KOMBAJNY | Deere Studio

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Hello and welcome to Deer Studio to our second show of John Deere's new online format. My name is Patrice, and those of you who tuned in to the previous Forage Harvester show will know that I will not only be giving you exciting insights into the product world of John Deere, but also a glimpse behind the scenes and into the heads of our guests. Today, the stars seem to be particularly aligned. Our very special harvest stars are celebrating their 75th anniversary and making some big promises. And you might also get lucky by paying close attention at the end of our show by finding the correct answer to our quiz question about John Deere combines. To mark this special occasion, I would like to welcome someone that we affectionately call Mr. Combine around here. So please welcome Jonathan Henry.

That's why I'm running oh, I'm running There's nothing runs like me that's why I'm running.

Welcome Jonathan. And right away, what is it with you and gifts at John Deere? A brochure.

Don't worry about it. Just put the brochure down. We'll come back to that a little bit later.

But again, what would I need a brochure for? Because I was told whenever it comes to combine, if there's anyone who can answer all the questions, then it's you.

You know, Patrice, I've been very, very fortunate in my career working over 30 years with combines in different shapes and forms. And during that time I've had the pleasure to see customers all around the world and understand their production systems when it comes to combines. So very fortunate from that point of view.

What is it that you consider then the main highlights in the evolution of John Deere combines?

You know, this year is a really important year for John Deere and combines. This marks 75 years of John Deere being in the self propell combine business. And that goes right back to 1947 in the Model 55, which was our first self propelled machine. And of course the DNA of that machine transcends through all of the combines that we've built from that day to now. And actually especially in the Walker machines like the T series, the high performance T series machines that set the benchmark in the Walker area. But I'd also like to highlight over the last 75 years a couple of other points. First of those, I would say would be the CTS that we introduced in the mid-90s, this was our first non conventional machine that we brought to market. It brought John Deere tine technology to the market for the first time, which we then later evolved into the sts combine in 2001. We then updated it significantly again in 2012 where it became the S series. And it's continued to evolve since then, significantly. But the most important thing is that this year also marks the introduction of the X9 and specifically the full availability of the X9 combine, which is our new benchmark machine. And it brings a whole new level of capability, not just to John Deere, but to the industry of combines.

And what would be your personal perfect harvester look like and what would it be able to do?

Let's come back to the brochure that I put on your desk.

Okay.

So those stars, they represent what we believe that customers really care about in a combine harvester. They include of course, performance, uptime, comfort and probably most important of all in the future, precision agriculture.

Well, that sounds great on paper, but we found someone who can actually check this out in the field. And you probably know them from the Internet. Rolls Farm, that's the name of their account. They are twins. So please do not ask me who is who. One is Tom, the other one is Will. Carlite is the family name. And here they are.

We've done the morning service, we've done the fuel AdBlue. Well, I've done the fuel, I've done the AdBlue, I've done most of it, but. Hey, hey. Done the greasing I reckon. Let's have a nibble. Yeah, I think moisture will be down from the shower we had yesterday evening. Exactly. So I think get a nibble. Can't wait till the X9 comes so we can have a look. Here it is, Here it is. Absolutely monstrous. It is huge, isn't it? 40 foot header, so five more foot than ours. Yeah. And the grain tank looks absolutely huge from here compared to what our one is. Yeah. Let's go and have a ganders. Let's have a look at it. Let's have a ganders. Look at her. Nice leather seat. Yeah. It's quite a good view actually, isn't it? Yeah, you can see the sides of the 40 foot header quite easily, can't you? Oh yeah. From here it doesn't seem like it's 40 foot, does it? Compared to probably because the machine's wide, so it looks similar sort of width to what we are, but another five on. Yeah. And now you can realize how big the feeder house Is when you. That I've put on top, can't you. Good view inside the grain tank as well. Yeah, quite nice and clear, isn't it? And that's same as that ATAR tractor, isn't it? Yeah, the radio. Yeah. And then have a look. And have a look under here for your, for your. I think. Is that where you get your massage seat here? It is. Yeah. One, two heated seat as well if you wanted. And aircon and then similar. The layout is the same as our one here.

The X9 actually has every feature you might wish for. But how does it compare to the other models?

Right, so with the X9 we, you know, we invested. It's a new combine. We invested in the operator station, we added some updates there. But if I was to take a non expert and show them the T series cab or the S series cab like yourself, for example, I would challenge you to actually detect the difference. So John Deere cares also about comfort on our T series and S series.

But may I ask, what is this about this theme? Comfort. How come comfort is so important?

So you know, operators spend a lot of time in their combines or on their machines during harvest. And as you say, it's a productive work machine. And we care not only just about the physical comfort of the operator, the visibility, but we also care about comfort in terms of helping the operator do work. An example of that would be our Autotrac system, which is an automatic guidance system that steers the combine through the field, keeps the header completely full so the maximum efficiency of the machine is achieved as it progresses through the field and releases the operator from having to provide steering inputs. That's something that John Deere has invested in for over 20 years and we're the leader in the marketplace in that type of system.

So a kind of auto steering, allowing the driver to concentrate on other processes of the machine, correct?

Exactly. But we don't just leave it there, we also automate those processes. So if we take Harvest Smart for example, which is a system that adjusts the machine forward speed, it does that automatically based on the yield of the crop. So in a lower yielding area, we accelerate the machine and run faster. In a higher yielding area, we slow it down so the flow of material through the machine is consistent. We also have an active vision system which is doing the other machine adjustments. So it's looking at characteristics like grain loss, looking at grain quality, and that's making the key adjustments on the machine to automate those settings and ensure the operator gets the most out of the machine.

So Shall I call it intelligent comfort?

I like that, yes.

Well, with this machine, it's also about performance, isn't it? Because I would like to have a closer look at the things. When John Deere says the T series can do 50 tons per hour, the S series 75 tons per hour and the X series even 100 tons per hour.

So I'd just like to clarify that those numbers that you just talked about, that's in a wheat crop and the video that we're about to go to is in oilseed rape. But I would ask you please pay particular attention to the header in this video.

All right, I will. Let's have a look.

Welcome to the X9.

Here it is. It's massive, isn't it? It is. It's a monster.

So a couple of points or key features I want to talk you through before we go combining later this morning, brand new HDX header from John Deere. So a hinged Draper design with an extended belt with our grain saver pattern on the belt to prevent any crop spilling out into the field.

You said it's got the rib sort of. Yeah.

The grain saver pattern, I do like.

That because ours hasn't got that. So it will just help hold especially noisy rate. Oh, it'll hold it winter from falling down to the front. Yeah. That is a much deeper belt than our one, isn't it?

Yes, it's a 1200mil depth belt on the HDX headers.

That's definitely another sort of 20cm on again, isn't it? Yeah, exactly.

So at the front of the X9 we've got our super wide feeder house that's 23% larger than what we've known from our S series to. So the reason why we've moved to that is to deal with the higher volumes of crops that are going to be coming through this combine and to deal with larger front end equipment.

Well, that's the first thing I noticed. Even when it was off the head, I was like, wow, that feeder house is wide compared to what our one is as well.

And the unique advantage of this feeder house width is we maintain that throughout the entire body of the combine. So at no point does it pinch in. We can keep that width all the way back to the residue management pack at the rear.

Awesome.

In the Xline we have two three and a half metre rotors, 610mm diameter each, but they're the same design of your S series rotor in that the split into three sections. So you have a feeding, a threshing and A separation section.

And do those rotors turn inwards?

The rotor Design in the X9 is unique because we have a feed accelerator with a chevron in the middle that splits the crop and pushes it to the outside of both rotors, so it's top to centre feeding. So we're working with gravity or physics, first of all, because the crop naturally wants to flow outwards and it preserves grain and straw quality from moving it that way around the combine and it saves power.

That probably means better on fuel, doesn't it?

Yeah, absolutely it does.

It's a big grain tank. What size is that, then?

The grain tank on the X9 1100, Tom, is 16,200 litres, which equates to about 12 tons of crop inside the tank.

So that would pretty much fill one of our traders up straight away. Yeah, that's big, mate.

If you fill up on the move, though, you'd probably empty about 14 tonnes worth of crop into the trailer with the throughput of the combine in about two minutes.

So what size is the cleaning shoe compared to our one?

The cleaning shoe in the X9 1100 is 7 meters squared, so it's the largest cleaning shoe on the market. The one in the S790 is just over five meters squared. The X9 comes with a brand new residue management system. So 124 blades inside and then 61 stationary knives. What's unique about the knives inside the chopper guys is that every One of the 124 blades has a dimple pattern imprinted into the chopper blade to make sure that we're reducing the amount of drag on the knife, which in turn saves around 30 horsepower. So what we've done with the X9 combine is throughout the machine, front to back. We've looked for where we can save horsepower.

Clever.

So we're calling it a total harvesting solution rather than just a huge amount of horsepower driving all the components. We design the components around the engine.

Yeah. Makes sense, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. Fish, shall we go combining, then? So we're top of green on engine horsepower. We're going 60 kilometers an hour. I reckon we check lots of. Right, we're going to see what it's doing out the back. I'll go here. This side. Perfect. See, there's hardly anything there. Will Nothing. That's at 6k as well. Well, that's 6k. I reckon we can push on. Push on a bit even further. Yeah, yeah. Lovely. That's such a nice even flow going into the feeder house, isn't it? You can't complain about the feeling, can you? It's quiet. I'm waiting for that fan noise to go and you'll hear it. It builds through its mouth block.

But it's not.

So chaps, had a bit of time with the combine. Now what's the first impressions?

Well, one word. Unreal. Yeah.

Fantastic.

No, that's so really good. Well, we, we were pushing on between 6.268 K depending. Okay. Ish. And that was doing well. Pretty much 40 ton an hour.

Okay.

Obviously rate yielding roughly four and a half. Yeah. Ton of hectare and well, with our combine we could try and well aiming to try and get four, four and a half hectares an hour. If we can, we can get more but with this we're sort of sitting at seven and a half to eight. So as much we like you James, but we're going to go back in a cab and. Yeah, we'll see you later.

Nice one, James.

See you later. Have fun.

Wow, that's impressive. Not only the twins, although the twins were very impressed and you mentioned it earlier, we should pay close attention to the header and you take a particular pride of it. So the so called HDX header, if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah, sure. So you know, with the new X9 combine, we didn't just develop a ground up new combine, we also developed this new header technology. And you know, when we take this X9 out to demonstrate to customers, they expect to be impressed by the X9 and indeed they are, as you've heard in the video. But actually what often impresses them even more is the unexpected step forward in capacity of the header and also that it's a one header for all crops that has not been available before. So that's why we're so excited about this combination of this package x9 and HDX header.

But the question remains, which I haven't found any answer in the clip, is where you do the definition and these titles like a hundred ton combine is coming from.

Yep. Perhaps our next guest can actually help you answer that question.

Probably.

That would be Jonathan. Jonathan Edwards.

Absolutely.

So let's have him here. Please welcome Jonathan Edwards.

That's why I'm running. Oh, I'm running something Looks like. Hey, that's why I'm running.

Welcome, Jonathan. That's a real cast.

Yes.

In, in corporate colors.

In corporate colors, yes.

And also on your back there's something about stars as well.

Yeah. You want to see it?

Yeah, please. Yeah.

Harvest us.

Harvest us. All right. But all I need is answers. I would like to know why is it Called the hundred ton combine.

Basically it means that it can harvest 100 tons an hour. Obviously this is down to harvest conditions, the crop type, but also the straw and the grain moisture. But it gives us the clarification, allows us to promote the harvest capacity of our combines.

And you know, basically I'm from Germany and in the supermarket I'm aware that some of the products have this little stamp on it, like saying like dlg. I mean I never really paid attention until I actually found the same stamp also like on the John Deere combine. How come? How are they related? What does it stand for?

So basically the DLG allow for like an independent test. So whilst we test our own equipment through different benchmarking activities, we also want to have an independent test done. And it's not just the combines that we use it for. We've also done certification with the DLG for the harvest lab, for example. So it just basically gives the customers reassurance that it's not just our marketing message that we're saying the DLG have tested it too. And yeah, so that's, that's where it.

Comes from, an independent test. So how worried were you if the X9 would actually pass the test?

Personally, I wasn't. It's what the X9 is built for. It's a beast of a combine. Of course, take this summer for example. It's been a tough harvest season, but the X9 is built for it and we actually surpassed our own marketing message. So as you've been saying, 100 tons an hour. In the DLG test we actually did 126 tons and that was at such low loss levels as well. So 0.45%. So we completely beat what our own marketing messaging.

Yeah, but I assume that the dlg, I mean as they're professional, they want to understand the condition and all that, but first and foremost I also saw that it's a matter of like driver skill, I mean, so to speak, how much they can trash, that would be the most important thing.

Yeah, it can be. But as Jonathan mentioned earlier, with all the automation that we've got with our combines, that Harvest Martin combine advisory actually allows the utilization of full capacity of the combine all the time so the operator can relax a bit. They don't have to change the settings all the time because the combine is doing it for them. So it's not just down to the operator. The combine will help achieve those performance levels.

Wow.

That's what I call a deal. I mean as a driver you can lean back harvest with the best Results while enjoying pure luxury. Massage seat, auto steering, subwoofer. I kind of like that. But what about the other two comments? Here is. Yes, the team. I mean, you see those much more often in this region than the X9.

Sure. Well, Patrice, actually, I thought you'd ask that question. We've brought a couple of videos along and maybe we can show The S Series 1 first.

How convenient. So let's have a look.

So often we at John Deere combine team get asked, you've got the T series, 50 tonnes an hour. We've got over 100 tons an hour delivered by the industry leading X9. What can the fantastic single rotor S series deliver in today's development of rapid pace in combine harvesting technology? So here we are and we're going to find out. The key driver for this benchmark is to put these machines in the same conditions that our customers are facing on a daily basis. So real customer value to add more money into the customer's pocket at the end of harvest. But we are going to take an S790 with a brand new HD40X. We have three goals in this one test. First one is to achieve 75 tonnes an hour. Second one, a 1% loss and third, but no means least, a less than 1% broken grain.

We wanted to make sure that we were testing in different locations so we're not always in the same spot because obviously there's different conditions wherever we go throughout Europe. So today we're in between the coast and Aalborg. So this is our second test location with the S790 this year. The first location was in La Rochelle in France and then the team moved everything from France up to Denmark over the last few weeks and we've been testing here in the Baltic Sea conditions.

So today we had a really great day.

We ran our S Series and proven performance and we achieved the 75 tons an hour at 0.6% loss. And we had every faith that this.

Machine could do it.

The S790 performed really well. Not only did we get the 75 tonnes that we wanted to achieve today, but we also pushed that on. So 75 tonnes, 0.3% losses. It allowed us to push the S series a bit harder, a bit further, but still keeping within our loss levels. And we got over 85 tonnes an hour. When our marketing message is 75 tonnes an hour, it's not something that we're saying you'll average this performance and we're not saying that it's a peak either, but you can see this performance from this machine, depending on the conditions. So pleased today to have the results that we've got couldn't have gone any better.

So it was great to take the combine to two locations, France and Denmark, and achieve our goals that we set out for. So seeing that we got that performance from the S series was really good.

Yeah. So, Patrice, it's really important to understand with the S series, the grain quality of that machine is a key component. We almost always exceed our competitors in terms of grain quality with this machine and that's a key reason why our customers choose that technology.

So tell me please, about the T series a little bit more, because I would like to know to whom is this model suited best?

Our T series is a short bet, if you like. So it's suited for both farmers and contractors. During the 24 hour test in 2020 for the X9, we actually took the T670 there as well. So the 24 hour test was true harvest conditions and maybe even more than that for the X9. So it harvested through the night. Alongside that, we took the T Series 2 and it harvested for around 12 and a half hours with an output of 49.9 tonnes per hour. So again, achieving the goals that we have or the positioning of our combine models.

So just as impressive as the larger combines.

Sure. Yeah, definitely.

Okay. So it seems like a side of me you have already convinced a lot of people out there. You most certainly have convinced our testers in the field, the Carlyle's. Well, actually this will be the part where they will be part of our show as our guests, but unfortunately do farming duties that couldn't make it. Oh, no, it is what it is. So we decided at least have them join our show via video call. Ah, hi there. It's a pity you couldn't make it, but I heard you had a great time with the X9.

Oh, yeah, really? Well, yeah, it was good. It was so good. Yeah.

So you have a farm of over 700 hectares and started doing Instagram and YouTube. How come?

Well, we started our Instagram back in right at the end of 2019 and the main reason was our sister Georgie, who lives in London, she's working for Scott Dunn, a travel company. She's always basically messaging us what's going on on the farm and wanting to be kept in on the loop what's going on on the farm. And we thought rather than messaging her, why don't we start an Instagram account and do. It's like a live. Not live feed, but like a daily feed of what's happening on a day to day basis. So she could basically tune in on that and then rather than asking us, she can just see it for herself.

And you do have an S790, what do you like about it?

Well, we've actually previously to the S790, we've actually had an S690 and an S680 before that. Well, we love these machines because they're Hill Master. That's probably the main feature on it because we've got rolling banks, we've got steep hills. So the self leveling combine definitely suits our terrain. Yeah, definitely, yeah.

And what is the key factor for you for combines?

I'd say the key thing is to keep. The combine's got to keep on rolling. Basically. If the combine is not cutting, then there's no grain going in the shed. So that'd be the main reason. And then our local dealers literally 10 miles down the road, so they're local to us and we get on well with them. So yeah, it's good. And no one can trust the weather at the moment. The weather patterns. So when we get a nice dry spell and it's sunny, we want to basically be combining as flat out as we can and get all the grain in the shed. Exactly.

And do you have any questions to our specialists here?

Yes, we do. Our question is, are John Deere going to do a X9 combine? A Hill Master one?

You realize the advantages of John or Hillmaster. So obviously that was considered in the X9 program and in the end it didn't come through for two reasons. The first one was with the X9 we expect a very high take rate of tracks. And as you're aware, the Hillmaster system is not compatible with tracks. And the second component is that as you've experienced in the demonstration, we've got very high cleaning shoe capacity in the X9 and that diminishes the need for a sloped compensation system. So those were the two key factors that led to the decision to not bring Hill Master on the X9.

Interesting. Yeah, it makes sense.

Well, again a pity you couldn't be here. But keep up the good work and hope to see you soon.

Cheers. Thank you. Cheers. And Jonathan.

Well, back to you gentlemen. Your combines might have nothing left to be desired in terms of comfort, intelligence and performance. But what happens when something suddenly doesn't work as it should? I mean, how do you support the driver in that case?

It's a very sensitive area, especially for harvesting equipment. And as Tom and Will just said, the harvest window is Very short and it can change year on year. So it's important that we bring the harvest in as swiftly as possible.

So it's a bit like formula one, isn't it? I mean, the most important thing is to finish without a crash.

Yeah, and that's, that's a good analogy. And that's why our machines have JDLink and expert alerts. So the machines in the field have sensors around all the vital components and it can tell us what's going to go wrong before it actually happens. So therefore we can get a part out to fix the issue before it actually happens to keep the harvest going. So going back to your F1 analogy, it's little to no pit stops.

So that's something like preventive maintenance. But does that mean you're permanently monitoring all the machines that are currently in the field?

Harvesting it is preventive maintenance, but the customer can choose what data goes back to the sales partner and from there we get a very high level summary. So it can help develop the system for the future.

Well, it sounds like to me that there's really very little that can go wrong, but I guess even John Deere machines can encounter a situation where a part needs to be replaced and that cannot be just done at the edge of the field.

Yeah.

And we have our harvest promise. So if we do need a part replacement, and if we can't get it to that combine within 24 hours, we'll supply a like for like combine to keep the harvest running for that customer.

I think that's a very fair deal.

You know, Patrice, in the end, it's a really simple equation. When the machine needs to run, it's got to work. And that's why it's so important that John Deere is building the most reliable combines we've ever done in the last 75 years. Today.

Yes, the last 75 years have really paid off.

Well, we're both happy that you say it like that too.

Right.

And for those of you who missed our last show about the forage harvesters, check out the Deere studio website. And just to finish off perfectly, let's have a little selfie. This is. That's what the kids do these days. Just have a manifest for this great show with you guys. And with this picture, I would like to say thank you so much for having been our guest. Thank you so much for having tuned in. And of course also thank you so much to DJ Alana, Richard and Naomi. And see you next time.

I won't fall. I don't crawl. I bring lights. I never touch fine? So don't you underestimate? Don't you look down on me? I'm gonna be your best friend? Cause anyone's on me? Yeah, that's how I'm running? Oh, I'm running? It's like a bunch like you, me? That's why I'm running? Oh, I'm running?