A method of operating a harvesting machine, said harvesting machine having a frame with a first end and a second end, at least one axle having a pair of wheels, and having a bottom plate positioned adjacent to said first end, said bottom plate having a front edge and a rear edge, and said bottom plate is inclined upward towards said rear edge;
- a rotatable pick-up head pivotally mounted on said first end of said frame, said pick-up head having at least two spaced apart and outwardly extending finger sets, each finger set containing a plurality of fingers spaced apart from one another across the width of said pick-up head, each finger set sequentially contacting growing plants in a field, each plant having a stem containing a relatively high moisture content and a base, and each of said finger sets bending said stems downward onto said bottom plate and towards said incline;
- a cutting mechanism mounted on said bottom plate below said pick-up head, said cutting mechanism cutting each of said stems at said respective base as said harvesting machine traverses a crop field;
- a crimper mechanism positioned adjacent to said rear edge of said bottom plate, said crimper mechanism having a driven bottom crimp roll positioned below a biased top crimp roll, said top crimp roll is rotatably connected to said bottom crimp roll, a first nip is formed between said bottom crimp roll and said top crimp roll, and said cut stems are directed through said first nip to form a moving web having a width equal to the width of said pick-up head;
- a moisture removal mechanism positioned above and behind said crimper mechanism, said moisture removal mechanism having a driven suction roll positioned below a biased press roll, said moisture removal mechanism also having an idler roll positioned downstream of said suction roll, said idler roll having a smaller diameter than said suction roll, and a wire belt forming a closed loop around both said suction roll and said idler roll, said wire belt having a plurality of small apertures formed therethrough, a second nip is formed between said wire belt and said press roll, and said moisture removal mechanism lowering said moisture content in said cut stems by squeezing each of said stems, which action forces liquid out of an end of each stem;
- a crop converging mechanism located downstream of said moisture removal mechanism, said crop converging mechanism reducing the width of said moving web to a narrow ribbon, and said crop converging mechanism including a pair of rotating augers aligned on a common axis, said pair of augers forcibly reducing the width of said moving web;
- a chopper is positioned downstream of said crop converging mechanism and a blower is positioned downstream of said chopper, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) attaching said harvesting machine to a tractor which can pull said harvesting machine back and forth across a crop field for the purpose of harvesting a crop, said harvesting machine being hydraulically, pneumatically, mechanically and/or electrically connected to said tractor;
- b) rotating said pick-up head as said harvesting machine is pulled across said crop field;
- c) activating said cutting mechanism to cut each of said stems at said stem base as said pick-up head advances through said crop field;
- d) using said rotating pick-up head to move said cut stems along said bottom plate and into contact with said crimper mechanism where said cut stems are directed through said first nip to form a moving web;
- e) directing said moving web through said second nip of said moisture removal mechanism to lower said moisture content of said cut stems by forcing said liquid out of each stem;
- f) directing said moving web having a reduced moisture content to said crop converging mechanism wherein the width of said moving web is reduced to form a narrow ribbon having a width of about 30 inches or less;
- g) using said chopper to chop said narrow ribbon into small pieces;
- and
- h) using a blower to blow said small pieces into a storage wagon for transport to a storage facility.