AU2017225169A1 - A method and apparatus for producing chaff - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to both a method and apparatus for producing chaff, including drying apparatus. The drying apparatus includes a bed 25 on which the cut crop 10 is spread 5 and consisting of a plurality of spaced apart floor boards 24 and air supply means for supplying air to said bed for the purpose of drying the crop. The bed 25 is enclosed within an enclosure 25 that is intended to inhibit the crop absorbing moisture from the damp air at night. ~/62-1.

Description

A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CHAFF

This invention relates to both a method and apparatus for producing chaff.

This invention has particular, but not exclusive, application to both a method and apparatus for producing chaff from hay and wherein reference will be made to same. However, it will be appreciated that aspects of the method and the apparatus may have other applications where it is necessary to dry and/or cut plant material into small pieces.

Hay is a grass, legume, or other herbaceous plant that has been cut, dried and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing animals such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Chaff is sometimes made from cutting hay into very short lengths, say 1 to 2 cm in length, using a machine called a chaff cutter.

Hay is typically produced by cutting close to the ground a standing crop of grass, legume or other suitable herbaceous plant that is say between 30cm and 1m high using a mower that leaves the cut crop in swaths on the ground and wherein two or more swaths are then combined together using a hay rake to form a windrow.

The hay is dried by leaving it in the field often for several days. During daylight hours the sun, wind and low humidity all help dry the hay. However, at night the hay reabsorbs moisture from the cool night air which is high in humidity.

In order to ensure the hay dries evenly, the windrows are turned using a hay rake sometimes daily or at least every couple of days .

If hay that has been left in the field to dry should get wet, either because of morning dew or a rain event, subsequent exposure of the hay to the sun's rays may cause bleaching of the hay. The extent to which the hay may be damaged by the cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 bleaching will depend in part upon the moisture content of the hay and the amount, of water that is applied to the hay. Generally speaking, the drier the hay the more prone it will be to the harmful effects of bleaching. Consequently, bleaching will be less severe in the days immediately after the hay has been cut and more severe when the hay has been drying for several days. Bleaching causes quality downgrading of the hay. It also causes a loss of colour, nutritive feed value, aroma, palatability and is generally less appealing to livestock.

For these reasons farmers will try to avoid cutting crops if a rain event over the next week to two weeks is likely. However, sometimes rain events will occur unexpectedly and such events can have a detrimental effect on the price a farmer may eventually achieve when the hay is offered for sale .

The hay, having lay in the field to dry, is collected and compressed into bales consisting of a plurality of biscuits held to together by baling twine using a baling machine.

Preferably the moisture content of the hay prior to baling has been reduced to approximately 15% to 18%. If the moisture content of the compressed hay is too high, mould may grow on the hay and the hay may deteriorate or decompose.

Further, it has been observed that often it will take four or more days during summer and one or two weeks during winter for the hay to dry sufficiently before baling may take place. The time taken for the hay to dry over a year, and the need to avoid harvesting due to the prospect that, it may rain, can adversely affect the number of crops grown over a year.

The hay is turned into chaff using a chaff cutter. Most chaff cutters include a flywheel having an outer rim that is connected to a central hub by a plurality of spokes and wherein a cutting blade is mounted on each of said spokes. The hub of the flywheel is mounted on a free end of a drive shaft cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 that is operatively connected to suitable drive means, such as an electric motor, that is adapted to rotate the drive shaft and thereby rotate the flywheel about a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.

Chaff cutting machines may also include two rollers that are adapted to grip a biscuit and feed the biscuit into the path of the cutting blades. However, it has been observed that the rollers will not process hay that is not in a compressed state and/or hay that has been cut into smaller pieces, say between 2.5cm and 10cm long,

It will be appreciated that a method and apparatus for drying hay that would reduce the number of days the hay is left in the field to dry, and apparatus for cutting hay that is not compressed, or hay comprising pieces that are between

2cm and 5cm in length, would be most desirous.

It is therefore an object of the inventor to provide both an apparatus and a method for drying hay which alleviates at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art and which will be reliable and efficient in use.

It is also an object of the inventor to provide a chaff cutting machine which alleviates at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art and which will be reliable and efficient in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect relates to drying apparatus for drying hay, said drying apparatus including:

a bed on which the hay to be dried may be spread, said bed having a plurality of ventilation openings formed therein along most, if not all of the length and breadth of said bed;

air supply means for supplying air under pressure;

at least one passageway in fluid communication with said air supply means and said ventilation openings, said passageway, at least in part, being located beneath said bed, and cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 an enclosure that is adapted to enclose said bed and prevent dew forming on the hay as it dries.

Preferably the bed forms part of the floor of the enclosure and at. least part of the passageway is located beneath the floor. For example, the passageway may constitute part of a basement and whereby in one embodiment the bed and the passageway may form part of the foundation of the enclosure. Further, it is preferred that the floor is capable of supporting the weight of a vehicle that is used to transport the hay.

Preferably the floor is divided into a plurality of drying zones and wherein each zone may be supplied with air via one or more passageways and wherein preferably there is provided control means for controlling the supply of air to selected zones. The passageways may each be in fluid communication with either the same air supply means, such as a fan or blower, or to a separate air supply means.

Alternatively the passageways may be arranged in groups and whereby each group of passageways may be in fluid communication with a single air supply means.

Further, each zone may extend along all, or part of the length of the bed. For example, the ventilation openings may be arranged in columns and rows and wherein each zone may encompass ventilation openings contained in one or more adjacent columns.

The control means may include valves, doors or such like that are adapted to selectively open or close a passageway or part thereof.

Preferably the floor comprises a plurality of elongate, slat like, building elements that are arranged in rows, end to end if necessary, and wherein the ventilation openings are at least partially defined by the gap between adjacent building elements of adjacent rows. Preferably, the size of the cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 ventilation openings is not too large that significant quantities of the hay may fall therethrough.

The enclosure preferably includes a roof and one or more side walls. Further, there may be provided openings in one or more side walls that may be selectively closed by a door and/or window.

Preferably the enclosure includes opposing end walls and an opening formed in each end wall through which a vehicle used to transport hay may pass through, and preferably these openings include at least one door, or similar closure means, for closing the opening so as to inhibit cool night air from entering the enclosure.

In another aspect, this invention relates to a method of drying hay, said method including:

providing drying apparatus including:

a bed on which the crop to be dried may be spread, said bed having a plurality of ventilation openings formed therein along most, if not all of the length and breadth of a drying zone of said bed;

air supply means for supplying air under pressure;

at least one passageway in fluid communication with said air supply means and said ventilation openings, said passageway, at least in part, being located beneath said bed, and an enclosure that is adapted to enclose said bed and prevent dew forming on the hay as it dries;

using suitable cutting apparatus to cut a standing crop of grass, legumes or other suitable herbaceous plants that are between 30cm and lm high close to the ground;

leaving the cut crop lying in the field for between two and three days and/or until the moisture content of the crop is approximately 30% to 50% by weight;

using a suitable cutting apparatus to cut the cut crop into smaller pieces ranging in size from 2.5cm to 10cm;

cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 using suitable machinery to gather and collect the crop, and to transport the crop to said drying apparatus;

spreading the crop out over the bed so as to evenly cover 5 all of the ventilation openings of the drying zone, and actuating the air supply means so as to draw air into the passageway and force the air under pressure out through the ventilation openings such that, the air then passes via a tortuous path through the crop.

Preferably the crop is first cut close to the ground and arranged on the ground in windrows and whereby exposure to the sun, wind and low humidity all help to dry the crop. Further, in an effort to speed up the drying process, the crop may be turned using a suitable apparatus, such as a hay rake.

Preferably after one to three days drying in the field the crop is harvested using a forage harvester, or similar apparatus, that will cut the crop into smaller pieces that are between 2.5cm and 10cm long.

The crop may than be transported from the field to the drying apparatus in a forage wagon, or such like. For example, a tractor pulling the forage wagon may enter the drying apparatus via an opening in a wall located in one end of the apparatus and exit the drying apparatus via an opening in an opposing wall.

The crop may be transferred from the forage wagon to the bed and spread over the bed such that the thickness of the crop on the bed is relatively even and that all of the ventilation openings of one or more zones are covered by the crop .

Preferably air is only used to dry the crop during daylight hours when the humidity of the air is low.

Further, it is preferred that at night any openings in the walls of the enclosure of the drying apparatus are closed so as to inhibit air having a high humidity entering the cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 enclosure and the crop subsequently absorbing some of the moisture in the air in the form of condensation.

In yet another aspect this invention relates to cutting apparatus for cutting a crop such as grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that are between 2.5cm and 10cm in length into smaller pieces that are between 1cm and 2cm in length, said cutting apparatus including:

a flywheel having a hub and a rim that is connected to said hub by a plurality of spokes;

at least one cutting blade mounted on one of said spokes;

a drive shaft having a first end portion that is connected to drive means that is adapted to rotate said drive shaft about said shaft's longitudinal axis and a distal end that is operatively connected to said hub such that rotation of said drive shaft about said drive shaft's longitudinal axis will cause said flywheel to rotate about said flywheel's longitudinal axis, and feed means for feeding the crop into the path of said rotating cutting blade, including two opposing, spaced apart, conveyor belts each having engagement means that is adapted to engage the crop so as to progress the crop in the general direction of travel of the engagement means while the crop is located between said conveyor belts.

In another aspect, this invention relates to a method of producing chaff, said method including:

providing drying apparatus including:

a bed on which the crop to be dried may be spread, said bed having a plurality of ventilation openings formed therein along most, if not all of the length and breadth of a drying zone of said bed;

air supply means for supplying air under pressure; at least one passageway in fluid communication with said air supply means and said ventilation openings, said cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 passageway, at least in part, being located beneath said bed, and an enclosure that is adapted to enclose said bed and prevent dew forming on the hay as it dries;

providing chaff cutting apparatus for cutting a crop such as grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that are between

2.5cm and 10cm in length into smaller pieces that are between lcm and 2cm in length, said chaff cutting apparatus including:

a flywheel having a hub and a rim that is connected to 10 said hub by a plurality of spokes;

at least one cutting blade mounted on one of said spokes; a drive shaft having a first end portion that is connected to drive means that is adapted to rotate said drive shaft about said shaft's longitudinal axis and a distal end that is operatively connected to said hub such that rotation of said drive shaft about said drive shaft's longitudinal axis will cause said flywheel to rotate about said flywheel's longitudinal axis, and feed means for feeding the crop into the path of said rotating cutting blade, including two opposing, spaced apart, conveyor belts each having engagement means that is adapted to engage the crop so as to progress the crop in the general direction of travel of the engagement means while the crop is located between said conveyor belts.

using suitable cutting apparatus to cut a standing crop of grass, legumes or other suitable herbaceous plants that are between 30cm and lm high close to the ground;

leaving the cut crop lying in the field for between two and three days and/or until the moisture content of the crop is approximately 30% to 50% by weight;

using a suitable cutting apparatus to cut the cut crop into smaller pieces ranging in size from 2.5cm to 10cm;

using suitable machinery to gather and collect the crop, and to transport the crop to cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 said drying apparatus;

spreading the crop out over the bed so as to evenly cover all of the ventilation openings of the drying zone, and actuating the air supply means so as to draw air into the 5 passageway and force the air under pressure out through the ventilation openings such that the air then passes via a tortuous path through the crop to dry the crop, and feeding the dried crop into the feed means of the chaff cutting apparatus where it is then conveyed by the conveyor belts into the path of the rotating cutting blade.

In order that this invention may be more easily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying illustrations and drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a pictorial view of the interior of a drying apparatus that has been constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is another pictorial view of the interior of the drying apparatus shown in figure 1;

Figure 3 is a pictorial view of a foundation of the drying apparatus shown in figure 1, including an underside of a floor and a passageway under said floor; Figure 4 is a pictorial view of the foundation shown in figure 3, including the underside of the floor and the passageway;

Figure 5 is a pictorial of the exterior of the drying apparatus shown in figure 1, including two fans;

Figure 6 is a pictorial view of a passageway under the floor of the drying apparatus shown in figure 1;

Figure 7 is a pictorial view of the left side of a cutting apparatus that has been constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 8 is a pictorial view of the right side of the cutting apparatus shown in figure 7;

cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017

Figure 9 is a top view of the cutting apparatus shown in figure 7;

Figure 10 is a schematic view of a feed means for the cutting apparatus shown in figure 9.

Figures 1 to 6 show a drying apparatus that has been constructed for the purpose of drying a cut crop 10, such as grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants, so as to produce hay.

The drying apparatus includes an enclosure 11 having a 10 front wall 12 and an opposing rear wall, not shown, two opposing side walls 13 and 14, and a roof 15 that covers the entire area enclosed by said front wall, rear wall and two side walls.

The front wall 12 includes an opening 16 formed therein 15 which can be selectively closed by a door, not shown.

Similarly, the rear wall also includes an opening formed therein that may be selectively closed by a door, and whereby, in use, a vehicle may enter the drying apparatus via the front opening and exit the drying apparatus via the rear opening.

The enclosure 11 stands on a concrete foundation 20 having a substantially flat top surface 21 that is used as the floor of the enclosure and a smaller, generally rectangular shaped, recessed portion 22 formed in said top surface 21 that is located part way between the front wall 12 and the rear wall and which is adjacent the side wall 13 and extends laterally from the side wall 13 in the general direction of the side wall 14.

The recessed portion 22 includes a base in which there are formed a plurality of generally square shaped ventilation openings 23 that are arranged side by side in rows that are generally parallel to the front wall 12, and one behind the other in columns that are substantially parallel to the side wall 13.

cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017

The recessed portion 22 is covered by a plurality of spaced apart, elongate, galvanised steel slats or floor boards 24 that are arranged in rows that are substantially parallel to the front wall 12. The floor boards 24 form a bed 25 on which the cut crop 100 may be spread out to dry and wherein the gap between floor boards in adjacent rows is small enough that very little of the cut crop will pass therebetween when being handled. By way of example, the gap may be approximately 5mm.

The bed 25 shown in the figures 1 and 4 has been divided into two generally rectangular shaped drying zones 26, namely a forward drying zone 26a and a rear drying zone 26b.

The ventilation openings 23 in each column are connected to a common secondary passageway 27 that extends under the recessed portion 22 and generally parallel to the side wall 13, said secondary passageway having a closed end that is closest to the front wall 12 or rear wall and an open end that is connected to a primary passageway 28 that, extends under the foundation and generally parallel to the front wall 12. In the particular embodiment that is illustrated, the secondary passageways are approximately 0.5 m wide and 0.5 m high.

In the particular embodiment shown in the figures there are two primary passageways 28 that are each connected to a plurality of secondary passageways 27 associated with either the forward drying zone 26a or the rear drying zone 26b. The primary passageways each have a remote end portion that is closed and a second end portion that is connected to an outlet, not shown, of a fan assembly 30 located outside the enclosure and adjacent the side wall 13, the fan assembly having an impeller 31 that is adapted, in use, to draw air through an air intake opening 32 and whereby rotation of the impeller is powered by an electric motor, not shown. The fan assemblies are intended to provide a supply of pressurised dry cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 air to the bed 25, (say 4cm to 8cm of standing water column of air pressure).

The supply of air to respective secondary passageways 27 is in each case controlled by a door 40 that is capable of movement between a first position where the entrance to the secondary passageway from the primary passageway is open and a closed position wherein the entrance is closed by the door. Movement of each door between open and closed positions is effected by pulling on a flexible line member 41 having a fixed end connected to the door and a free end that can be secured to a cleat 42 located on the external side of the enclosure 11.

The cutting apparatus 50 shown in figures 7 to 10 includes a flywheel, not shown, (concealed behind cover 51), having a centrally located hub and an outer rim connected to said hub by a plurality of spokes and wherein at least one blade having a cutting edge is attached to each spoke, said cutting edge extending generally away from said hub in a generally radial direction.

The hub is mounted on a driven shaft that is operatively connected to a drive shaft, not shown, that is itself connected to an electric motor, not shown, and whereby rotation of the drive shaft caused by actuation of the electric motor will cause the driven shaft and the flywheel to rotate. In use, portions of the cut crop fed between the spokes of the wheel will be cut into small pieces as a consequence of contact with a cutting edge of one of the cutting blades.

The cutting apparatus 50 includes feed means 55 for feeding the dried crop to be cut into the path of the rotating cutting blades. The feed means 55 includes two opposing, spaced apart, conveyors 56 and 57.

The lower conveyor 56 includes a continuous belt 58 that is adapted to rotate about a drive pully 59 that is mounted on cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 a drive shaft 60 that is operatively connected to drive means, such as an electric motor, and a trailing pully 61 that is spaced from said drive pully 59 in a generally horizontal direction, and whereby when the drive pully 59 rotates, the belt 58 moves in a generally horizontal direction, as shown by arrow 62, towards the drive pully 59. The conveyor belt 58 includes a plurality of transverse ribs, not shown, mounted thereon that are adapted to engage or grip the crop and whereby the conveyor belt is supported by a table 63 located beneath the belt.

The upper conveyor 57 includes a continuous belt 65 that is adapted to rotate about a drive pully 66 that is mounted on a drive shaft 67 that is operatively connected to drive means, such as an electric motor, and a trailing pulley 68 hat is spaced from said drive pully. The upper conveyor 57 also includes an idler pulley 69 located between that drive pully and the trailing pulley and whereby the idler pulley has been positioned such that the path taken by the conveyor belt 65 when moving between the trailing pulley 68 and the idler pulley 69 is inclined relative to the horizontal and the conveyer belt 58 of the lower conveyer 56, while the path of the conveyor belt 65 when moving between the idler pulley 69 and the driven pulley 66 is substantially parallel to the conveyer belt 58 of the lower conveyer 56.

The conveyer belt 58 of the upper conveyer also includes a plurality of transverse ribs 70 that are adapted to grip the cut crop.

The driven pulley 66, trailing pulley 68 and idler pulley 69 of the upper conveyor 57 are mounted on a supporting structure 72 that is capable of pivotal movement relative to the table 63 in the direction of arrow 73 about an axis 74. This pivotal movement allows the gap between the opposing driven ends of the two conveyers 56 and 57 to vary depending upon the quantity of dried crop passing there between while cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 also maintaining a generally even amount of pressure on the dried crop.

Further, depending on the quantity of dried crop passing between the conveyors 56 and 57, it may necessary to add weight to the structure 72 remote from the axis 74. That is to say, where there is a large quantity of dried crop passing between the two conveyers 56 and 57, it may be necessary to add weight to the structure 72.

It is also believed that this pivotal arrangement 10 prevents, or at least inhibits, the dried crop becoming jammed between the driven ends of the conveyers 56 and 57 while the combined action of the ribs helps to pull the dried crop through the gap between the opposing driven ends of the two conveyers 56 and 57.

The cutting apparatus 50 further includes a guide 75, such as a chute, that is located adjacent the driven pulley 59 and which is adapted to guide the dried crop coming off the conveyer 56 into the path of the cutting blades.

In use, suitable cutting apparatus, such as a mower or slasher, is used to cut a standing crop of grass, legumes or other suitable herbaceous plants that is between 30cm and lm high close to the ground and to leave the cut crop in swaths on the ground. Two or more swaths may then be combined together using a hay rake to form a windrow.

The cut crop is then left in the field for between one day and three days (is this range correct) and/or until the moisture content of the crop is (specify range). During this period hopefully there are no rain events.

The cut crop is then gathered up and deposited in a wagon or such like using a forage harvester that is adapted to cut the crop into smaller pieces ranging in size from 2.5cm to 10cm. It is believed that cutting the crop into small pieces will speed up the drying process conducted in the drying apparatus .

cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017

The crop is then taken into the drying apparatus, such as via an opening in the front wall 12, where it is then spread out over the bed 25 such that all of the ventilation openings 23 in one or more columns of a drying zone 26a or 26b are covered by a layer of the crop that is generally of even thickness .

All of the doors 40 associated with secondary passageways 27 that are in fluid communication with ventilation openings 23 that are not covered by the crop are moved from the open position to the closed position by pulling on the line members 41 attached to said doors. This is done so as prevent air drawn into the primary passageway 28 that is connected to said closed secondary passageways 27 from escaping via said ventilation openings 23.

During daylight hours, dry, warm, air is drawn into the primary passageway 28 by a fan 30 in fluid communication therewith and then forced into the open secondary passageways 27 and out through the ventilation openings 23 that are in fluid communication with said secondary passageways. The dry, warm, air shall then pass via a tortuous path through the layer of cut crop.

At night the doors of the enclosure 11 are preferably closed so as to keep the moist cool air out of the enclosure and to prevent the crop absorbing moisture through condensation. It is also recommended that the inlet of each fan assembly be covered so as to prevent the cool, moist, air from infiltrating the enclosure.

Provided the air outside the drying apparatus is reasonably dry, it is believed that operation of the drying apparatus for a period of approximately six to seven hours will be sufficient for the crop to dry sufficiently for further processing, namely that the moisture content of the crop will be approximately 12% to 15% by weight. However, if the air outside the drying apparatus is damp, or if it is cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

2017225169 11 Sep 2017 raining outside, then it is envisaged that the process of drying the crop may take considerably longer such as two days.

The dried crop is then transported from the bed 25 to the 5 cutting apparatus where it is fed into a chute or funnel that is adapted to deliver the crop between the forward diverging ends of the conveyers 56 and 57.

The two conveyers 56 and 57 will engage the loose bundle of dried crop and force it between the two driven ends of the conveyers and into the path of the cutting blade.

This cutting process is intended to cut the pieces of crop into small pieces ranging in size between 1cm and 2cm. These smaller pieces of the crop are sold as chaff.

If axial flow fans are used, they can be fitted with a reversing switch so that the impeller rotates in a reverse direction so as to create suction rather than pressure. In other words, the fans could be used to draw air from the enclosure via the drying crop. This could assist with the drying of different vertical layers of the crop.

While the foregoing description has been given by way of example of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in many other forms and all such forms are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as hereinbefore described.

cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

Claims (8)

1. THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

   1. Drying apparatus for drying hay, said drying apparatus including :

   a bed on which the hay to be dried may be spread, said 5 bed having a plurality of ventilation openings formed therein along most, if not all of the length and breadth of said bed; air supply means for supplying air under pressure; at least one passageway in fluid communication with said air supply means and said ventilation openings, said 10 passageway, at least in part, being located beneath said bed, and an enclosure that is adapted to enclose said bed and prevent dew forming on the hay as it dries.

   15
2. 2. A method of drying hay, said method including:

   providing drying apparatus including:

   a bed on which the crop to be dried may be spread, said bed having a plurality of ventilation openings formed therein along most, if not all of the length and breadth of a drying

   20 zone of said bed;

   air supply means for supplying air under pressure; at least one passageway in fluid communication with said air supply means and said ventilation openings, said passageway, at least in part, being located beneath said bed,

   25 and an enclosure that is adapted to enclose said bed and prevent dew forming on the hay as it dries;

   using suitable cutting apparatus to cut a standing crop of grass, legumes or other suitable herbaceous plants that are

   30 between 30cm and lm high close to the ground;

   leaving the cut crop lying in the field for between two and three days and/or until the moisture content of the crop is approximately 30% to 50% by weight;

   cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

   2017225169 11 Sep 2017 using a suitable cutting apparatus to cut the cut crop into smaller pieces ranging in size from 2.5cm to 10cm;

   using suitable machinery to gather and collect the crop, and to transport, the crop to

   5 said drying apparatus;

   spreading the crop out over the bed so as to evenly cover all of the ventilation openings of the drying zone, and actuating the air supply means so as to draw air into the passageway and force the air under pressure out through the

   10 ventilation openings such that the air then passes via a tortuous path through the crop.
3. 3. Cutting apparatus for cutting a crop such as grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that are between 2.5cm and

   15 10cm in length into smaller pieces that are between 1cm and 2cm in length, said cutting apparatus including:

   a flywheel having a hub and a rim that is connected to said hub by a plurality of spokes;

   at least one cutting blade mounted on one of said spokes;

   20 a drive shaft having a first end portion that is connected to drive means that is adapted to rotate said drive shaft about said shaft's longitudinal axis and a distal end that is operatively connected to said hub such that rotation of said drive shaft about said drive shaft's longitudinal axis

   25 will cause said flywheel to rotate about said flywheel's longitudinal axis, and feed means for feeding the crop into the path of said rotating cutting blade, including two opposing, spaced apart, conveyor belts each having engagement means that is adapted to engage

   30 the crop so as to progress the crop in the general direction of travel of the engagement means while the crop is located between said conveyor belts.
4. 4. A method of producing chaff, said method including:

   cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

   2017225169 11 Sep 2017 providing drying apparatus including:

   a bed on which the crop to be dried may be spread, said bed having a plurality of ventilation openings formed therein along most, if not all of the length and breadth of a drying
5. 5 zone of said bed;

   air supply means for supplying air under pressure; at least one passageway in fluid communication with said air supply means and said ventilation openings, said passageway, at least in part, being located beneath said bed,
6. 10 and an enclosure that is adapted to enclose said bed and prevent dew forming on the hay as it dries;

   providing chaff cutting apparatus for cutting a crop such as grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that are between
7. 15 2.5cm and 10cm in length into smaller pieces that are between lcm and 2cm in length, said chaff cutting apparatus including:

   a flywheel having a hub and a rim that is connected to said hub by a plurality of spokes;

   at least one cutting blade mounted on one of said spokes; 20 a drive shaft having a first end portion that is connected to drive means that is adapted to rotate said drive shaft about said shaft's longitudinal axis and a distal end that is operatively connected to said hub such that rotation of said drive shaft about said drive shaft's longitudinal axis

   25 will cause said flywheel to rotate about said flywheel's longitudinal axis, and feed means for feeding the crop into the path of said rotating cutting blade, including two opposing, spaced apart, conveyor belts each having engagement means that is adapted to

   30 engage the crop so as to progress the crop in the general direction of travel of the engagement means while the crop is located between said conveyor belts.

   cNYDOHOO asfiled HSeptember2017

   2017225169 11 Sep 2017 using suitable cutting apparatus to cut a standing crop of grass, legumes or other suitable herbaceous plants that are between 30cm and 1m high close to the ground;

   leaving the cut crop lying in the field for between two 5 and three days and/or until the moisture content of the crop is approximately 30% to 50% by weight;

   using a suitable cutting apparatus to cut the cut crop into smaller pieces ranging in size from 2.5cm to 10cm;

   using suitable machinery to gather and collect the crop,

   10 and to transport the crop to said drying apparatus;

   spreading the crop out over the bed so as to evenly cover all of the ventilation openings of the drying zone, and actuating the air supply means so as to draw air into the 15 passageway and force the air under pressure out through the ventilation openings such that the air then passes via a tortuous path through the crop to dry the crop, and feeding the dried crop into the feed means of the chaff cutting apparatus where it is then conveyed by the conveyor
8. 20 belts into the path of the rotating cutting blade.