Deere Selling Pull-Type Combine In Australia

Deere Selling Pull-Type Combine in Australia COMBINES Conversions 9-4-4 Chamberlain John Deere's new 1051 PTO combine has now been tested for three seasons by farmers in Western Australia, and had its first "trial" sales in the eastern states last year. The company invested a great deal of money, time and effort in designing the machine, and was reluctant to heap praise on the harvester before it had been used "in the field" and teething troubles ironed out. The harvester has excited much comment among farmers throughout Australia, particularly as it provides a real alternative to SP (self-propelled) machines. Not only does the 1051 have the big capacity required, its 7.6m-wide front (about 23 ft.) is comparable to that of many SP harvesters, but it also features a unique transport configuration with the platform folding away behind the machine on its own independent suspension cart. The front is permanently mounted on the two-wheel cart, which carries it from transport to working position and continues to support it while harvesting. But the main reason given by most farmers for investing in the new harvester is a desire to make better use of their tractors. At Gabbin North, in Western Australia, Russell Smith has already worked a full harvest with the machine. Last year, he took off 2,500 acres of crop ù 395 acres of which was new country that had been blade plowed, raked a few times and seeded. "The machine rode like a dream over that rough land," Smith said. "This was despite travelling at 7¢ mph in a light crop. "I was also impressed with the strength of the cart that carried the front ù it was robust enough to handle all the hard work we put the machine through and there were no problems whatsoever in that area." The 1051 replaced an International Harvester 86 pto harvester with a 15-ft. front, but Russell Smith chose another pto harvester because he couldn't see any point in buying an SP machine when he could use his John Deere 4640 for seeding and harvesting. According to Smith, he could double the crop cut in a certain time while working at the same speed as the International machine, because had an extra 8 ft. of cutting width and he did not have to unload as often (thanks to the bigger capacity bin). (Reprinted from Power Farming Magazine).

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