Grassland debut for John Deere’s latest products

New John Deere machines at May’s grassland events

John Deere will be featuring the new generation HarvestLab 3000 crop constituent/manure sensing system and V400 Series variable chamber round baler for the first time at three major grassland events in May.

The machines can be seen working at Grassland UK in Somerset on May 10, the Royal Welsh Grassland Event in Powys on May 16 (where John Deere dealer RVT is main sponsor in conjunction with John Deere, Kuhn and JCB) and FTMTA Grass & Muck 2018 in Co Tipperary, Ireland on May 17.

Now available for the 2018 season, the new high capacity V400 Series variable chamber round balers have been designed to work more efficiently and productively in all crop conditions from wet grass to dry, brittle straw, offering farmers and contractors increased versatility and ease of operation.

Key features include a durable, extra heavy duty welded frame and a proven feeding system with a larger diameter pick-up and one-piece in-line auger rotor for improved intake and crop flow. Heavier duty components such as bigger drive chains, oversize roller bearings, a new bale density tension system and Hardox steel rotor tines have also been incorporated in the new designs.

Features include a full width drop-floor unplugging system enabling the operator to remove blockages instantly from the tractor cab, and a range of BaleTrak monitors. There is a choice of net only or net and twine wrapping options, and models are compatible with John Deere’s weather resistant B-Wrap system. 

John Deere’s 8000 Series self-propelled forage harvesters for 2018 are available with the new HarvestLab 3000 sensing system. HarvestLab was the first NIR (near infra-red) sensing system in the industry to measure silage dry matter and enable automatic length of cut adjustments. The system was subsequently developed to analyse crude protein, starch, NDF, ADF, sugar and other silage constituents, and can now be used for maize, grass and manure sensing.

Basic JDLink telematics are fitted as standard on all 8000 Series foragers, and contractors in particular can specify a choice of ‘connected farming’ packages to make the most of this technology. Connectivity Premium includes guidance ready functionality, JDLink Connect, the work order management app MyJobConnect and a GreenStar 2630 display.

The Connectivity Ultimate package additionally includes a StarFire 6000 satellite receiver and HarvestLab 3000 with constituent sensing calibration. Both packages can be optionally upgraded with John Deere’s Ag Navigation system and the logistics app MyJobConnect Premium.

Other new features include the optional Active Fill Control rear unloading system, which allows the spout to automatically fill a trailer when the tractor follows behind the forager, for example when opening a field.

The 3m 639 grass pick-up is now optionally available with John Deere’s premium reel, which is designed for extremely tough harvesting conditions and includes a range of heavy-duty driveline and reel parts, while the main wearing parts are Dura Line coated.

John Deere offered Dura Line crop flow components on its forager range for the first time in 2010, and owners of these machines have experienced a dramatic reduction in the cost of wearing parts. Based on this experience, the company is now guaranteeing selected Dura Line wearing parts for 3000 engine hours or a maximum of five years on all new 2018 forager sales.