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Know How / Combines

This is your go-to area for everything related to combine harvesters. We offer tips for keeping old combines running well, how to select a new machine and all the specs and prices for the UK market.

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COMBINES

John Deere S7 combines get more power and updated cab

Single-rotor S7 combine harvesters from John Deere have been treated to a host of updates, including new engines, cabin and residue management systems. Power ranges from 402 to 533hp (436…

COMBINES

New Holland unleashes biggest-ever combine – the CR11

New Holland has pulled the wraps off its highest capacity combine harvester yet, which it hopes will leave the competition choking behind its chaff spreader. Dubbed CR11, the machine has…

COMBINES

New Holland introduces its highest capacity combine yet

The battle to build the highest output combine harvester is hotting up, with New Holland set to launch its biggest machine yet. Details are still thin on the ground, but…

COMBINES

Ultimate Guide to buying a combine 2024

There are few machine and model updates for this year’s Ultimate Guide to combine harvesters – but there are some subtle changes to the tables themselves to make some of…

COMBINES

Driver’s view: Claas Trion 750 rated after two seasons' work

The launch of the Trion combines two years ago represented one of the biggest-ever shake-ups of the Claas range. Slotting between the high-output Lexions and late-of-this-parish Tucanos, they promised something…

COMBINES

Brace of John Deere X9 combines gobble 170t of wheat an hour

In its quest to build the highest-output combine harvester on the market, John Deere came up with a machine that was also the most expensive. Commanding a heady starting list…

Combine reviews and tests

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COMBINES

Brace of John Deere X9 combines gobble 170t of wheat an hour

In its quest to build the highest-output combine harvester on the market, John Deere came up with a machine that was also the most expensive. Commanding a heady starting list…

Combine buyers guide 2014

Tweaks and upgrades rather than major new model introductions characterise combine developments for the 2014 harvest. Click on each manufacturer to see their specifications. Case IH Claas Deutz Fahr John…

COMBINES

Driver's view: John Deere CTS 9780i combine

A large output when crops are at their driest was key for Dorset farmer James Reed. After doing his research, the hybrid arrangement of the John Deere CTS was the…

COMBINES

Video: It's coming - Massey's huge 650hp Ideal combine

Claas and New Holland might reign supreme in European harvesting circles, but Agco is hoping to knock them down a peg or two with its highest output and most sophisticated…

COMBINES

Driver’s view: Claas Trion 750 rated after two seasons' work

The launch of the Trion combines two years ago represented one of the biggest-ever shake-ups of the Claas range. Slotting between the high-output Lexions and late-of-this-parish Tucanos, they promised something…

Driver's view: New Holland CR9070

Vital stats Twin rotor threshing| 490hp Fiat engine with AdBlue| 9m header| 11,500-litre grain tank| Made in Belgium A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes Farm…

Driver's view: Case Axial Flow 9230

Vital stats Single-rotor threshing| 571hp Fiat 12.9-litre engine with AdBlue| 10.7m (35ft) header| 12,330-litre grain tank| Made in USA A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes…

MACHINERY

Combine users give their verdicts two years on

Two years ago we picked seven different makes of two-year-old combine and got a warts-and-all report from their owners and drivers. We’ve repeated the exercise again this year to see…

Driver's view: John Deere S690i

Vital stats Single-rotor threshing| 617hp Deere 6-cyl twin-turbo| 10.7m (35ft) header| 10,600-litre grain tank| Made in USA A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes Farm facts…

Driver's view: Deutz Fahr 6090

Vital stats Six straw-walkers| 310hp Deutz engine| 7m Biso VX header| 8,500-litre grain tank| Made in Croatia A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes Farm facts…

Driver's view: Massey Ferguson Delta

Vital stats Twin-rotor hybrid threshing| 509hp Sisu 7-cylinder engine with AdBlue| 9.2m header| 9,500-litre grain tank| Made in Italy A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes…

COMBINES

Driver's view: Clive Wreathall’s New Holland CR10.90 combine

The CR10.90 is still the biggest combine New Holland produces, but this machine has since been replaced by the Revelation model. Despite being located in an area that is a…

Combine buying advice

Combine guides

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Combine buyers guide 2014

Tweaks and upgrades rather than major new model introductions characterise combine developments for the 2014 harvest. Click on each manufacturer to see their specifications. Case IH Claas Deutz Fahr John…

MACHINERY

2019 Ultimate guide to buying a combine

Increased automation to help both experienced and inexperienced combine operators is the highlight of upgrades to the latest crop of machines destined for harvest 2019. New sensor technology can now…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2023

New and improved models at the top and bottom end of the performance spectrum characterise the changes in this year’s Ultimate Guide to combines – along with the arrival of…

MACHINERY

Compare tractors and combines with our buyers guides

Farmers and contractors looking to take several options into consideration when choosing a new tractor will find the new specification and price guide published on FWi this week a useful…

COMBINES

Updated Claas Tucano gets Montana levelling option

Combine market leader Claas has revamped its range of mid-ranking Tucano machines, aimed at farmers who want near-Lexion power, but struggle to justify the larger price tag.  Catching the eye…

MACHINERY

Combine buyers guide 2017

Having the right harvester can prove vital for any arable operation. If you are thinking of updating your combine, our tables break down the UK options so you can directly…

MACHINERY

Top tips to keep your combine running in the wet

August invariably delivers a spell of bad weather, so we’ve put together 20 top tips from the experts on how to ease the flow of damp crops through the combine.…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2020

With this year’s combining season well and truly put to bed, it’s time for some growers to look ahead and consider their combine requirements for harvest 2020. We detail the…

COMBINES

16 nifty retrofit items to fine-tune your combine

The internet is awash with bolt on bits of technology to improve your combine's harvesting performance. We've picked out some handy items used by farmers all over the globe –…

COMBINES

On test: Combine reversing cameras – which is best?

Clobbering the back of your combine harvester against an oak tree or backing over the boss’s pickup is no fun whatsoever. So the addition of a rear-view camera to keep…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2021

Increased capacity potential with more sophisticated powertrains promising lower running costs are common themes among new combine harvesters listed in this year’s Ultimate Guide for harvest 2021. At Claas, the…

COMBINES

Video: Claas launches biggest-ever Lexion combine

Claas has just won the most recent hand of combine manufacturer Top Trumps after it launched its most powerful Lexion machines yet. The headline-grabbing flagship 8900 is the biggest in the…

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MACHINERY

Class Lexion 770 user's view

[fwi_vidyard code="L-sGxm5SjRhWSED0nBHmvQ"] John and Tom Hawthorne are one of the first in the country to run the new Lexion flagship 770, equipped with a 40ft Vario header. Emily Padfield went to see how…

COMBINES

Video: John Deere's monster £850,000 X9 combine

US firm John Deere has given its new X9 1100 combine and 12.1m HDX header a whopping £850,328 list price. The combine alone is listed at £725,908 and the HDX…

Video: Is a 61ft header the largest in the world?

This video fascinating video filmed in December 2008 shows a Claas Lexion 600 with a 61ft (18.6m) header working in drought hit wheat in New South Wales, Australia. The cutom-built header…

Video: Harvest 2015 filmed from the skies

Before lashings of rain brought combining to an abrupt halt, Farmers Weekly hit the road with a high-definition drone to capture some aerial highlights of this year’s harvest. We started…

Combine insights and practical advice

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MACHINERY

2019 Ultimate guide to buying a combine

Increased automation to help both experienced and inexperienced combine operators is the highlight of upgrades to the latest crop of machines destined for harvest 2019. New sensor technology can now…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2023

New and improved models at the top and bottom end of the performance spectrum characterise the changes in this year’s Ultimate Guide to combines – along with the arrival of…

MACHINERY

What to look for when buying a used combine

A combine is probably one of the largest long- term capital investments an arable farm can make, so while a second-hand machine can make an attractive alternative to new, it's…

MACHINERY

Compare tractors and combines with our buyers guides

Farmers and contractors looking to take several options into consideration when choosing a new tractor will find the new specification and price guide published on FWi this week a useful…

SOILS

6 top tips to minimise compaction at harvest

Climate predictions indicate that for the next 20 years there is a 35-40% chance of a wetter-than-average summer, giving rise to the potential for disrupted and challenging harvests. Aside from…

COMBINES

Video: Orkney contractor converts his combine to tracks

Farming on the Orkney archipelago in the north of Scotland throws up challenges unlike anything on mainland Britain. The biggest of those is the weather – the Gulf Stream brings…

COMBINES

Updated Claas Tucano gets Montana levelling option

Combine market leader Claas has revamped its range of mid-ranking Tucano machines, aimed at farmers who want near-Lexion power, but struggle to justify the larger price tag.  Catching the eye…

Exotic and unusual harvesters: Sugar cane

The earliest sugar cane harvesters date from the 1920s and a single machine could replace up to 100 labourers. In Australia, mechanical harvesters first appeared in the 1950s and were…

COMBINES

Trelleborg's self-adjusting VIP wheel kits: How they work

A clever new system designed by tyre giant Trelleborg promises to reduce soil damage by automatically altering combine tyre pressures as the grain tank fills and empties. It’s an area…

HEADERS

Buying alternative combine headers - the options

Buying a new combine rarely involved much discussion about header options when there was no choice other than to decide what width to hook on the front. But that has…

COMBINES

How combine add-ons can help slash weed seed spread

Combinable crop producers in the UK are being pushed into a corner when it comes to controlling herbicide-resistant grassweeds and it's looking increasingly likely that the answer will come from…

COMBINES

Retrofit fire suppresion kit could save combines

Isolated in an air-conditioned capsule at the front of the machine, combine operators are usually completely unaware when there’s an inferno slowly building behind them. By the time they do…