Here’s a shock: 100 cows on a single charge…of electricity

Among the more innovative diet feeders (mixer wagons) at last week’s giant Agritechnica show was an all-electric, self-propelled machine from Siloking.

This latest electric Siloking TruckLine (pictured above) needs no diesel.

Available hopper capacities stretch from 8m³ to 14m³. Power for the mixing auger, as well as the ground-drive transmission, is electrically-derived.

The machine is designed to access low buildings; hence the low-slung position of the cab. It’s also able to enter narrow sheds and passage-ways, thanks to its modest overall width.

The company claims that it can feed up to 100 cows on a single battery charge. The on-board battery is an 80V (DC) unit (rated at 465Ah or 620Ah, depending on the model).

It takes approximately 11 hours to charge the battery from empty, but that’s when using a CEE 16A/400V supply.

There are two infinitely-variable speed ranges (controlled via a driving pedal). One runs from zero to 10kph; the other runs from zero to 20kph.

The machine is steered via the rear wheels, which are positioned close together – side-by-side. This approach, says Siloking, boosts manoeuvrability in tight spaces.

There is one discharge door – positioned at the rear left of the machine. Like other tub (vertical auger) feeders, Siloking claims that this machine is well suited to chomping its way through round bales of silage.

Asking price at the show in Germany (excluding VAT) was reportedly just shy of €100,000.

Who or what is Siloking?

Siloking Mayer Maschinenbau – to give it its full name – now sells its feed mixing technology in more than 50 countries around the globe.

The owner-managed family company is based in Tittmoning in Bavaria (Germany); it has over 300 employees.

The product range includes trailed, self-propelled and – most recently – electrically-driven feed mixers for farms and even biogas plants. It also manufactures what it aptly describes as “silage extraction and distribution machines”.

The company has service and distribution subsidiaries in China, Russia and Brazil.