John Deere is bringing forage harvesting performance improvements to the UK with the launch of its largest ever forager.
The new 9000 Series self-propelled forage harvester has been independently verified in field tests to enhance performance by up to 10% and the largest model, the 9900, will debut in the UK next week at AgriScot.
One of four new series SPFH models offering from 625 to 970hp, the 9900 is powered by a new 24.2-liter V12 Liebherr engine. A John Deere spokesman said, “The striking twin exhausts on the 9900 help to provide outstanding torque capacity, while the tractor also copes easily with peak loads at lower engine speeds – even beneath 1,400rpm.
“Having a large crop channel width of 850mm is designed to handle the forager’s higher throughput, to ensure the best possible forage quality and chopping efficiency.”
Additional features
The new self-propelled forage harvesters are also available with John Deere’s range of AMS precision farming systems, for improved operator comfort and cutting quality. These include AutoTrac automatic steering and the latest HarvestLab 3000 near-infrared constituent sensing system with AutoLOC automatic length-of-cut settings and silage additive dosing on the move, based on dry matter content.
The same sensor system can be used in stationary mode for analyzing clamp silage, to manage feed rations more accurately, and for analyzing the constituents in manure (e.g. N, NH4, P&K) when operating a slurry tanker.
Other advanced technology features include: RowSense feeler guidance, which enables the forager to automatically follow maize rows; Active Fill Control for automatic filling of trailers; and the MyJohnDeere Operations Centre web portal, which can be used for machinery fleet management and for displaying detailed, up-to-the-minute machine and harvest data.
