Farmers Build World's Biggest Swather

Farmers Build World's Biggest Swather SWATHERS Swathers 4-6-21 Canadian farmers Glen and Gregory Honey, of Bracken, Sask., do things in a big way. Not only did the Honey Brothers build one of the biggest two-wheel drive tractors in the world (The 425 hp "Honey Bee" featured in FARM SHOW'S January-February, 1980, issue) but now they probably have built the world's biggest selfpropelled swather, too. The swather cuts a 67 ft. swath and, in one 13 hr. day, the brothers were able to cut 420 acres. "Our homebuilt swather worked great for us this past harvest season. We'll be making only a few changes on it for next year", Gregory told FARM SHOW. This year, the Honey Brothers swathed 2,600 acres of small grain, including 600 acres of short stubble crop. Not one knife was broken nor a guard bent. The machine consists of three separate tables. The center one is 25 ft. wide and positioned just slightly ahead of two 21 ft. outside tables. Hydraulic cylinders hold the side tables in working position. Accumulators built into the hydraulic system let the system act like a big spring to protect each table. The center table is split in the middle so the cut crop is divided into two windrows. The two outer tables deliver the cut crop over the end, placing it on the tap of the windrows made by the center table. Each cutting unit has individual height and reel controls. "By being able to cut higher with the outside tables in a heavy stand, we are able to handle the two swaths with the combine quite easily," says Gregory. The hydraulic system swings the tables back so the unit is 25 ft. wide in the transport position. A Caterpillar diesel powers hydraulic drive motors in each wheel. The operator's platform is located on the center unit. The cab, which the Honey Brothers also built, is air conditioned. To pick up the two windrows laid down by the 67 ft. swather, the Honeys equipped their John Deere combine with double pickups. "On our best days, we combined 340 acres of durum wheat which yielded 8,000 bushels," says Gregory. "We only put 120 hours on the combine to harvest 2,600 acres of crop." To give the combine bigger capacity in the concave-cylinder area, the Honey Brothers replaced the original concave with their own modification. "It did a much better job and let the big swath move through the combine easier," Gregory points out.

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