BUILT TO CHOP: John Deere European Tour

March 2022. No one yet suspects that it will be the hottest and driest year since weather data was recorded. At 7:22am the new 8500, still well camouflaged in its old styling, rolls off the John Deere forage harvester assembly line in Zweibrucken. Over the next six months, Katie, as these Vibrken engineers have affectionately named the machine, will travel across Europe to HAR for customers under very different conditions and challenges. Its mission? To prove to customers all over Europe that the new 8000 series is built to chop. Can Katy meet the high expectations? The first stop on the long journey is France at the beginning of May. The Champagne region is already extremely dry.

In 2023, the 8,000 SPFH from John Deere will see some significant updates. We'll also see a styling facelift to bring it more in line with the 9000 series, although this 8500 is currently in disguise. So let's go and have a look and listen to what some of the customers have to say.

In France, the alfalfa harvest is in full swing. Florian Goughli needs to harvest 400 tons per hour to feed the drying factory.

Alfalfa must be harvested at approximately 50 or 60% dry matter, which can complicate the task for the forage harvester. In terms of harvesting, the crop is very rich in sugar and can cause blockages in the harvest flow like the knife drum and the spell.

In the field. We meet Philippe Gross who has tested the 8,500 on nearly 1,000 hectares. How does the machine cope with the high demands?

The machine has done very well in crop. That is not always easy for a forage harvester. Having been a harvester driver for almost 30 years, I've seen the impressive improvements made to these machines over the years. I think the Cab is one of the best on the market because it's a really quiet cab, very spacious and really comfortable.

Welcome to Ireland, the real home of grass.

I was turning around and looked out.

Through the gate and I saw a spy looking in, seeing what was going on. I'm here too and I found this guy out on the roadside. First impressions? Super, super machine.

The EF5.

The new styling, the slightly improved intake.

It runs sweeter, it runs nicer.

What all of you done?

The Model Year 23 update includes some major changes like new engine and more power on some models, more aggressive feed roll design, Boussa clad coated premium kernel processor, a new high intense Duraline sawtooth option for 10% longer lifetime and 10% lower wear costs. And last but not least, the styling update. Just in time for the grass harvest in Ireland, Katie has finally shed the camouflage and now shines in her new styling. John O' Flynn's started contracting when he was 16 years old. Forty years ago, Jon O' Flynn had many change requests for the team from Zweibruchen. And today, like the amount of changes.

Are there for the last 40 years are just unbelievable. Like, so I can't see how they can really improve what we already have now at the moment, like performance, engine horsepower and everything is what we want to know.

Like during peak season, three butterfly mowers, four rakes, two SPF HS and 13 trailers need to be organized. How does that work?

We have them equipped with JDLink and we're using the mapping feature on them. I suppose the technology in Jandeer is really enhancing the service we can provide as well because it's cutting down a lot of downtime. There was just one instance now since we've had it, that at three o' clock in the morning we got a breakdown. I got a notification on my phone and by the time I dragged the mechanic he was. After seeing the notifications, well, he was already on the way out to the machine. It's, I suppose is necessary for us belt run on scale. We're running as well.

O' Flynn's staff rode up 1.5 meter wide and almost half a meter high. Monster swaths. With a 12 meter rake, the yield is around 30 tons per hectare. In the field. The team from Zweibrucken is heavily impressed by the Irish swaths.

Honestly, yeah, I think the windows are huge. I expected big windows, but they are that huge.

The dual header drive and the pickup auger can be hydraulically optimized separately. And so the standard body machine bravely bites its way through the extreme conditions in which even a widebody machine would have to work hard. Mike Barrett is already driving an 8500. He tests the model year 23 updates in the same conditions in which he normally operates his machine.

So Mike, I mean you ran this machine alongside yours, did you notice much of a difference in performance? I was getting about 1 1/2km hours an hour more of this machine than.

What I can get out of my own rain. The last that Katie will see for a few months.

This is a good TV in summer's.

Day in Ireland and I'm really happy that I have my sunglasses with me, otherwise I would be really lost here. So it's really good to have the sunglasses here in Ireland.

For the next Stop. Katie arrives safely back on the continent to chop in the Benelux countries. Time to introduce her faithful companion.

Hello everyone. My name is David. I'm a demo driver for John Deere this year and I'm accompanying the Built to Chop tour through Europe. We are currently on the road in the Netherlands. We chop grass for dairy farms.

Farmers in this region. They cut up to six cuts of.

Grass and the big challenge here is that we have a relatively high sugar content since we are pretty close to the coast.

The update also includes a quieter cab, a water injector bar and an optimized and longer spout which ensures a reliable crop flow even in these extremely sticky crops and conditions. And what do the customers say about the updates?

I was positively surprised by the new spout. It is more comfortable and with the new geometry, the risk of shooting over the trailer is reduced.

The most important improvements are around the crop flow. It is a lot smoother. The noise level is around 60% reduced compared to our old machine.

The harvest lab sensor also measures the metabolizable energy on the go. The best tool to know for sure the quality which is in the trailer.

Shortly there is new value. The metabolizable energy guessing is missing.

Measuring is knowing. A big advantage of the John Deere forage harvester is the harvest lab. As you know your forage quality directly after harvest. Based on each field, you directly see yield and quality of your silage and can adapt your manure or fertilizer application. That's really important to me.

The 8500 is a standard body machine and I had the impression that the machine has high capacity, almost close to the capacity of a 9000 series. I thought it would be much less. I know that the slogan of John Deere for self propelled forage harvesters is pure performance and I can confirm that this is true. We experience exactly that pure performance.

The extreme heat and drought is also pushing the harvest forward. In North Germany. As early as June, Katie is expected to prove her skills in whole crop silage. Contractor and farmer Alexander Witt tests the 8,500 in the Triticale harvest.

For the first time we have the opportunity to work with a Harvest lab sensor and can thus carry out yield measurements. We can also determine the dry matter content during harvesting. The machine creates a yield map which allows us to use seeding rates, fertilization and crop protection more efficiently.

Italy is suffering from extreme drought. Farmers are struggling with up to 50% crop failure. The last real rain was in some places before Christmas 2021. Maize was chopped from the end of June and when we visited in mid August, the harvest was almost finished. As in all other countries, the John Deere dealer is a crucial part of the success of the Built to Chop tour. Not only in logistics and on site organization, but also in customer selection. Only in this way is it possible for Katie to chop in irrigated fields with high crop yields that Italy is normally famous for. But Katie has to perform in all conditions. The brothers of contractor Biamonte have been driving John Deere for 30 years. Only last year they bought an 8500. Today they are testing Katie. We stop Stefano in a field flattened by a thunderstorm and want to know what his first impression is.

The machine seems really good. It's also very easy to drive and the controls are very simple and intuitive. What struck me the most were the controls added on the multifunction leverage. I can change the way I use them, like the spout height or the automatic closure of the flap.

The next day it rains for the first time in months. The machines stay in the shed and thus the contractor, Paolo Vitali has a little more time for us. He Normally drives a 9000, but in the past few days he has also had the opportunity to test Katie.

I was very impressed with the machine, especially the engine management. A very high performance machine that is very close to its big sister, the 9,000. Very high performance, very good cutting quality. And also the technology is, as always, top notch. I would nickname it Little Beast because I know it's not at the top of the John Deere engine range, but it proved to be very powerful.

Mauro Tovani also owns two widebody machines. One is an 8600. How did the 8500 perform in comparison?

Excellent, if not better than the 8600. At least the same.

Mauro chops all kinds of crops. How does he ensure that his machines run reliably throughout the season?

For years we have been choosing Duraline to prevent downtime. This one has almost 3,000 hours. Today we replaced a small part. I think it can't get any better than this.

Welcome to the next stop of our Built to Chop Tour. 2022. Today, live from the Czech Republic.

The conditions couldn't be better. We have great weather, we have large fields, good maize, good yields.

Perfect.

Perfect conditions for Katie to deliver high quality maize silage. One question, Johannes. How good is your check?

But that's all I know so far. And that's the reason why we have another colleague with us. Hello, Philipp.

Hello, Johannes. That's nice microphone. We are in central Moravia. It's a bed soil, very nice yield. And this farm looks very good. And now I show you. Okay, let's go, boys.

Tomasz Raschke has a farm with 6,500 hectares. He uses his maize silage for the biogas plant and for feeding. For him, chopping quality is key.

The chopping length and broken kernels are how we like it. After we adjusted the length of cut, the dry matter is around 35%, which fits our needs. I can't find any whole kernels, so for us the quality is perfect.

Komash doesn't normally chop himself, but during the test drive he can't help himself.

Can I drive it as well?

In the evening? We want to know his thoughts on the 8500.

It was very interesting to see the machine in action. The performance and especially the quality of the silage with the connection to the telematics and the data outputs of the harvest. It is a really interesting machine.

The modern farm of Frantisek bures has about 1260 hectares. Philip takes him out for a test drive.

The vegetation looks completely different from the cab.

It's unbelievable how much material goes in there.

It's like a green river.

Even after chopping is finished for the day, he raves about Katie.

Very good.

The machine ran very nicely. The feeding is smooth, the cutting is wonderful. The cab is comfortable, quiet. Really great work. Welcome to the next stop in our Built to chop tour 2022 across Europe. We have just arrived another time in Germany.

In Germany too, the harvest windows are getting shorter and shorter. This calls for high efficiency and operational reliability. If the forage harvester breaks down, it becomes expensive because then the whole chopping chain is down. Not only the forage harvesters, but also the machines on the silo. What means do the sales partners have to help the customers quickly in such a case?

The harvest, I would say, starts with preparation. After the harvest, the machine comes to us. If it is reliably maintained and checked, then you have a very high reliability. In the season, the John Deere Systems with JDLink where we check every day whether the machines are running smoothly or if there is a fault warning with the expert alert, where we receive information more than 24 hours in advance that a breakdown may occur. We can prepare for it with service staff and spare parts. Of course, we still have workshop replacement machines up our sleeve and the customer can continue working in any case.

And this operational reliability is obviously well received by the customers.

For me, the first priority is service. The harvest are long days when the forage harvester breaks down. You can't afford to have a delay of one or two days because a repair is needed. And I have to say that I am very well positioned with John Deere. If there is really something wrong, it has never happened that I have not been helped quickly by another forage harvester or the repair has not taken very long.

Let's go to see where Casey is.

Let's do that.

She can't run away here.

She is still opening the field here right now.

I can't wait to hear what Kristian has to say about Katie Kustian. How's it going? Very nice.

Runs great.

And what is different about this beautiful KT in relation to your 8400?

She's quieter. Much quieter. They really did something there.

Wait, I'll put on my seat belt. Because it's got such a tremendous forward momentum.

She's got a lot more power, that's for sure.

And this engine, I think already has its full power at 1900 rpm.

So you can push it really well. Autolock is also running. It adapts perfectly. And autofill also runs great.

So you feel at home.

Yes, like in my living room.

The silage is very good. If you want to look at this with the camera here. The canals are not just split once or twice or three times, but really like mushed. I can only see very small pieces and that's how it should be. This is what chopped maize silage actually look like.

I just had a look in JD Link. We have a small anniversary to celebrate. We have just completed 1000 engine hours.

Golly, what an honor. The chopper ran great. The driver is also very pleased. He said he would like to take the forage harvester home tonight.

But Katie's mission is not over yet. Rain is waiting for her. What challenges will that bring?

Of course we're very worried about the plant leaves because they're so dead and when they're wet they're really hard to chop. Excellent.

Bernd Mollenkotta's contracting company offers service for nutrient management as its core business.

What are your requirements for the forage harvester?

For us it was important that we have a good chopping length and good cutting quality. And since we also work and trade a lot with nutrients, the harvest lab sensor was also very important for us. Basically, I see the sensor to evaluate an area better than an analysis at the official laboratory. At the moment we have two 8006 hundreds and three 8003 hundreds running. And I'm also curious to See how the silage compares to the other machines, especially the 8600. We'll tip it out back there and see what it looks like. The silage looks good. And the kernels nice and ground looks good.

Good.

Super.

Hi, Mark. Will you take me for a ride?

Sure. Buckle up then we'll get going.

What's your first impression of Katie?

Well, my first impression of the machine. Really great. Very quiet running performance. You almost don't hear it at all actually. Very strange for the chopper.

Here we are. Final stage of the Built to Chop tour in Denmark. I can't believe it's here already. The only problem I see is my Danish isn't so good. How's yours?

So there is no Danish in me at all. But we are lucky. We have our own Viking with us. And here he is. Michael.

Hey, Michael.

How are you?

Hey, Michael. Good to see you.

Thanks.

We're going to Morton and Carsten Yule. They have a really nice business. They have farming and then they also have contracting. Carsten is the manager for the farm, the cows and Morten has the contracting. So are you ready to see them?

Let's go meet them.

Carsten has 1200 Jersey cows which are famous for their fat and protein rich milk. How important is chop quality for feeding?

It means a great deal because we'd like the digestibility of the feed we make to be as high as possible. So it has to be tipped up.

For Morton too. The quality of the cut is the most important thing.

Always the chopping quality. It needs to be the same quality when it's wet, when it's dry, when it's normal. If you can say so. That's important for me. And it's important for me that the customers are happy.

What else is important? Important to him?

The service is very important for us and a machine that can drive. When the weather says we must chop where we are, we are pushing the calendar a little bit because we have a lot to chop, but. But also in a short time sometimes. So we. We need the machines running.

Morton has two days to put the 8500. Katie threw her paces.

How does it compare to your current machine? Another 8,500. And what do you think?

I think it's a machine that where I got the first impression is running very smooth, very low noise in the cabin. When I'm as a driver sitting there, I had that feeling that this new type of machine is. It has a more power. The material is running smoother through the machine. I have a feeling that it's. I'M getting more in, I'm doing more power.

Okay.

More, more, more yield power. When I look at the job quality and the corn processor, it looks very good. That's how we want it.

After six months and nine stops in eight countries, visiting over 50 customers, Katie embarks on her final run on the Built to Chop tour.

So, guys, here we are. The end of a long season, 2022, and Katie is ready to be shipped home.

Do you have any idea of how many hectares we did in total in the different crops?

We did about 1000 hectares of alfalfa. We did 750 hectares of grass, then in between 160 hectares of whole crop silage and ended up with 1050 hectares of corn.

Well, performance is one thing. Efficiency is even better. But what about the uptime? I mean, how often were you stopped.

Scott, I can tell you it was almost nothing. It was one and a half hours in the whole season.

The one and a half hours over six months? Yeah. That's remarkable, really. I mean, it really goes to show that this whole package for the performance, efficiency, reliability, this machine is built job.

Sa.