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.

Latest combine articles

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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Driver's view: Sampo Rosenlew 3065

Vital stats Six straw-walkers| 210hp Sisu engine| 5.1m header| 6500-litre grain tank| Made in Finland A bit of background How has it performed? Farm facts Small fields and high rainfall…

COMBINES

Driver's view: Peter Booth's Claas Tucano 320

We get the details on Angus arable farmer Peter Booth’s Claas Tucano 320 that replaced a near-identical model in 2017. See also: Combine add-ons can help slash spread of weed seeds…

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…

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…

COMBINES

Driver's view: Richard Ledger's Claas Lexion 8900 combine

Kent farmer Richard Ledger is one of several UK growers to have run a pre-production version of Claas' latest range-topping Lexion combines. We get the verdict from driver Nigel Richardson.…

COMBINES

Driver's view: Nick Brown’s John Deere S790i combine

The biggest combine in John Deere’s line-up is the S790i, featuring a 617hp, six-cylinder engine, single rotor threshing mechanism and various header options up to 12.2m wide. It replaced a…

Double cutterbar combine can boost outputs by 15%

An unusual double-cutterbar combine header being used by a Midlands farmer is claimed to be able to boost harvester output by up to 15%. Nick Fone explains how. For the…

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

Driver's view: John Roberts’ Massey Ferguson Activa 7240

We get the lowdown on the Massey Ferguson Activa 7240 combine run by Shropshire farmer John Roberts. Farm facts Napley Farm, Market Drayton, Shropshire Size 135ha Soil Sandy loam Crops…

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…

COMBINES

Articulating Tribine combine is king of the US harvest

Just two years ago, an Indiana farmer hand-picked a team of engineers from far and wide to set about his off-the-wall ambitions to build a colossal-capacity, bend-in-the-middle combine. We meet…

COMBINES

Driver’s view: Robert Floyd’s 1989 Laverda 3850 combine

A 1989 Laverda 3850 has been the combine of choice for Worcestershire mixed farmers Robert Floyd and James Kent for the past 13 years. The Italian-built harvester cuts about 80ha…

Combine guides

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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

Combine buyers guide 2018

Combine makers around the globe have been rebuilding and updating their ranges ahead of next year’s harvest. With that in mind, our Combine buyers guide 2018 (PDF) contains the specs and…

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

Guide to buying a used hill-sider combine

True full body levelling on combines is not just a nice-to-have feature – for some farms it’s essential. And although the additional cost when buying new isn’t as much as…

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 –…

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

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 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

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

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…

Video

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HARVEST

Video: Take a £26,000 combine simulator for a spin

Put away your games console, and shut down all social media, we have found the ultimate in farm simulation technology. John Deere have developed a six-screen, fully immersive combine simulator…

Claas Lexion 600 user in-cab chat

Claas's new hybrid Tucano (not to mention the firm's new 12m header) may have been grabbing the headlines in recent weeks, but it's still the Lexions that you mostly see…

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…

Harvest 09: First of your harvest videos arrives

As part of Farmers Weekly's Harvest Highlights coverage we are asking readers to send us links to any videos of the 2009 harvest campaign. The first to arrive is from Agricultural…

Combine insights and practical advice

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MACHINERY

Tips for buying a quality used combine on a £40,000 budget

Banging on about shiny new Lexions and the latest high-capacity New Hollands is all well and good, but there is still plenty of demand out there for smaller five-walker combines…

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

Custom-built combine spares could save farmers cash

Bent drums, bashed augers and snapped straw walkers are just some of the common injuries that can bring combines to a lengthy standstill. And with genuine replacements for these major…

COMBINES

Combine buyers guide 2018

Combine makers around the globe have been rebuilding and updating their ranges ahead of next year’s harvest. With that in mind, our Combine buyers guide 2018 (PDF) contains the specs and…

COMBINES

Machinery Milestones: History of the combine harvester

Threshing machines were an international success story for British manufacturers, and the companies involved became global leaders, but the combine harvester market proved a far harder nut to crack. Britain’s…

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…

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

Guide to buying a used hill-sider combine

True full body levelling on combines is not just a nice-to-have feature – for some farms it’s essential. And although the additional cost when buying new isn’t as much as…

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…

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 –…