MAD Concaves and Duck Foot™ the perfect combination.
Darren Longbottom’s journey in the world of contract harvesting began in 2003 when he purchased his first new header. Setting up his contracting business based out of Padthaway, Darren started making a mark in the industry. Over the years, he invested in three new John Deere rotary headers, the first of which showed great promise.
However, the subsequent rotary headers didn’t seem to offer significant improvements. Darren has been working with Kassie van der Westhuizen, a local harvesting specialist, to increase capacity and efficiency in his machine.
In Darren’s S790 they focused on modifying rotor elements, shifting concave position and changing concaves and separator grates. One remarkable application of these modifications was observed in the lucerne harvesting process.
The introduction of MAD Concaves during lucerne harvesting led to a substantial reduction in abnormal seed losses. Darren remarked that,
“Abnormals had previously been at a 6% cleanout figure and this year we have them down to 2%, which is a huge saving.”
Darren emphasized that while not all abnormalities are caused by headers, a significant portion can be attributed to them.
The Kondinin Group Research Report 157: Harvest performance (2023), evaluated the effects of different concaves on capacity and grain losses in wheat and barley. The thrashing capability of MAD Concaves under Australian conditions proved comparable to both OEM and other aftermarket concaves.
Although Darren has yet to try MAD concaves in cereals, he is keen to test them out at this year’s harvest.
“I really want to try them in cereals, they’re totally different to lucerne seed. Because for me to lift a concave up these days is too hard. MAD Concaves are in sections so I can put one section out at a time. Because they’re only half the weight.”
MAD Concaves split frame has modular inserts, the frame to suit a John Deere S Series is around 30kg. Once the frame is installed it is never removed, and the modular concaves, which are around 15kg, can be swiftly inserted or exchanged in a matter of minutes using just two bolts per insert. There are 8 different concave inserts available, making it easier to customise the harvester to the crops. This flexibility is especially advantageous for contractors like Darren, who harvest a variety of crops, including canola, wheat, barley, beans, as well as specialising in smaller seeds like lucerne and clover.
As a contract harvester Darren is always looking to improve, so that he can get the best results for the farmers. He stated. “I like to go in and make sure we’re doing the best possible job we can do.” Darren participated in trials run by Steve Kastning, the innovator behind Duckfoot® Paddle Tines, and the Primary Sales team. Following the successful trial results involving Duckfoot® on his header front, Darren made an investment in a set and utilized them for last year’s harvest. The trial took place in a down barley crop and yielded a remarkable 33% increase in ground speed and a reduction of losses by 75%. Recounting the experience, Darren shared,
“Steve came and sat down in the header when we first put them on. Changing reel position and reel speed, we put the Duckfoot® on and we went 1km/hr quicker. That was in down barley, we really needed it. It helped 100%. If you pick it up better and you’re going quicker, it’s all savings for the farmer basically.”
Assessing the prevailing seasonal conditions, Darren noted that if the dry weather persists in the northern regions of the state, the utilization of Duckfoot® would bring notable benefits.
“It’s very good that Primary Sales are out here and want to get involved. It’s all about capacity these days because the machines are worth so much now.”
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