FARGO, N.D. – The producer tendency to buy ever larger farm equipment is driven by more than farm consolidation and a higher number of farmed acres by each producer.
Many producers say that it’s better farming – hitting their windows of opportunity spring, summer and fall – that motivates them to buy larger implements.
As producers try to squeeze better performance out of seed varieties, their seeding windows grow smaller. As they try to maximize the effectiveness of crop protection products and use them more efficiently, the spraying window also gets tighter.
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As producers become more aware of how dramatically weather affects grade and price, the harvest window and combine performance also become more important.
Bigger drills, bigger sprayers, bigger combines: many producers admit they buy bigger machinery than they need, at least according to traditional standards. They want to get the job done, done right and on time. If a producer misses a seeding, spraying or harvest window, the entire investment could be lost.
Larger seed drills, sprayers and combines translate to less exposure to risk because the timing of each operation can be better controlled.
New model
Claas Lexion engineers probably had those thoughts in mind when they designed the Cat-powered 590R, their new combine.
“The 590R is a big enough step forward in horsepower, tank size and unload capacity that I think we can legitimately call it the first true Class 9 combine,” said Mike Anderson of the Claas Lexion head office in Omaha.
When interviewed at the Big Iron Show in Fargo, North Dakota, Sept.14, Anderson outlined the combine’s capabilities.
“Nobody else can generate these kinds of numbers today. The 590R has a 462 horsepower Cat engine, a 360 bushel grain tank and a 3.3 bu. unload rate. Those were traditionally the three main considerations for determining combine classifications.”
Anderson said that building a Class 9 is not just a matter adding more capacity to a Class 8 machine.
He said the 590R is 11 inches wider to accommodate more through the threshing and cleaning mechanism. The 590R threshing system is 67 inches wide, front to back.
“Our new cleaning system is called the Jet Stream,” he said.
“Our sieve and air systems have been upgraded. We have the horsepower and the threshing capacity to easily handle 40-foot heads in heavy cereal crops. It handles 1,800 bu. of wheat per hour. In corn, it handles 5,000 bu. per hour running a 16-row, 30-inch head.”
Anderson said in areas where wet falls and short harvest seasons are common, more big combines are ordered with the rubber track drive at the front and the optional rear-wheel drive assist. With this combination, Lexion owners reported this fall that they were straight-cut combining in standing water.
“Rubber tracks aren’t just for mud machines. A lot of growers are starting to buy tracks to reduce soil compaction. We have these big heavy heads now and big tank capacities and the combines themselves are getting heavier, so farmers have started buying rubber tracks to support the weight,” he said.
“I think rubber tracks is just another of those situations where a farmer selects his equipment based on what’s best for his farm potential, or in this case, soil potential.”
Rubber tracks must be ordered from the factory because the Lexion rubber track combines have numerous chassis changes from the round rubber tire combines. The rubber tracks cannot be installed later, once the combine has been factory built with tires.
