whistles of machines on the high finish.

There isn’t any variable width choice, nor are there any digital controls or ISOBUS connections, however when you’ve got 150+ cows and also you wish to lower your grass in hours fairly than days, this might effectively be simply the software you want.

Raking it in with Pronar

There want be no reminder in regards to the climate this summer time which, sadly, didn’t enable for the demonstration of the Pronar rake which was additionally within the area.

The mannequin involved was a ZKP 800 which has a working width of 8m. It’s a twin rotor centre supply machine that can also be accessible in aspect supply kind.

The price of this explicit machine is €20,000 plus VAT and once more, it comes with a three-year guarantee with full components and repair back-up.