POWER REQUIREMENTS TO MACERATE FRESH FORAGE AND CHOP WILTED MATS

Timothy and alfalfa were mowed, macerated, compressed into a mat, depo sited onto the stubble, and, after a wilting period, chopped with a fo rage harvester. The pto (power take-off) power to mow and macerate for age was estimated at 24 and 60 kW for throughputs of 5.0 and 14.4 t DM /h, respectively. The pto power to harvest and chop forage was lower w ith mats than with conventional windrows because mats were drier and r esulted in a longer length of cut.