Agriculture, forestry & landscaping
The grass cobs from the Allgäu
A year of testing the Unimog U 529. For RegioGras eG in Hergatz in the district of Lindau that means around 1,000 operating hours and roughly 35,000 kilometres on the odometer. The verdict: "No tractor comes close to its fuel consumption. The Unimog has by far the lowest consumption," says managing director Toni Eller. In the past the cooperative, which with its 830 members specialises in drying grass and maize, has already used Unimog vehicles. Back then they were the 2100 and 2400 models.
Feed production with Unimog support
Green thumb, green Unimog.
It was simply time again for the co‑op members from the Allgäu to acquire a modern Unimog. And so, to ensure it met the requirements of the milk‑feed refiners, it was ordered with all sorts of special equipment from the Unimog general representative Knoblauch‑Wohlgschaft in Wangen: 495 tyres, a tyre pressure control system, a K80 ball‑head coupling, additional work lights and a rear camera. A Bluetooth radio was added for the driver.
The 529's season runs from April to November. "Then it is taken off the road," says Toni Eller. Because his new Unimog has only one job: driving. As an optional service, the cooperative offers its members who would otherwise have to travel long distances to the drying plant the option to use the Unimog to come, load the grass and bring it to the plant. The Unimog U 529 can reach 90 km/h and easily pulls the Pöttinger Jumbo loading wagon with a 40‑cubic‑metre capacity.
"We've already worn out around twelve Unimogs"
On the way in the field and on the road.
The equipment of the agricultural implement carriers is functional and leaves nothing to be desired. On-board, drivers will find everything they need for working in the fields and driving on the roads: high-traction tyres, agricultural platform body, coupling jaw, hydraulic system for trailers and a neatly equipped cab with air conditioning and "particularly comfortable seat", as Marius Vaske emphasises. And that's an important factor as the Unimog vehicles are used in transport logistics. Sometimes they can travel up to 50 kilometres from the company premises to the field and back.
"We refine our members' prime cuttings," explains Toni Eller, referring to the grass clippings. This high-quality grass is further processed at the Hergatz facility into so-called cobs. Grass cobs have been used for years with great success in feeding ruminants, especially cattle, but also horses and goats. In this way, in dairy cattle feeding the animals' performance can be significantly improved through the forage, while at the same time the need to purchase concentrate feed can be reduced.
Good things from the Allgäu.
"In feeding, around 70% of the protein requirement across the EU is covered by imports," says RegioGras eG. Their grass cobs consist of hot-air-dried grass from the surrounding meadows of the tri-border region, pressed into pellets. The rapid drying and low-loss process preserves all important nutrients (vitamins, minerals) and thermal treatment converts the protein structure into rumen-stable 'protected' protein.
Around 40 such plants are operated in Germany, most in southern Germany. The cooperative processes and markets 140,000 tonnes of Allgäu meadow grass and maize cobs annually.
Project implemented with Unimog partner:
KBM Motorfahrzeuge GmbH & Co. KG
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