BISO - Customer Comments


Davison Farm, Suffolk, England

Combine area 1870 acres of winter wheat, 800 acres of oilseed rape, 80 acres of winter barley and 250 acres of beans.

"WE GAIN AT LEAST 10% MORE BY PLACING THE KNIFE IN THE BEST POSITION"

Ron Davidson (Owner): "I saw the pre production Crop Ranger working in the area during harvest 2001 and felt that the extra cost of BISO header was justified on our rape acreage alone, with any increase in output in wheat being a bonus. We decided to go for a new combine with 8,50 m Crop Ranger header. During harvest 2002 we experienced the usual problems with new products, but we lost very little combining time thanks to good back-up by both Dealer (Ernest Doe & Sons Ltd. Fullbourn) and BISO importer, Abrey and Son.

At no time did I lose faith in the concept of the moving knife because it gave us the opportunity to combine over a long period of the day when with the standard header we would have stopped. I am sure in wheat we were gaining at least 10 % by being able to place the knife at the best position for the crop height.

During the Autumn of 2002 we were visited by the owner of BISO Frank Schrattenecker who set out all he was doing to overcome the problems and invited me to Austria in Spring 2003 to see first hand the changes. In my experience, many companies faced with such a task will often “cover the cracks” in an attempt to regain confidence as cheaply as possible - not this one and I left the factory with every confidence not only n the 2003 built but equally as importantly in the people who were involved. My confidence in the 2003 built has been totally justified with an almost trouble free harvest (2 drive belts being the only problem) an during that time we harvested many 10to/ha crops of wheat with a daily average of 100 acres at an average of 45 - 50 tph"

By sharing the driving with my combine driver Richard Burrows, we have operated the combine in wheat up to around mid-night and then started on beans at 4am until say 9am. With side knives remaining on the header at all times, the change from wheat to beans is only a few minutes and a switch in the cab repositions the knife. At the end of harvest the combine with the Crop Ranger had covered around 2600 acres.

The Crop Ranger header certainly enables us to get the absolute maximum from the combine over different crops and conditions.


Dennington Hall Farms, East Suffolk, England

Combine area 1300 acres of wheat, 380 acres oilseed rape, 190 acres beans, 330 acres winter barley

"THE CROP RANGER HAS IMPROVED THE OUTPUT BY AROUND 10%"

Mr. Shaun Keal: “The BISO Crop Ranger has improved the output of the combine by around 10 % in cereals and more in oilseed rape, its operation from the cab is easy and moving knife to suit crop height and condition maintains forward speed and not at the expense of losses. The support we had from both Ernest Doe and by the importers, Abrey and Son Ltd has been first class and it was very re-assuring towards the end of the harvest to receive a visit from the BISO engineer, Gerhard Reich who demonstrated his ability to fine tune the whole outfit so that we finished harvest at optimum performance.”


Chidden Farms, Hambledon, Norfolk, England

"THE PROFI TRAILER IS QUITE EXTRAORDINARY"

Mr . Phillip White: "With the BISO CX100 Rape Extension cutting rape direct was as easy as cutting wheat and with minimal losses. The Profi Trailer is quite extraordinary, it has gone every where we needed to go, has entered gateways where certainly would not have gone with a conventional twin axle trailer and over-run brakes I have towed it safely behind my 4 wheel drive."


Lane Contractors, Houghton Conquest, Bedford, England

"WORKED VERY WELL BY MOVING THE KNIFE POSITIONS"

Richard Lane: “In our second season of operating the Crop Ranger I am pleased to confirm that it has worked very well and in wheat, by moving the knife position, I have achieved capacities of 45 - 50 tph which is probably a good 10 % above what we would have achieved with a standard header.”


R. D. Duke & Son, Westley Farm, Saffron Walden, Engand

"WE EASILY CLEARED 100 ACRES A DAY"

Mr. Johnny Duke: "The sceptics around us were soon proven wrong as we easily cleared 100 acres a day. With the BISO CX100 Rape Extension, rape harvesting is as easy as other crop and virtually all ends up in the tank.”


Top End Farming Co. Springbarrow Lodge, near Loughborough, England

Combine area 1700 acres, consisting of oilseed rape, barley, wheat and a small area of linseed

" WE APPRECIATE THE VERY GOOD SERVICE"

Mr. Steve Walker: "We had not seen this alternative header, but we trusted the recommendation of our dealer and agreed to pay the premium over the standard header. I have no exact figures to support any increase in combine capacity, but know that our daily harvesting area was greater than would have been possible with a standard header.

The Crop Ranger is engineered to a high standard and I have been impressed by the interest shown in the product by both the importer, Abrey and Son, and by BISO, whose engineer, Gerhard Reich visited us during harvest to see that all is well.”


Cobrey Farms, Herfordshire, England

Combine area 1125 acres various crops

"THE PROFI TRAILER IS VERY MANOEUVERABLE ON NARROW LANES"

John Chin (Proprietor): "We accepted the recommendation of Derek Porter in going for BISO header and we have not been disappointed, the quality is good, its function is easy to grasp and the Profi header trailer is very manoeuverable, an important point on our very narrow lanes.”
Jonathan Davis (Combine driver): „I am sure I was achieving at least an extra 10 % output when I placed the knife in optimum position."


Pelham Farming Company, Contracting Company, Arnold Hitchcock & Co and George Watsons (Farming Business) and Stocking Pelham Essex/Herts border, England

Combine area 2950 acres of wheat, 770 acres oilseed rape, 750 acres spring beans, 60 acres winter barley

"THE BISO CROP RANGER ENHANCED THE PERFORMANCE OF A VERY GOOD COMBINE HARVESTER BY 10 TO 20 %"

Mr. Edward Hitchcock: "Once you have used a combine with the ability to move the knife to suit the given crop height, you are most unlikely to go back to a standard header. The Crop Ranger was quite clearly a step forward from which we had previously used. We have certainly not been disappointed. I would consider the increase in output when fitted with BISO Crop Ranger totally justifies the extra investment.

John Forster and Eward White the drivers at Pelham when the are working along side each other, Edward without and John with the Crop Ranger, John was consistently achieving 10 % more tons/hour and in some cases where was more straw this figure rise to nearer 20 %."

Mr. John Forster: "I had not previously driven a combine with the ability to move the knife and I was a day or two before I got into the habit of changing knife position to suit crop condition, thereafter I would set the forward speed on the hydro lever and move the knife to allow work at a consistent forward speed. I would also mention the excellent Profi 4 wheel trailer on which the Crop Ranger is transported; it is easy to load, very secure when travelling and its ability to follow the combine into the tightest of entrances has to be seen to be believed."

R Hill & Son, Warwickshire Farmer, England

Combine area 1200 acres of wheat,
300 acres of oilseed rape,
300 acres of winter barle and a small area of beans and other crops.
Total combine area 2000 acres.

"THE CX100 PERFORMED VERY WELL"

Mr. David Hill: "The CX100 Rape extension performed very well and the feed of crop into the hungry combine could not have been better, the hydraulic side knifes are, as expected, powerful and trouble free having no electrical content and therefore no fuses or relays to cause problems. The Profi trailer is different to the standard twin axle trailers we have previously had, but its ability to follow the combine through traffic is amazing and feels so safe, you hardly know it´s there.
The output of the combine has been boosted considerably the use of the rape seed extension. The ease by which we have been able to move between crops has been appreciated by the driver with side knives as an integral part of the header."


Perfect balance

Dan Albone runs two New Holland 8090s on his farm at Scawby near Brigg, Lincolnshire. He chose his VX 850 headers because he saw them as the perfect balance for his combines. “New Holland offered a 24’ or 30’ header, the one was too small and the other too big. The 28’ Biso headers have proven to be just right”.

Harvesting 1500 acres of OSR, 1800 of wheat and 200 of barley, Dan is very clear as to why he values his headers. “They’re very shiny! You can stand them outside without a sheet and the stainless steel augers still keep nice and shiny”. 


Then there’s the extra thick steelwork, 2mm thicker than the standard bed for added strength. The integral side knives have proven invaluable in a year when you had to switch between OSR and wheat at short notice and the head tilt is ideal to minimize straw, Dan operating a  ‘min-til’ cultivation programme. “The header can shave the crop like a beard!”

But best of all there is the Profi trailer. “It’s far superior to anything else on the market. It follows the combine faithfully instead of cutting the corners. This is vital with the amount of road work we do. In fact even if I bought a different header, I would still insist on a Profi trailer to transport it!”

Mr Albone’s harvesters and headers were supplied by Lincs Motors of Louth.


Head first

Rhys Morgan drives for contractor Chris Prinold who is based near Telford and operates a John Deere 690i with a VX 900 Highline header.

He is in no doubt as to what they have gained from their Biso header. “The side cutters and extending header are a massive benefit in rape and the tilting/extending bed is particularly good in tall barley ensuring that the crop goes head first instead of building up around the augers. The result is a much faster progress. In fact we were way ahead of other local operators by around 800 acres until the weather overtook us!” He is scheduled to harvest 1800 acres in total.

Rhys is impressed with the integral side knives. “Switching between rape and wheat used to take far too much time, now I can change the set up in the field in just 10 minutes.”

Chris Pinold’s header was supplied by Rea Valley Tractors.


Easier to use all round

Geert Willemsen of Trucketts Hall Farm, Glemsford, Suffolk is on his second Biso header. Having proved the benefits of the CX 100 OSR header, he replaced it with a multi-crop VX 900 Trendline in 2007.

By early September his driver Rod had successfully harvested their 300 acres of winter and spring barley between the showers and was well into 850 acres of wheat. This left 200 acres of wheat. The poor conditions had resulted in moisture level of around 16%, but at least when conditions had permitted their 30’ header had ensured that they got maximum throughput with their New Holland CR 980.

“It’s a harvester that is very hungry for wheat”, explains Geert, “and we have been averaging 50 tons an hour with a good forward speed of around 6-7 kph. It’s easier all round to use, especially when faced with the odd flat patch. The extended tilting bed assists better feed to the augers while the auto contour is perfect for our hilly countryside. We’ve got all the hills in East Anglia!”

Mr Willemsen reports excellent grain sample quality with just 0.25% screenings, testimony to how well the retrofit header complements his New Holland, both from Ernest Doe.