Innovative features and high capacity improve harvest experience for Leics farm

An Ideal 10T with IDEALdrive joystick steering, a 40ft Geringhoff TruFlex draper header and an experimental, extra-long 12.2m unloading auger for improved CTF compatibility, made easy work of 1,200ha of cereals harvesting in challenging conditions at Leicestershire-based Belvoir Farming Company Ltd.

“It was the wettest ‘dry’ harvest I’ve known in 34 years of farming, but I actually felt less tired,” said Leicestershire-based Belvoir Farming Company Ltd farm manager, Keith Challen.

Keith’s comment refers to the 2021 cereals harvest, when frequent showers and limited sunshine meant crops were rarely dry, although total rainfall during the period was little above average. Compounding the problem for many farmers were very high straw volumes, resulting from ideal late spring growing conditions. It was also Keith’s first harvest operating the new Fendt Ideal 10T, with joystick-controlled steering and a Geringhoff TruFlex draper header – and he credits the user-friendly package for his lack of fatigue.

The first Fendt tractor arrived on the farm in 1995 and is still in use. The current fleet includes three Fendt tractors, two Rogator trailed sprayers and the Ideal 10T combine.

Just under half of the land is owned, and the rest is rented on long term tenancies. Most is heavy, wet clay, and Keith explained that challenges include preventing ground compaction and reducing black-grass populations. A controlled traffic farming (CTF) regime has been adopted, and spring cropping has replaced some winter crops in the rotation allowing time for stale seedbed creation to aid black-grass control.

For many years, rotary combines of a competitor brand were used to harvest 1,200ha of combinable crops, although Keith also kept an eye on options available from other local dealers. The combines were updated every four years but, during negotiations for the purchase of a new Fendt sprayer, B&B Tractors group sales manager, Colin Blood, suggested upgrading to a Fendt Ideal at the same time. “Our combine wasn’t due for changing until after the 2021 harvest, but we had heard a lot about the Ideal from the B&B team during the previous few years. We were offered one of only a few new flagship Ideal 10T machines due to arrive in the UK last year and confirmed an order.”

The Ideal 10T has a 17,100-litre grain tank which can be unloaded in just 81 seconds by the 210 litres/sec unloading auger. The unloading rate can be reduced in four stages, helping avoid spillages while topping off trailers. The Belvoir Farms Ideal was fitted with an experimental 12.2m unloading auger for improved CTF compatibility.

Joystick steering

Keith specified the IDEALdrive steering option, with an armrest-mounted joystick which replaces the conventional steering wheel. Draper-type headers had been considered in the past, but Keith felt that the Geringhoff TruFlex header would offer significant advantages for the new combine. These included optimised crop feeding to the intake elevator and rotor, and accurate ground contour following of the 40ft header, allowing stubbles to be cut shorter and ensuring that no crop was missed even on undulating ground.

“Joystick steering sounded a good idea and now, having used it for a full harvest, I wouldn’t go back to a steering wheel,” stressed Keith. “With no steering column there is a marvellous view across the header, and when turning on headlands it’s quicker and takes less effort. It’s just pushed to the left or right, and as soon as the stick is released it returns to the middle and the steering centralises, whereas a steering wheel has to be rotated back to the correct position. It’s easier on the road too, as fine adjustments are made through small stick movements, whereas a steering wheel encourages over-steer due to the rear wheel steering. It’s a logical innovation and I wish it had been available 25 years earlier.”

Belvoir Farming Company farm manager, Keith Challen says the Ideal’s VisionCab is very comfortable. With no conventional steering wheel, the view of the header is described as “marvellous”.

Flex Draper header

The Geringhoff header can operate in hinged mode which splits it into three rigid sections, or flex mode which allows flexing across the width and up to 300mm of vertical knife travel. Hinged mode allows the full range of reel height adjustment, whereas in flex mode reel movement is limited to prevent knife contact where the ground is very uneven.

“The more I use the Geringhoff header, the more I like it,” confirmed Keith. “Tilt adjustment allows the operating angle to precisely suit the crop and conditions. We had a lot of storm-damaged wheat last year which was laid flat on the ground in all directions. Tilting the header forward allowed me to push the
knife down under the crop, while the reel was set to pull the crop in over the knife. The straw was very damp, but I maintained a constant 6.5kph working speed as the crop fed cleanly into the header, and then the belts transported it to the centre of the table for heads-first feeding into the elevator. Very little was left in the field, and we maintained high outputs.

“Another benefit of the accurate ground following is that, even with its 40ft width, stubbles are shaved off close to the ground. It adapts to undulations quickly, and only a couple of replacement knife sections were needed during harvest.”

Half of the straw is chopped, and the remainder is baled by a local farmer. Even with the straw spreader operating at less than full capacity in damp conditions, a 40ft spread width is easily achieved.

Impressive work rates

Despite high straw volumes and damp conditions, average work rates of 6ha/hour were achieved harvesting first wheats yielding 10t/ha.

Early starts and late finishes were generally avoided due to high grain moisture content but, even so, between 55–62ha per day was harvested with time also taken for moving between fields.

“With the Ideal 10T, we benefitted from longer working days due to the header’s ability to pick up and feed the crop smoothly, and the thorough but gentle threshing and separation by the Dual Helix rotors. The IDEALbalance twin sieves provide a huge cleaning area, and even with large volumes of wet straw and in higher yielding crops, average losses were below 0.5% and never exceeded 1%. There were barely any header losses, and none from the rotors,” emphasised Keith.

Keith said the Ideal’s VisionCab is spacious, quiet, and comfortable. Adjustments are easily carried out from the Varioterminal, and it is easy to achieve a good sample. Half the straw is swathed for baling by a local dairy farmer, and the rest is chopped.

Keith said that swapping from chopping to swathing and back again is achieved at the touch of a button in under one minute. Straw is spread across the 40ft cut width without needing full power, and adjustable spread bias maintains even distribution on windy days.

Fendt Connect

Fendt Connect telemetry allows the combine position and operating status to be monitored through a smartphone app. Authorised dealers can use it to check for fault codes and service requirements.

Keith said that it is difficult to accurately compare running costs as every harvest is different, but he believes that the Fendt’s fuel use per hectare of harvesting is lower than the previous machine, despite it having more power and achieving superior work rates.

Loyal to dealer and brand

“We have definitely become a Fendt farm,” he concluded. “The B&B Tractors team is fantastic. Colin Blood sits down with us, discusses what we need and the best way to own it, and we trust him. The engineers who looked after our Ideal 10T this year were some of the best technicians ever to visit our farm and we had complete confidence in their abilities.

Support from Fendt combine specialist Ant Risdon was excellent too. He arranged for us to try an extended unloading auger for improved compatibility with our CTF system, and he called in several times to check that we were getting the most from the machine and was always available at the end of the phone. Between the manufacturer and dealer, we have exactly what is needed from a key supplier.”