Farms and Farm Machinery – September 2019

THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND TradeFarmMachinery.com.au 35

The only gripe is that the ‘hot’ keys are all the same (apart

from the different letters), so it’s hard to remember what hot

key does what.

FEEDING/CROP FLOW

The crop flow path in the JD 8000 series has been totally

redesigned, with an intent to improve throughput, chop quality

and reduce fuel consumption, all of which is music to harvester

owners’ ears. The 8500’s springs, bearings, and components

have been upgraded for better performance and reliability to

handle greater horsepower.

The 8500 also has a 25 per cent wider feedroll opening

compared with the 7000 series choppers, while the reliable

DuraDrum is back and has a 10 per cent bigger drum diameter.

If corn cutting is what you are after, the kernel processor can

be switched in and out in under five minutes thanks to the

location behind the front axle and is easily accessed from the

service area behind the cab.

HARVEST LAB 3000

High-quality silage is obviously a must for both the farmer

and the contractor chopping the product. So, fitted at the

base of the spout (just behind the cab) is the HarvestLab 3000

moisture sensor.

This technology has obviously been around for a while, but

it still impresses to know that the machine collects real-time

moisture readings of the crop.

Readings aren’t affected by the elements because the

HarvestLab 300 moisture levels are measured 10 times

per second using near-infrared technology. This info allows

contractors or farmers the ability to select the best chop

length, optimum inoculant application rate feed analysis of

crop harvested.

HarvestLab 3000 is factory calibrated and comparison of data

from the chopper can be compared with the weighbridge to

give the operators a real time product snapshot.

ACTIVE FILL CONTROL

Apart from the plush comfortable cab with easy to reach

controls there are two more features that essentially drive the

chopper itself, all you need to do is set the forward speed.

The first is Active fill control. This is pretty much what it says

on the tin – it creates a border around the truck or trailer and

then uses a camera with 3D camera to fill in the way you have

selected, e.g. front to back, back to front, inside the driver’s

window, etc. Once the bins are loaded into the system the

camera detects it and automatically begins tracking with the

spout. Then it controls the rotation and cap position of the spout

until the truck is filled. It does work well on trucks and lower

bin trailers, but loading into loader wagons is a little less

accurate as the camera can’t get a full ‘birds eye view’ of

the wagon’s exterior.

STARFIRE 6000 GPS

In terms of efficiency this is where the most gains are made in

driving the chopper. May Brothers (the chopper’s owner) runs

a fleet of John Deere tractors so the Auto track settings from

the planter tractor are uploaded into the chopper and bingo, no

overlap, no missed rows, just eight rows constantly being pulled

into the Kemper maize front. This accuracy in the Starfire 6000 is

down to 2.5cm without a base station.

VERDICT

Overall, the John Deere is a reliable, well-made machine. Yes, the

new 9000 series foragers are out and about in the world, but for

much of the country in Oz and NZ, the 8000 series machines are

more than adequate

While we only had a limited amount of time behind the wheel

of the 8500, we can, hand on heart, tell you we had fun.

As part of the Mighty Machines show, we straight up said that it

is one of our favourite machines we’ve featured.

The 8000 series’ features and performance has given operators

the ability to run a full green fleet. And the advantages of this

include staff familiarity and the technology advances like that of

the Starfire 6000 – giving Deere the tools to really have a crack

at a decent chunk of the market.

And it’s a strange market. Claas probably leads the pack

in Australia and New Zealand, but New Holland is always

beating down the door to take some market share off Claas

and John Deere.

Readings aren’t affected

by the elements because

the HarvestLab 300

moisture levels are

measured 10 times

per second.

HARVESTERS

1. Drawing the eye – the sheer size of these
   machines is impressive


2. One of the best on the market – the John
   Deere 8500


3. The 8000 range is offered between 375hp
   and 617hp


4. The crop flow path has been redesigned to
   improve throughput


5. If cutting corn, the kernel processor can be
   switched in and out in under five minutes

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