Sunflower production plays a key role in South Africa’s grain industry and remains a reliable crop for farmers who have to deal with erratic rainfall, increasing costs and tight margins. For sunflower farmers, every sunflower head is valuable, and the success of a season is determined not only in the field but also at harvest.

Losses during harvesting can have a significant impact on a farmer’s yield and profitability, especially when conditions are not too favourable. Therefore, farmers are increasingly dependent on efficient and reliable equipment that enables them to deliver clean, fast and loss-free harvesting regardless of the cultivar, stand or field condition.

Agri Afrika’s Ombu sunflower header, which originates from Argentina, is specifically designed to meet the demands of modern sunflower farming. The sunflower header is robust, strong and extremely durable, yet remarkably light. This lighter design ensures that no unnecessary power or diesel from the combine is wasted, an important consideration in a time when fuel costs play a significant role in production decisions.

The Ombu sunflower header’s smooth-running mechanism requires minimal combine power and diesel, and can even be easily turned by hand, a major advantage for efficient, cost-saving harvesting.

The Ombu sunflower header’s large flaps with an efficient cutting blade feed each sunflower head into the combine, preventing crop losses, even under challenging conditions.

The Ombu sunflower header can quickly and easily be mounted on almost any combine, with effortlessly adjustable components. Even at higher operating speeds of up to 10 km/h, the header moves smoothly through the field, without any signs of wastage or interruptions during the harvesting process. This enables farmers to work efficiently and maintain optimal time management during the harvest.

Crop losses are kept to a minimum thanks to the large cleaning flaps and specially designed tines and cutting blades of the header. This combination ensure that each sunflower head is effectively fed through and picked up, so not a single seed is lost. The design directly contributes to a cleaner harvest and better yield per hectare.

Table 1: The Ombu sunflower header product specifications.

Another important advantage of the Ombu sunflower header is its low power and diesel requirements. The mechanism runs smoothly and can even be easily turned by hand, further emphasising the efficiency and reliability of the equipment. Less power consumption means lower operating costs and less wear and tear on the combine.

In terms of maintenance, the Ombu sunflower header requires minimal time and effort. Apart from the usual daily inspection, there are just a few lubrication points that only require attention every 50 hours of operation. This makes the header suitable for farmers who want to make the most of their time in the harvest window, without unnecessary downtime.

For more information about Agri Afrika’s Ombu sunflower headers, visit Agri Afrika’s website at www.agriafrika.co.za/sunflowerheader, or view the product video online.