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German harvester manufacturer Claas, known for the rubber track system it developed 30 years ago, went on to refine it.
Now the Terra Trac system is a must-have for Lexion combine harvester users looking for less ground compaction and overall width, and much more traction, particularly on slopes.
At the recent Agritechnica in Hanover the company unveiled a similar system for its Jaguar self-propelled forage harvesters.
On the Jaguar, a headland protection system protects the soil profile and the grass plants as the machine turns at the end of a run.
In operation, the land wheel of each track is raised, leaving the machine’s weight to be carried by the rive wheel and middle rollers. As a result, the contact area and ground pressure changes briefly to match that normally imposed by 800mm diameter conventional tyres.
The improved design is affirmed by testing at the University of Kiel, Germany, that showed the technology reduces the undesirable ‘shear effect’ to just about the same level as on tractors with conventional tyres.
Jaguar Terra Trac systems use 635mm wide tracks that keep transport widths to about 3m and allow a top speed of 40km/h. As an option, 800mm wide tracks will help reduce ground compaction but increase transport width to 3.5m.
A further benefit is that the insertion and removal of the corn cracker modules is said to be easier, as tracked machines sit much lower than their conventional counterparts.
Silage making is both a science and an art, but Claas says it offers onboard technology featured in its Claas Perfect Partners to help farmers make silage more efficiently and effectively.
Claas has recently celebrated the 250,000th CLAAS mower – a Disco 3200 FC – rolling off the production line in Bad Saulgau, south-west Germany.
Christchurch-headquartered Landpower and its Claas Harvest Centre dealerships has taken out the Global After Sales Excellence award in Germany, during the annual Claas after sales meeting at the end of January.
January to March is the heart of New Zealand’s ‘golden’ harvest, but also the time of the year when Landpower and Claas Harvest Centre welcomes two optimisation specialists from Germany to support Claas combine customers in the cab of their machine.
Creating perfect silage is both a science and an art, and it all begins with the right tools, according to machinery maker Claas.
A further ten commercial beef farmers have been selected to take part in the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) programme to help drive the uptake of genetics in the industry.
This morning, NZ Young Farmers (NZYF) has announced that Cheyne Gillooly will take over as its chief executive in June.
The message for the 2025 World Bee Day is a call to action for sustainable practices that support bees, improve food security, and protect biosecurity in the face of mounting climate pressures.
Consumers around the world are willing to pay more for products containing dairy and this is driving demand for butter and cream, says Fonterra.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters often describes NZ as a small and isolated nation situated 'just north of the penguins' but says in terms of global affairs, NZ and other small nations should be judged on the quality of their arguments and not the size of their military.
Use of agricultural drones by contractors in New Zealand is soaring.
