German manufacturer Nexat and its gantry-style field tractor continue to make headlines as the machine gets new capabilities and early adopters discover its potential.

The wide-span vehicle uses a growing selection of interchangeable implements from mainly European suppliers to spread slurry and fertiliser, cultivate ground and plant seeds, from grain and oilseeds to maize and soya beans.

It will also apply crop protection treatments and harvest the resulting crops.

See also: Herts firm invests in monster 15t, 18m Horsch Avatar drill

As well as the potential economies arising from using one large machine for multiple tasks rather than a fleet of tractors and individual implements – Nexat claims savings of up to 25% – high work rates are promised from operating widths of 14m to 70m.

The twin stream Nexco harvesting module, for example, recently set an eight-hour soya bean harvesting record, outperforming the highest conventional combine figure recorded by 32%, gathering 637t off 158ha.

Equally attractive is its low impact on soil structure, thanks to permanent controlled traffic wheelings that take up only 5% or so of the field surface.

The latest mechanical development is a 28m precision planting setup that has fold-out wing sections extending beyond the Nexat’s main structure, and enough seed capacity to plant 200ha/fill.

It’s aimed at growers in North and South America, so uses direct drilling and planting kit from manufacturers in the US and Brazil.

On the digital front, trials are under way with systems enabling fully autonomous operation of the vehicle – at present, an operator occupies a rotating cab positioned at one end of the chassis.

Meanwhile, the Field Engine manufacturer-independent farm management information system, newly introduced for European growers, connects machine, process and farm data for informed decision-making.