Squaring up harvest

<p>Amber and Heath Kimbrell, Sunray, Texas.</p>

<p>The Kimbrell's cotton acres fluctuate from 2,000 acres, at the most, to this year, 600 acres. Heath says his continuous harvesting system is an affordable, more efficient alternative for the number of acres he farms.</p>

<p>"We can run this machine with this setup without ever stopping. We gain anywhere from 25% to 30% efficiency in acres per day over the basket system."</p>

<p>Heath Kimbrell is&nbsp;using a modified hay baler, along with his John Deere 7460 basket stripper, to develop a continuous cotton baling system to improve labor and time management. Once he is done with cotton harvest, he can go back to&nbsp;using&nbsp;the baler for hay.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Heath Kimbrell has added an enclosed conveyor to the back of his John Deere 7460 basket stripper that unloads cotton onto another conveyor attached to&nbsp;his baler.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Assisting in the&nbsp;engineering and manufacturing of the square-bale system with&nbsp;Larry Matlack, co-owner of Stinger, a Kansas-based company that manufactures and distributes self-propelled bale wagons, cube-line square bale wrappers and baled biomass transport equipment.</p>

<p>Cotton unloads from the cotton stripper into the conveyor attached to the side of the Massey Ferguson 2190 big square baler.</p>

<p>Heath Kimbrell and Larry Matlock have designed the continuous harvesting system using&nbsp;parts that can be replaced and purchased through a&nbsp;local implement dealer, such as this draper belt.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>"We've made it so that when you buy the system it comes with all the pieces you need," Kimbrell says. "You're not modifying anything that came on your stripper. And if you decide to trade, you can put everything back just like it was and trade your machine in and the baler, likewise."</p>

<p>As Heath Kimbrell drives his cotton stripper, the driver of his Versatile 385 power-shift tractor pulls a Massey Ferguson 2190 big square baler alongside at the same speed.</p>

<p>The 4x4x8 bales are bound by poly baling twine. Heath Kimbrell says the twine is inexpensive and easy to remove. "We picked a color that is the same as some of the bale wrap&nbsp;available so if the gin has the photo eye plastic contamination system, the twine would be the same color as the wrap they're trying to remove."<br />
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<p>The 4x4x8 bales are stacked in groups of 16&nbsp;– two bales high and eight long, the size of a module. Heath Kimbrell says one of the things he likes about this system is how easy it is to move the bales. "There's all kinds of hay-moving equipment. The Stinger we had out here picks up and stacks the bales quickly."</p>

<p>Heath Kimbrell uses his rearview mirror, along with a screen inside his cab,&nbsp;to monitor progress at the back of the stripper. He's also able to watch how closely the tractor is to his cotton stripper.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The challenge is running awfully close to each other. I've got a camera in here, so I can see when he gets under me and if it's working correctly," Heath Kimbrell says.</p>

<p>The square-bale system&nbsp;does not require tarps and require less labor.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"We are really having a hard time finding laborers. This takes our operation from four or five people with the module-type system to two people, so that's reducing our labor costs considerably," Heath Kimbrell says.</p>

<p>Amber and Heath Kimbrell hope to make their continuous harvesting system available to other producers.</p>