More crop-cutting and grain-carrying capacity for flagship X9 combines is among a suite of updates to John Deere’s harvester range.

These start with a wider header for the biggest 1100 model, with the new belt-fed HDX 50 gaining an extra 1.5m to take it to 15.2m (50ft).

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

Despite its prodigious width, it promises to faithfully follow ground contours thanks to a flexible cutterbar, three-section reel and quartet of rear wheels. 

Its capacity to stuff more material into the machine means buyers might be minded to match it with a larger 19,400-litre tank – handsomely up on the previous 16,200-litre maximum.

Other options include a 10.7m unloading auger to suit controlled-traffic wheelings, and the firm’s Tru-Thresh concaves.

Their modular design should simplify and speed up crop changeovers and offers more scope for control from the cab.

Meanwhile, top-spec S7s – one rung down from X9s – get “active slope adjustment”.

This uses terrain data from the StarFire receiver to automatically alter header belt speed and deliver a more uniform crop flow to the cleaning shoe when working across side slopes.

In turn, this should help maintain grain cleanliness and minimise losses.

An auto-unload system is available across the X- and S-series, with an auger-mounted camera monitoring trailer fill level and connected software then moving the tractor forwards or backwards accordingly.

Smaller T5s and T6s get their share of technology updates, too. These include “predictive ground speed automation”, which was launched on S7s in 2025.

The system crunches crop height and biomass information from pre-harvest satellite scans and live images collected by cab-mounted cameras to determine the most suitable ground speed.

Doing so means operators can set a crop throughput target, allowing the machine to balance forward speed and grain losses within set thresholds.

T-series models are also now available with from-the-cab adjustment of the booster bar and separator grates to suit crop conditions.

And there are new 6.1m rigid and 7.3m folding unloading augers, the latter pairing neatly with a 9.1m header, says Deere.