10 of the best combine harvesters on the market

When it comes to combine harvesters there’s plenty of choice in Australia. Here’s what you need to know if you’re in the market for a new one.

Check out 10 of the best combine harvesters for 2020.

SOME Australian ag machinery markets – think hay rakes – are fought over by a heaving mass of different makers.

The combine harvester market – in contrast, but perhaps unsurprisingly given the vast resources needed to build the biggest single agricultural implement on the planet – attracts a rather more select group of players.

But not just any players. This market is the preserve of the biggest guns in the machinery business and that means plenty of choice, with each offering multiple models to cover different requirements and budgets.

And that’s just traditional combines – add crop-specific harvesters to the list and the choice steps up again.

Here, we’ve corralled a varied selection of traditional units for a closer look at their vital stats. Prices may vary from those published here depending on final specification or dealer and may not include pre-delivery, freight and assembly.

AGCO CREATES THE WORLD’S FIRST GLOBAL COMBINE

CLAAS LAUNCHES A ‘MORE EFFICIENT’ LEXION COMBINE HARVESTER

NEW HOLLAND RELEASES 700HP REVELATION COMBINE HARVESTER

The Massey Ferguson Ideal is Agco’s first clean-sheet axial combine design in 30 years.

MASSEY FERGUSON

MF IDEAL 9T

FROM $729,229 (+GST)

THE Ideal is Agco’s first clean-sheet axial combine design in 30 years and – with its futuristic, menacing graphite-tinged presence – looks it.

It offers three variants to suit the medium- to large-scale operator – the Ideal 7 (336kW/451hp), Ideal 8 (401kW/538hp) and weapons-grade Ideal 9 featured here. All offer a wide choice of tyre-track options, the latter denoted by a ‘T’ in their title.

Agco claims a host of rival-smashing features for its new baby, not least the fastest unloading rate in the business – 210L/min, or enough to empty the 17,100-litre grain tank in less than 90 seconds.

It also offers a vast array of to-the-minute technology, from auto-guidance, data telemetry, live yield mapping and automatic in-cab hitching to a system that automatically fine-tunes the combine settings to reflect crop density, field slope and other variations.

MANUFACTURED: Italy

ENGINE: 15.2-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, Tier 3

RATED POWER: 465kw (624hp)

MAX POWER: 482kw (647hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1500l

TRANSMISSION: Two-speed hydrostatic

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Twin rotary

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 4.06m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 7.95m2

GRAIN TANK CAPACITY: 17,100l

UNLOADING RATE: 210l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 7.6m, 9.2m or 10.6m

WEIGHT: 24,385kg

DETAILS: masseyferguson.com.au

The Case IH 6130 is made for the smaller operator and even contractor looking for a cost-effective option.

CASE IH AXIAL-FLOW 6130

FROM $441,352 (+GST)

NOT everyone wants or needs a monster-sized combine such as the MF Ideal 9T or even one with middle-range abilities.

That’s where harvesters such as this recent addition to Case IH’s popular 130 Series come in.

The 6130 is made for the smaller operator and even contractor looking for a cost-effective option and claimed to deliver a mix of ultra-simple, ultra-reliable operation and high efficiency regardless of crop or field condition.

It’s built around Case IH’s proven Axial Flow single-rotor technology, powered by an FPT diesel engine and ticks precision-ag boxes such as auto-guidance, yield and moisture mapping.

MANUFACTURED: Brazil

ENGINE: 8.7-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, tTier 3

POWER: 240kw (322hp)

MAX POWER: 285kw (382hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 950l

TRANSMISSION: Three-speed hydrostatic

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Single rotor

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 2.84m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 5.52m2

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 10,560l

UNLOADING RATE: 113l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 7.8m

WEIGHT: 16,100kg

DETAILS: caseih.com/anz/en-au/

The Lexion 7600 has Claas’s new APS Synflow Hybrid threshing-separation system.

CLAAS LEXION 7600

FROM $607,950 (+GST)

CLAAS’S new 8000/7000 combine range debuted last year with a revamped threshing-separation system, bumped-up grain-holding and unloading capacities, new cab and other advances.

The new APS Synflow Hybrid threshing-separation system continues Claas’s favoured combination of a tangential threshing unit with a pre-accelerator drum and secondary separation via twin axial rotors (thus, hybrid).

Changes to the accelerated pre-separation system, however, are claimed to deliver 70 per cent of crop separation before it even reaches the rotors, maximising efficiency while also reducing the power requirement.

This entry-level, Perkins-powered model kicks off the four-tiered 8000/7000 line-up and is offered with a wide array of tyre-track options.

MANUFACTURED: Germany

ENGINE: 12.5-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, Tier 3

MAX POWER: 344kw (461hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1150l

TRANSMISSION: Two-speed hydrostatic

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Hybrid (drum for threshing

plus twin longitudinal rotors for separation)

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 4.68m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 5.1m2

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 12,500l

UNLOADING RATE: 130l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 8.56m

WEIGHT: 18,500kg

DETAILS: claas.com.au

John Deere’s S780 includes more automated data collection with automatic calibration of the mass flow sensor

JOHN DEERE S780

FROM $594,629 (+GST)

MANUFACTURED: Germany

ENGINE: 13.5-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, Tier 2

RATED POWER: 353kw (473hp)

MAX POWER: 403kw (540hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1250l

TRANSMISSION: Hydrostatic continuously variable (CVT)

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Single rotor

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 3.16m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 5.9m2

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 14,100l

UNLOADING RATE: 135l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 6.9m, 7.9m or 8.7m

WEIGHT: 20,750kg

DETAILS: deere.com.au

The X9 1100 can make automatic adjustments for the operator.

JOHN DEERE X9 1100

PRICING TBA

MANUFACTURED: United States

ENGINE: 13.6-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder

RATED POWER: 450kw (603hp)

MAX POWER: 515kw (690hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1249l

TRANSMISSION: Hydrostatic continuously variable (CVT)

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Dual rotor

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 5.2m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 6.97m2

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 16,200l

UNLOADING RATE: 186l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 7.9m, 8.7m or 9.45m

WEIGHT: 27,000kg

DETAILS: deere.com.au

* Specifications are derived from production models currently available in other regions and subject to change prior to release in Australia.

Claas Lexion 8000/7000 combine harvester won a Machine of the Year award at Agritechnica.

CLAAS LEXION 8700 TERRA TRAC

FROM $781,500 (+GST)

MANUFACTURED: Germany

ENGINE: 12.5-Litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, Tier 3

MAX POWER: 426kw (571hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1150l

TRANSMISSION : Two-speed hydrostatic

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Hybrid (drum for threshing

plus twin longitudinal rotors for separation)

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 6.33m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 6.2m2

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 15,000l (18,000l OPT)

UNLOADING RATE: 180l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 11,080mm (CTF folding)

WEIGHT: 22,200kg

DETAILS: claas.com.au

The AFS Harvest Command automation package option is at the heart of the new 8250 Axial-Flow.

CASE IH AXIAL-FLOW 8250

FROM $783,322 (+GST)

MANUFACTURED: United States

ENGINE: 12.9-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, Tier 2

RATED POWER: 358kw (480hp)

MAX POWER: 414kw (555hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1125l

TRANSMISSION: Two-speed hydrostatic with HD planetary final drives

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Single rotor

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 2.98m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 6.5m2 under wind control

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 14,448l

UNLOADING RATE: 159l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 10.4m

WEIGHT: 19,434kg

DETAILS: caseih.com/anz/en-au/

The CR10.90 is still the biggest combine New Holland produces.

NEW HOLLAND CR10.90

FROM $860,000 (+GST)

MANUFACTURED: Belgium

ENGINE: 16.0-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, Tier 2

RATED POWER: 462kw (619hp)

MAX POWER: 507kw (680hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1300l

TRANSMISSION: Two-speed electro-shift hydrostatic

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Twin rotor

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 3.06m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 6.5m2

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 14,500l

UNLOADING RATE: 142l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 10.29m (10.76m OPT)

WEIGHT: 24,667kg

DETAILS: agriculture.newholland.com/apac/en-au

The CR8.90 received significant upgrades last year to take it beyond its Class 8 status to Class 9.

NEW HOLLAND CR8.90

FROM $744,000 (+GST)

MANUFACTURED: Belgium

ENGINE: 13.0-litre turbodiesel six-cylinder, Tier 2

RATED POWER: 365kw (490hp)

MAX POWER: 395kw (530hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 1300l

TRANSMISSION: Two-speed electro-shift hydrostatic

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Twin rotor

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 3.06M2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 6.5m2

GRAIN TANK SIZE: 14,500l

UNLOADING RATE: 142l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 10.29m (10.76m OPT)

WEIGHT: 20,067kg

DETAILS: agriculture.newholland.com/apac/en-au

The Gleaner S97 received an upgrade to its cabins in 2016.

GLEANER S97

FROM $575,640 (+GST)

MANUFACTURED: United States

ENGINE: 9.8-litre turbodiesel seven-cylinder, Tier 2

RATED POWER: 280kw (375hp)

MAX POWER: 336kw (451hp)

FUEL CAPACITY: 870.6l

TRANSMISSION: Two-speed hydrostaTIC

THRESHING/SEPARATION TYPE: Transverse rotary

TOTAL THRESHING/SEPARATION AREA: 3.89m2

TOTAL CLEANING AREA: 5.62m2

GRAIN TANK CAPACITY: 13,743l

UNLOADING RATE: 141l/s

UNLOADING AUGER/TUBE LENGTH: 7.56m

WEIGHT: 14,615kg

DETAILS: gleaner.com.au