I spotted this "roto-cut" sickle system at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville. It's a continuous-motion cutterbar that goes around in a circle rather than cutting back and forth, like conventional sickles have done for more than 100 years.

I checked our archives and this is actually the fourth version of a rotary sicklebar that we've featured in FARM SHOW in the past 20 years. Previous versions came close to making it to market but it turns out the standard old reciprocating cutterbar is pretty hard to knock off.

This latest version is a prototype from The Spreader, Inc., Gifford, Ill. It's based on a patent from a California inventor and features what looks like a series of half sickles rotating continuously on a roller chain. Because it travels in only one direction, it doesn't push the crop away as it cuts, says company representative Randy Duden. "There's less vibration, less shatter loss, maintenance is lower, and parts are easier to replace," he notes.

The company is looking for investment partners to finish development and help bring the new technology to market.