New combine tools, one potent compact tractor

John Deere launches a range of updates for its S Series combines, plus a new small-stature tractor targeting specialty crop markets.

Spring is a time when companies announce new harvest tools for the following year, not the upcoming harvest. John Deere recently announced a few new tools and a technology update for the 2019 harvest. Three new items are targeted for the S Series combine line.

For farmers who want to boost traction and reduce ground pressure from their combines, John Deere is offering a new factory-installed option. Customers can choose a new suspension track system in 30- or 36-inch track belt widths. This is a redesigned track system for this combine series that incorporates changes to the track belts, integrated final drive, suspension cylinder and tandem bogie wheels. The new combination improves flotation, ride quality, transport speed and durability.

Matt Badding, product marketing manager for John Deere Harvest Solutions, says combines with tracks can get into the field sooner and harvest longer, “especially under less-than-ideal conditions, with less impact on the soil. The new tracks have a larger contact area compared to our previous tracks, which provides significant advantages to customers in these key areas.”

The new track features a unique tread design with wider and taller tread bars angled to improve traction, balance and ride comfort. And unlike with previous track systems, machines equipped with these new tracks can travel at speeds up to nearly 25 mph, cutting transport time between fields.

For small-grains producers, John Deere is launching the latest flex draper model — the 700FD HydraFlex.

The symmetrically designed draper has a dual V-guide belt and a thicker, corrugated front edge for better crop flow and longer belt life. There’s a dual-position — 16-inch and 18-inch — center-feed drum for greater harvest versatility and improved processing of bushy crops like canola. An 18-inch Top Crop Auger provides smoother feeding and fewer slugs in tough conditions.

Badding says to improve ground sensing on uneven terrain and to adjust header position automatically, the company added a fourth sensor to the Automatic Header Height Control option on the 35-, 40- and 45-foot models.

The S Series combine broke new ground on the tech side when it was introduced. The Combine Adviser and Remote Display Access already offer users benefits during operation. To improve on that tech, John Deere is launching Remote View and Adjust as part of the MyOperations mobile app.

This new enhancement allows owners or managers to remotely monitor combine performance and adjust concave clearance, rotor, fan speed, and chaffer and sieve clearances as needed.

The app gives customers visual access to machine information from a single combine or an entire fleet. “From their mobile device, customers can make changes to different settings as crop and harvesting conditions change throughout the day,” Badding says.

Compact workhorse

For orchard and vineyard owners, there’s a challenge. They need higher torque and pulling power to get work done, but they run in close quarters between vines or trees, so a larger tractor isn’t an option. John Deere has long served this market, and the latest edition to the line for these specialty users is the John Deere 5075GL. The 75-hp machine is a low and narrow tractor designed for this specialty market.

The tractor is just over 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide and features four-wheel drive and an open station design. It can maneuver in and around trees and vines without damaging low-hanging branches. The Rollover Protective Structure on the 5075GL can be folded down to avoid hitting low branches and fruit, too.

John Deere

COMPACT AND MIGHTY: The orchard and vineyard market has a unique need: higher horsepower in a compact package. The new 5075GL from John Deere aims to offer both.

In its base configuration, the tractor has a high 25.5-gallon-per-minute hydraulic flow rate with the capacity to tackle a range of chores, including cutting, spraying and hauling. An optional third pump can boost flow to nearly 33.5 gallons per minute.

The tractor has a three-range, 24/12 PowrReverser transmission, and includes creeper speeds and electrohydraulic high-low and declutch push-button controls. That gives operators a wide range of speed choices.