50-Ft. Self-Propelled Swather

50-Ft. Self-Propelled Swather SWATHERS Swathers 28-2-11 "I saved a lot of money and it's bigger than any other self-propelled swather on the market," says Wilfred Moellenbeck, St. Gregor, Sask., who built his own self-propelled 50-ft. hydrostatic swather for about $20,000 (Canadian). Moellenbeck farms 2,000 acres and also operates a custom fabricating shop. "The biggest commercial self-propelled swather today is only 36 ft., and it sells for about $100,000," he says. His swather is powered by a Caterpillar 3145 diesel engine with 145 hp. The engine drives four Sundstrand hydraulic pumps. The axles are out of a combine, as are the wheels and hydrostatic motors. He used channel iron and steel tubing to build the frame. The header is built in three pieces and hydraulically folds up for transport. He built his own reel and cab. "We use it to harvest wheat, canola, barley, canary, and oats. Everyone said we were crazy when we started building it," says Moellenbeck, who built the swather in 1987 and has used it every year since. "Many of them said there was no way the swath produced by a 50-ft. machine would ever dry out. But we found the swath's width isn't a problem, because just as much grain gets exposed to the sun as in a smaller swath. We plan to switch to direct seeding, and there's a concern that a wide swath will produce too much straw and chaff in the row. But we think that by harrowing after harvest, we can spread everything out. Also, I plan to cut higher at the ends of the swather which will reduce the amount of straw." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wilfred Moellenbeck, Box 46, St. Gregor, Sask., Canada S0K 3X0 (ph 306 366-2113).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.