Harvest Products
The Primary Sales Patented "Adapt-A-Gap" Crop Finger System
Q. What is the value of the grain you're currently leaving on the ground?
Crop Loss Calculator
Q. How many hectares will it take to recover your investment in Adapt-a-gap Knife guards and a Vibra mat?
Investment Recovery Calculator
Crop Recovery
In light crop densities, cut stalks & heads can be lost over the front because there is insufficient field density to stop them falling forward. Now you can simply "snap-on" the appropriate extensions to give the gap width/angle you want, and start recovering the grain you have previously been leaving behind on the ground. Field density feeds in at width "A" and is compressed to width "B" for much greater density at the knife.
The FE 13, 17 & 21(Blue) finger
extensions are angled upwards to
provide an ideal catching area on
headers with downwards angled knives,
directing crop into the front.
The FE 13-3,17-3 & 21-3 (Pink) fingers
provide a straight extension of the knife
guard.
They are ideal for header knives which are
relatively horizontal when lowered.
* 2" Centre 3-Finger Knife Guards - The "FG" Series Adapt-A-Gap System
Although "primarily" designed for the John Deere Draper fronts, this guard design will cater for the broader range of crop types and heavier densities being grown today. During recent harvests they performed well on header fronts normally fitted with 3" centre guards and the range of extension fingers is expanding to suit. Light to medium density crops however, are best harvested with the 1 1/2" centre 4-finger guards but this new guard will be more universal and better suit swathers which will benefit from 2" centre fixed cutting edges instead of the usual 3" centres.
The Platform Extender Finger Option
These optional extensions greatly boost the flexibility, convenience and efficiency with which crops such as sorghum, lupins, chickpeas and faba beans may be profitably harvested. The system is very useful for combing-up wind or hail- damaged or tangled crops. The angle adjustable version is the most popular, on which the catching area forward of the guard can be adjusted to positions which best suit most header front types and cutter bar positional requirements.
The metal clip uses one of 3 locating slots and choice of 2 hinging hole positions (using a roll-pin) to provide up to 6 angle settings.
With the roll-pin assembled in the "P" position (best suited to Inter 1040/42/52, Case 1010/20, MacDon and Claas) angle positions 1, 3 and 6 are available.
In the "S" position (best suited to Honey Bee, John Deere, and most other popular fronts) angle positions 2, 4 and 5 are available.
The FE 65W-A has a threaded rod to allow for fine adjustments and a through-bolt for added security.
Nylon Elastomer "mini-lifters", snap on to existing Primary "Adapt-a-Gap" knife guards and prevent costly machine damage likely with steel attachments, to maximise the recovery of crops
Lift Kits
Primary Sales offers a range of lift kits to improve the performance of draper fronts. The step between the knife and belt on most draper fronts compromises short crop and legume recovery. A Primary Sales lift kit, lifts the knife up to overcome this problem and allows even and unimpeded flow of grain and dry matter across the front.
Contact your local harvest dealer about fitment to your machine
Harvest Knife Guard List (PDF, 955KB)
NH 971 Knife Guard Fitting Instructions (PDF, 152KB)
The True Cost Of Cutterbar Crop Losses
When it costs say, the equivalent of 1.2 t/Ha to grow a 1.6 t/Ha crop, the profit of 0.4t/Ha is all that separates the farmer from failure! Yet surprisingly some farmers are being sold header fronts built for much bigger crops in a global market and known to lose perhaps 200Kg/Ha (50% of the profit in this example).
You can do something about it!
The "Adapt-a-Gap" Knife Guard System used in combination with the "Vibra-Mat" provides the solution that
farmers simply cannot afford to ignore. For example:
TOTAL PRICE (incl. Cereal Extensions and "Vibra- Mat" for an average 30' front) = $3,802.00
OR, for shatter-prone crops such as Lupins, Chickpeas, Canola, Sorghum, etc.; TOTAL PRICE (incl. Angle-AdjustablePlatform Extensions, Vibra-Mat for an average 30' front) = $5,127.00 Given an A.S.W. Pool price of $190.00 per tonne, the calculations show that each head of grain lost per square metre
costs $2.37 per hectare. We now have the basis on which to determine how many acres it will take to recover the
investment outlay depending on how many extra heads per square metre are recovered.
Total cost of "Adapt-A-Gap" knife guards with cereal extensions and a "Vibra-Mat" at $3.802.00 is measured against the hectares to return the investment outlay at an improved recovery per square metre of:
| Heads | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Hectares | 802 | 401 | 267 | 200 | 160 | 133 | 115 |
Even greater benefits are derived when using the "Adapt-a-Gap" knife guards fitted with Platform Extender fingers in shatter-prone crops. Current users are reporting gains over the cutterbar of between 10% and 25%.
Total cost of "Adapt-a-Gap" knife guards with Platform Extenders and "Vibra-Mat" at $5,127.00 is measured against the hectares required to return the investment outlay at an improved recovery of:
| 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% |
| 316 | 158 | 106 | 79 | 63 |
Or to put it another way, in a 250 hectares field of Lupins, only $20.51 worth of losses per hectare needs to be recovered to return the investment of $5,127.00. This equates to only 114 kgs. per hectare with Lupins valued at $180 per tonne. Applying the above methodology to crop losses generally, a farmer is able to calculate the number of hectares required from his cropping program to return the total cost of the investment as well as the increased income gained from using the above products.
Crop losses at the front are costing farmers much more than they think and the above is a classic example of a "Spend A Little - Save A Lot" solution to boost their profitability.
The reinforced vinyl mat is fitted to the rear of the knife and as it reciprocates, becomes a "live" surface to prevent lodging.
- Prevents "bunching" or "lodging" on the header platform that causes grain to spill over the cutterbar.
- Eliminates the intermittent delivery to the concave that can reduce threshing ability.
- Prevents inefficient threshing of "bunched" crop, which walks grain out the rear of the machine with the straw.
- Smooth, continuous flow with no "bunching" ensures the most efficient grain separation.
- Complete kits and replacement mats are supplied in standard lengths of 16ft, 20ft, 25ft, 30ft, and 36ft. Intermediate front widths take the next size up.
- 50% and 100% deeper mats available for use on extended fronts. Bolt kits are available to suit laminated knives.
- Please advise header type, front type, knife type and width.