Fabrizio Girometta of Girometta Pietro Villa Anna farm of Cortemaggiore (PC) in Italy says, "A mix between a rake and a broom in the field: I have never seen a machine work like this!” Fabrizio raises cattle and produces cereal crops for forage.
"I have used RaRake in difficult conditions: the product is heterogeneous, as the residue is mixed with partially crushed corn plants. The rake or, better to say, your "broom-rake" combines these two operations in the field: the double star moves the product and at the same time cleans the field, just like a rake and a broom, in any working condition, even in the presence of a soil with deep carriageways that were formed in the springtime, but the machine, incredibly, can collect both the "long and the short", the farmer enthusiastically comments. Even under these extreme working conditions, the early opinion of those who have tried the machine, still a not-for-sale prototype is very positive.
"This rake has an enviable feature that makes it difficult to compare to any other rake ... you get both the cleanest crop and a very satisfactory hourly productivity (on average, 7 hectares per hour in regular soil and without drains)" says the farmer, "if you use any other rake, under these conditions, you will not reach this hourly productivity and, at the same time, you'll end up with a much dirtier crop."
In addition, RaRake uses an established solution in a new way, with no major investments.
"The double star rake is a simple machine but in its simplicity it is revolutionary, because it combines speed of work with a very high quality of the crop," concludes Girometta. "And if these are the results obtained on a difficult crop, such as the residues of threshing corn, for sure with forage or alfalfa, they will be even better ... kudos to innovative designers!"
Also for this reason, the RaRake project has obtained an important funding (Horizon 2020) from the European Union: innovation, efficiency and quality, confirming that "Made in Italy" machinery still has much to say. Good news for farmers, in Europe and elsewhere.
