Machines to depend on in an uncertain future

It’s big, it’s black…and set to make it’s first appearance north of the border at Ingliston in June. The impressive Fendt Ideal combine harvester is sure to dominate the company’s presence at this year’s Royal Highland – physically, at least.

In the meantime, there’s a good deal more in the Fendt line-up certain to attract interest. The lower horsepower end of its comprehensive tractor range will be represented by the 313 Vario, a model still basking in the accolade of ‘Tractor of the Year’ in the most recent EIMA show’s ‘Best Utility’ class.

The judges there felt that the 313 provides the user with a valuable combination of great agility and the most up-to-date technology. “Stepless transmission, low fuel consumption, a modern cab with continuous windscreen, suspended front axle and many electronic options make it suitable for any agricultural task,” was how they summed up. Generating 133hp, the 313 is the most powerful of the four-model 300 Series and capable of speeds up to 40km/hr.

Moving up the horsepower ranges, show-goers will be able to have a close-up of the 724 and 828 Vario models. Top of the table among the 700s, the 724 puts out 237hp, but manages this with a surprisingly low fuel requirement. This is due in part to its weight-to-power ratio of just 33kg/hp, which also helps to make it an extremely manoeuvrable tractor for its size.

Bigger still, the Fendt 828 Vario is – at 287hp – the largest of the four 800 Series models, but manages to combine phenomenal power output with a well thought-out, compact design.

Fendt’s Royal Highland spotlight will also be illuminating its comprehensive range of hay and grass machinery, built using the very latest forage harvesting technology. A great example of this is the Fendt Twister, a comprehensive range of tedders that make a valuable contribution to crop quality, providing the ideal link between mower and rake.

Fendt’s high quality range of balers will also be represented – in this case by the innovative Rotana Combi, a high-speed, shallow tilt angle model with an integral, automatically-adjusting wrapping system.

This ingenious machine measures the bale diameter while net tying and calculates the optimum number of plastic film layers required. This year’s visitors will also have the opportunity to examine the detail of Fendt’s four-model range of trailed sprayers. With tank capacities of between 3500 and 6390 litres and all with a choice of boom widths – 24m, 27m, 28m or 30m – each machine has section control, variable rate control and VarioDoc Pro, all of which work in harmony to give unmatchable performance and consistency in the field.

And, to finish, we go back to where we started….to the Fendt Ideal combine harvester. The company’s design engineers went back to the drawing board to create a completely new and innovative combine that delivers optimum results in all conditions. Efficiency (tick), top quality grain and straw (tick), reliability (tick), simple, intuitive operation (tick) – the list goes on. The Ideal even has a unique sensor system that automatically ensures optimum machine configuration to suit the conditions.