Farms & Farm Machinery #397

REVIEW
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6. The Cam Pilot assumes control of
the tractor to change direction to
match the path of the swath
7. There is a direct powerband drive
between the engine and the
chopping unit, the accelerator and
the Comfort Cut intake roller drive
If the going gets really
gnarly the axles can be
‘diff- locked’ with a
multi-disc clutch.
when the power isn’t needed it simply reduces the load on the
drive line. As a result, the headland and road rpm can be dropped
considerably to 1,400 and 1,290rpm, respectively.
If the going gets really gnarly the axles can be ‘diff- locked’ with
a multi-disc clutch. When the diff-lock is set to auto it will lock
the front drive units together and will auto disengage when over
15km/h or there is a steering or braking correction.
The inclusion of a tyre pressure control system is becoming
more popular on tractors but has been on Claas Jaguars for more
than a decade. Tyre pressures can be reduced for field work and
automatically pumped up for when on the road. This ensures the
ideal pressure to get the machine home safely and with the least
possible wear in all scenarios.
NIR SENSOR
With near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy a light is beamed through
the crop from the top side of the spout as the crop flows
through. As the light bounces back it gives readings on not only
the moisture content but also starch, protein, fibre and fat ash
content. This has been proven and accepted by the DLG test lab
and allows farmers and contractors to get a printout at the end of
each job with not only all crop data, but also start/end time, area
and dry matter (DM) yield, which is a great feature.
Claas has taken this one step further to include the automatic
length of cut adjustment. This will vary based on the DM of the
crop passing through the NIR sensor. If the desired cut length is,
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say, 14mm at 35 per cent DM, the machine can be set to vary the
length of cut by +/- 3mm to retain the desired DM. The machine
will automatically make these adjustments throughout the
paddock as outside rounds, trees and exposed areas, etc. can all
have quite different DM percentages. As a result, the farmer gets
the ideal chop length across the whole crop, not just what the
machine was initially set to.
OTHER FEATURES
Other features worth mentioning include LED work lights on the
cab roof, at the rear and on the upper discharge chute where they
pivot with the crop flow, allowing night-time harvesting operations
to be monitored very easily.
Three different kernel processors are available: classic, max and
Shredlage (which our test 970 was equipped with). This concept
allows maize plant to be cut longer (up to 30mm) and it almost
shreds the plant rather than straight cutting (hence the name),
which aids animal fibre digestion, while the 50 per cent speed
differential between the two KP rollers pulverises the kernel.
The test machine was fitted with the ORBIS 750 (10 row) which
has five parts that stack fold and unfold in 15 seconds. Auto
contour activates when the head is placed in the float position
and the hard-wearing skids ensure the low stubble height of
80mm is achieved while the wing sensors ensure the head floats
with the contours of the ground.
The combination of small and large drums and row fingers
give clean crop cut and constant flow to the feed rollers and,
for maintenance, all grease nipples only need a squirt every 250
hours while the gearbox oils only need changing every 2,500
operating hours (after the initial oil change).
SUMMARY
In terms of sheer numbers, the cost of forage harvesters is
staggering. Equally (and thankfully) so is the throughput these
machines can achieve. And when you consider the impressive
technology on board it all starts to add up. The ability for
Australia to get the 970 with the huge V12 MAN engine without
the emissions wizardry of the Tier 5 machines is a real bonus.
Claas has been the market leader in the forager game since
its onset and the technology behind this latest offering will not
disappoint. It not only makes the operator’s life easier but the
maintenance and adjustment features means parts last longer
and the constant automated adjustment results in top notch
forage, making this a real game changer.
The Claas Jaguar 970 is available in Australia through
Claas Harvest Centres.
60 TradeFarmMachinery.com.au THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND