John Deere’s new 9000 Series self-propelled forage harvester will be making its UK show working debut at ScotGrass 2019 in Dumfries in May. It will be demonstrated (on plot 13) alongside the company’s latest wrapping baler and 6R Series CommandPRO tractor.
The 9000 Series combines new forage harvesting technology with several efficiency enhancing developments to form the basis of John Deere’s HarvestMotion concept, which significantly increases throughput and enables industry leading fuel economy. Performance improvements of up to 10 per cent have been verified through numerous field tests conducted by both John Deere and several independent research institutes.
There are four models in the series from 625 to 970hp, with the flagship 9900 powered by a new 24.2-litre V12 Liebherr engine with striking twin exhausts. This provides oustanding torque capacity and copes easily with peak loads at lower engine speeds, even beneath 1400rpm. The large crop channel width of 850mm is designed to handle the foragers’ higher throughput, to ensure the best possible forage quality and chopping efficiency.
John Deere has also extended its range of kernel processors by introducing the XStream KP model for the 9000 Series range. This high performance processor has been developed together with the US based company Scherer, an experienced leader in kernel processor technology, and increases processing intensity by 10 per cent at all cutting lengths.
Kernel processor rolls are available with a standard sawtooth design on the Premium KP unit, and either the sawtooth or a new XCut design on the XStream KP, which features a spiral cut groove across the roll surface. Both roll designs are also available with the proven Dura Line heavy-duty coating for increased durability. The kernel processor can be removed in just five minutes for quick changes between maize and grass.
The new 9000 Series self-propelled forage harvesters are also available with John Deere’s complete 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.
This three-in-one system will also be highlighted and demonstrated at ScotGrass. The same sensor system can be used in stationary mode for analysing clamp silage in order to manage feed rations more accurately, and for analysing the constituents in manure (eg N, NH4, P & K) when operating a slurry tanker.
Other advanced technology features include RowSense feeler guidance, which allows 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.
