Machinery

Farm Machinery: New JD harvesters; Giant WA seed bar; New transmission for Case Maxxums + more

Grain Central, June 26, 2020

What’s the latest in the farm machinery world?

  • Two new JD harvester models
  • WA seed bar raises a storm
  • New transmission option for Case Maxxum tractors
  • Amazone extends sprayer range
  • WeedSeeker targets feathertop Rhodes grass
  • Scorpion root cutters exported to Uzbekistan

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

John Deere is adding two new harvester models to its X Series – the X9 1000 and X9 1100.

Two new JD harvester models

JOHN Deere is adding two new models of X Series combine harvesters to its harvesting lineup.

The new X9 1000 and X9 1100 harvesters represent the next level of John Deere harvesting performance and broaden a harvesting lineup that includes the S Series harvesters.

John Deere tactical segment manager, Marko Koelln, said as conditions changed the X9 harvester could make automatic adjustments for the operator, so it consistently functioned at peak levels.

“For example, in the morning, straw can be damp and make threshing and separating tough. Later in the day, moisture evaporates, and harvesting conditions improve. In the past, these changes required operators to adjust harvester settings to help the machine compensate – now the adjustments are made automatically,” Mr Koelln said.

X Series combine harvesters feature a wide feeder house, dual separator, and the industry’s largest cleaning shoe, which work together to improve crop flow and increase harvesting capacity.

“At the heart of the new combine is the X Series Dual Separator (XDS) with the largest threshing and separation areas Deere has ever offered. Crop in the XDS is threshed and separated during nine revolutions, resulting in less grain loss and increased harvesting capacity,” Mr Koelln said.

The seven square metre Dyna-Flo XL Cleaning Shoe has 36 per cent more cleaning area than the S790. It can harvest thin dry crop, thick damp crop and everything in between. Even if conditions change, grain quality remains high.

During harvest, the X Series can run up to 14 hours without refuelling, while a new John Deere PowerTech 13.6L Engine works with a robust belt-drive system and updated ProDrive XL transmission to improve fuel efficiency.

“Compared to the S790, the X9 1100 uses up to 20pc less fuel per tonne harvested to help keep input costs low,” Mr Koelln said.

X Series combine harvesters are available with integrated precision ag technologies that collect important machine and yield data while helping to improve harvesting results.

They are available on wheels or tracks with control traffic farming configurations.

The X9 1000 grain tank can hold up to 14,800 litres, while the X9 1100 holds up to 16,200L – 5pc and 15pc more than the S790 respectively.

Folding unloading augers with Adjustable Spout are available for the X Series in 7.9-metre, 8.7m or 9.4m lengths.

Demonstration units are expected to be on the ground in late 2021, with dealers taking orders for deliveries the following year.

…………………………

WA seed bar raises a storm

WESTERN Australian manufacturer and founder of Tornado seed and fertiliser trailers, Duraquip, has ventured into the seeding bar market with the development of the Seed Storm bar.

Recognising a niche in the 24-metre (80-foot) seeding bar market, the Gnowangerup-based company set out to produce an implement that could easily be transported on road.

Duraquip director, Garry Richardson, said the 24-metre seeding bar market was growing as farmers sought to cover more ground and now had the tractors that could pull the larger machines.

“Farmers are chasing efficiency. Times and seasons are changing, to the point that what was once considered a good start date for seeding has now become a finish date,” he said.

“We wanted to build a bar that would perform well in whatever conditions it had to work in and get a lot of crop in fast.”

Some of the patent-pending design features of the Seed Storm include:

  • 10 to 24m (35 to 80ft) bar options
  • 25 to 30cm (10 to 12inch) spacing options
  • Transport width up to 7.5 metres maximum
  • Flexible frame connections
  • Retractable tine system
  • Single lift cylinder controlling whole frame
  • Optional patent-pending castor lock system to assist with bar tracking

Mr Richardson said the Seed Storm had been 10 months in development, with two machines in the field (a 24m and an 18m), each covering about 4000 hectares.

“One thing we want to eliminate is uneven depth control.  We developed a single cylinder hydraulic lift system which mechanically maintains the frame level 100 per cent of the time,” he said.

“The Seed Storm has a strong frame but we made it flexible enough so it would avoid cracking.  It also has a floating drawbar, for contour following ability and excellent fore and aft frame stability. It rides where you set it, doesn’t twist into the ground, and doesn’t skate along the top either, even in exceptionally hard digging conditions.”

WA manufacturer, Duraquip, has ventured into the seeding bar market with the development of the Seed Storm bar.

………………………..

New transmission option for Case Maxxum tractors

A NEW transmission option that’s a first-of-its-kind for Case IH’s tractor line-up in Australia is now available for local customer orders.

Case IH Australia/New Zealand product manager for mid horsepower and compact tractors, Seamus McCarthy, with a Maxxum tractor.

The new Case IH Maxxum Series is the first Case IH tractor to offer ActiveDrive 8, the new three-range, eight-speed powershift transmission from Case IH featuring double clutch technology, as well as some features normally only associated with the top-of-the-line Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

Case IH Australia/New Zealand product manager for mid horsepower and compact tractors, Seamus McCarthy, said the benefits of the Maxxum Multicontroller with ActiveDrive 8 transmission had proved a winner with customers overseas and he had no doubt the local market would embrace it for the same reasons.

“With ActiveDrive 8, the transmission automatically selects the right gear, not just the next gear, when the operator requests more or less ground speed. This is a new technology that offers customers a step up from the powershift option, and at the same time gives them a taste of our state-of-the-art CVT transmission option,” Mr McCarthy said.

It has three ranges and a total of 24 speeds in both forwards and reverse. The double-clutch technology results in less torque interruption, while pedal clutching is not necessary for range changes, making this transmission more suited for power-hungry tasks where momentum is important.

An optional feature is an auto-clutch, allowing the operator to stop at the press of the brake pedal, and then resume the previous speed once the brake is released.

Mr McCarthy said the first of the new models with the ActiveDrive 8 transmission option were in Australia and were available to order now.

………………………..

Amazone extends sprayer range

AMAZONE has extended its new range of UX Special trailed sprayers with the addition of the mid-sized UX5200 model.

Equipped with a 5200-litre tank and Super-L2 booms from 30 to 36 metres, the new model joins the existing 4200 and 3200 L units.

CLAAS Harvest Centre product specialist – AMAZONE, Joshua Patrick, said all three models featured sleek European styling and smart functionality.

“The SmartCentre operating station is located under the left-hand cover, close to the tractor cab door,” he said.

“It covers the operator station, induction bowl, fill ports and two dustproof storage compartments.

“All operations are controlled using a simple seven-way pressure tap, which allows each function to be easily selected without having to open or close separate circuits.

“It also means the freshwater rinse tank can be topped up whilst the sprayer is being filled.

“The touchscreen display allows easy control of all functions, even when using gloves.”

All UX Special models are equipped with manual fill level indicators in the spray and flushing water tanks.

The optional Comfort-Pack provides automatic filling, agitation and cleaning via the ISOBUS terminal in the cab.

“The operator only has to couple the hose and the machine will automatically fill the spray and rinse tanks up to the desired fill levels,” Mr Patrick said.

“The hydraulic agitator automatically switches off according to the fill level to prevent foaming and to make it easier to spray out any residual volumes.

“Sequentially-switched internal cleaning nozzles ensure the tank, agitator and spray line are effectively cleaned and flushed out.”

Standard equipment includes a high-capacity 380 litres/minute PTO-driven pump.

Amazone has extended its new range of UX Special trailed sprayers with the addition of the mid-sized UX5200 model.

………………………..

WeedSeeker targets feathertop Rhodes grass

WITH blanket applications of effective herbicides to control feathertop Rhodes grass (FTR) being cost prohibitive, spot spraying technology always was going to prove a logical step for Queensland producer Shane Peters.

Mr Peters and his wife, Tabitha, together with their children, William, Thomas and Katelyn, farm 670 hectares of mainly black soils between Toowoomba and Warwick on the Darling Downs where FTR can become a problem following germinations from late spring.

“If you don’t get on to it quickly, it gets up and is a huge problem,” Mr Peters said.

He said FTR throughout the area was resistant to glyphosate and other effective herbicides against the weed could cost $100/ha.

“You couldn’t do a blanket spray with the other products. You would have to look at other strategies like cultivation.’”

This prompted the Peters to invest in a new WeedSeeker 2 spot spraying system from Trimble last year, purchased through Anthony Morgan at the Dalby branch of McIntosh and Son.

“After a decent rain to get a good flush of weeds, we do a blanket spray of Roundup, but the feathertop laughs at it, so we now come back after four weeks, and again later if necessary, with the WeedSeeker to clean it up,” Mr Peters said.

He said it was his first foray into the technology and he was targeting the chemical savings achieved by spot spraying.

“We did some sums and think it will pay for itself pretty quickly – maybe in four years.”

The Peters’ WeedSeeker 2 system was installed on an older, three-point linkage, 24-metre Hardi boomspray that was sitting idle on the farm, but which is now set up permanently for the spot spraying applications.

Queensland farmer Shane Peters is using this WeedSeeker sprayer to control feathertop Rhodes grass.

…………………………..

Scorpion root cutters exported to Uzbekistan

TOOWOOMBA-BASED business TTQ has sent two shipping containers via China to Uzbekistan carrying six Scorpion root cutters for use in cotton farms after harvest.

TTQ has sent two shipping containers of Scorpion root cutters to Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan is one of the world’s largest cotton exporters and they have been slowly working towards mechanization of the cotton industry.

The root cutters will help this process as they use revolving steel discs to cut away already-harvested cotton plants to stop regrowth and as a post-harvest clearing tool.

TTQ director Geraint Hudson said the Scorpion was the machine of choice for over 95 per cent of Australian cotton growers, but these were the first machines of this type to ever be used in Asia.

“Using root cutters will help Uzbekistan cotton farms to incorporate organic matter more efficiently into their soil and thus help reduce the use of chemical fertilisers,” he said.

“This is an important part of their modernisation program in agriculture which will lead to a more sustainable cotton industry.”

To help get the equipment across the vast distance TTQ connected with Seaway Group which managed the end to end logistics of the delivery with the equipment going via road, sea and rail.

 

 

 

 

Sources: John Deere, Duraquip, Case IH, Amazone, WeedSeeker, TTQ.

 

 

HAVE YOUR SAY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your comment will not appear until it has been moderated.
Contributions that contravene our Comments Policy will not be published.

Comments

Get Grain Central's news headlines emailed to you -
FREE!