RED DEER – The combine that set the world record for the most bushels harvested in a single shift will make its North American sales debut in Western Canada.
Appearing at a farm show for the first time in North America, the New Holland Elevation CR9090 drew a lot of attention at the Red Deer Agri-Trade event Nov. 11-14.
The world record holder has been released in Western Canada ahead of the U.S. and two years after its European debut. The Guinness World Record took place in September 2008 when a British farmer harvested more than 20,000 bushels of wheat in a single shift.
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Jon Hofer of Lethbridge said seeing the huge combine was on his to do list when going to Red Deer.
“The weather was so good we thought a few us might not bother coming up to the show this year, but I thought I had to see it.
“It’s just a combine, but for right now it’s the biggest one and we are always looking for more capacity. So it’s worth the trip and I can say I saw it and I’ve got something to talk about,” he said.
Talk was what drew a lot of people to the machine, said Chris Brubaker, head of North American combine marketing at New Holland. He said the machine’s visits to a few farms in Saskatchewan and Alberta during harvest this fall caused a buzz.
“I wasn’t really counting on the amount of discussion those trials would cause, but I guess a lot of folks heard about us comparing it to the 9080s in the field and wanted to get a look,” he said.
Tests New Holland made on prairie farms generated some data about the CR9090’s performance.
“When you are selling something that is bigger than your biggest, you need to be able to show there is a true benefit, something tangible for the money,” he said.
Comparing the 9080, billed last year as North America’s largest combine, to the 9090 on several trials this fall, the world record holder proved to have an 18 percent capacity advantage.
“It’s got that additional capacity but costs only 10 percent more than our next biggest model. For large acreage operators or those that are moving from two smaller machines to a single, that makes the 9090 a justifiable choice,” said Brubaker.
For about $40,000 more than a 9080, producers get 68 more horsepower at its boosted level, and 61 at 2,100 r.p.m., which will make better use of the threshing system already present (in the CR9080), said Brubaker. The grain hopper also holds another 56 bushels.
Sheldon Gerspacher of New Holland in Saskatoon said the machine’s prairie release makes sense.
“Next to Europe, this is where the largest small grain crops are grown and where the larger headers are used the most. And we are in close proximity to the American market,” he said.
Brubaker said the CR9090 will take advantage of the “biggest headers from MacDon and other Canadian (short-line) companies and our own branded units.”
While a few of the 30 machines released for the 2010 season will likely find their way into the Dakotas or Montana they will have parts and service support out of Regina for now, said other New Holland staff in Red Deer.
Testing on corn focused 9090 rotaries is underway this year and next in the American Midwest. The company hopes to deliver it into that market in 2011.
Tracks are also under development for North American markets, Bru-baker said.
