An improved agricultural machine for cutting crops, and a method of harvesting

摘要

A method and agricultural machine for harvesting a fibre crop, such as hemp, wherein the crop is cut into sections of between 100mm - 900mm in length, left to ret and then baled. The machine has a cutterhead (14) with three blades that is rotated at a reduced speed of 200 - 300 rpm relative to a conventional harvesting machine to provide the required chop length. The reduction in speed of rotation is achieved by means of a transmission gearbox (2) that provides a reduction ratio of between 5:1 and 6:1. <IMAGE>