Zaffrani: soft power

October is the best time to harvest ripe sunflower heads: the oil content in the kernels reaches the required level and the stalks break easier. To ensure efficient harvesting with minimum losses, farmers need cutting-edge machines. AgroCentreZakharovo is always ready to help agricultural producers make the right choice.

Farm named after Dimitrov (Penza oblast) and Khabibullin’s farming enterprise (Kamenka district, Penza oblast) tested Zaffrani 940N headers designed for row-free sunflower harvesting.

‘Both companies are our long-term partners’, comments Ali Umarov, Manager of Penza branch of AgroCentreZakharovo. ‘They have been using powerful advanced machinery such as Massey Ferguson, Challenger, Horsch, Kverneland and JCB for quite a while. Now is the time for ‘soft power’ – Zaffrani headers designed to meet the highest standards of clean harvesting. The headers cut only flower heads, leaving stalks and leaves in the field. The exclusive stretching shaft system minimises kernel loss and enhances performance.’

The strong point of the Zaffrani 940N header is its 9.4-metre width. Proper combine settings allow for uninterrupted operation at a speed of up to 12 km/h. Thanks to the unique shape and the layout of the tips, the crop can be harvested in rows of different widths, regardless of the sowing direction. The heavy-duty components and the simplified design reduce wear, maintenance time and costs. The Zaffrani header is extremely light, which makes it exceptionally fuel-efficient! The header saves 2 litres of fuel per hectare thus increasing the engine life by 30%.

‘I watched the header operate in our field - it was spectacular!’ relates Rashid Khabibullin, farm owner. ‘The machine worked smoothly. We were very happy with the results: Zaffrani enabled us to harvest 0.2 tonnes more per each hectare. The average sunflower yield over the season exceeded 4 tonnes per hectare. However, growing a good harvest is just the first step; it is important to gather it promptly and without losses. From now on, Zaffrani headers will become indispensable at our enterprise. We have already purchased one and are planning to add some more Zaffrani headers to our fleet in the future.’

The Zaffrani implement is versatile and compatible with virtually any type of harvester.

‘At the demo show held on our farm, a Zaffrani header was attached to a powerful rotary combine’, says Aleksandr Stepanyuk, Manager of Farm named after Dimitrov. ‘The equipment delivered excellent performance: kernel losses went down by half. We are glad that our enterprise became a demonstration site. As it turned out, ‘soft power’ was exactly what we needed! The headers have already become an essential part of our fleet.’

The major task of any farmer is to produce a bumper crop and harvest it quickly and, most importantly, without any losses. Zaffrani is a perfect tool to do it!