Monday, 17 December 2018 15:45

An ‘a-mazing’ set of records

Written by 
The world record maize harvest in action. The world record maize harvest in action.

A US family-owned farming operation has set not one, but two new Guinness World Records by harvesting 1111 tonnes of maize in eight hours and then 1620 tonnes in 12 hours.

They used a Claas Lexion 760 Terra Trac combine harvester equipped with a 16-row corn front.

In doing so, the team at Stewart Farms Partnership, Yorkville, Illinois, easily cruised past the 1300 tonne, 10-hour record they set eight years ago.

The feat represents a throughput of almost 135 tonnes per hour or one truckload every 12 minutes. 

Harvesting commenced at 9am in less-than-ideal conditions, with 12mm of rain having fallen the previous day. The grain bin was emptied at precisely eight, 10 and 12 hours after the work started.

The 1379 tonnes recorded at the 10-hour mark represents a 6% improvement on the 2010 record, which was attributed to ongoing improvements to the Lexion. 

Compared to its 2010 counterpart, today’s Lexion 760 has much higher power, a more efficient cooling system, a larger grain tank and several operator assistance systems.

More like this

New design Claas tractors set for Fieldays debut

Well known for its dominance in the harvesting arena, Claas has channelled its engineering excellence and a deep knowledge of the ag industry with the Fieldays release of the 2025 facelift Claas Arion 600C Evolution and Claas Night Edition Arion 660 tractors.

Landpower win global award

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.

Optimisation specialists to help customers

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.

Featured

Big return on a small investment

Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Gaslight much?

OPINION: Labour leader Chris 'Chippy' Hipkins is carrying on the world-class gaslighting of the nation that he and his cohorts…

Our own 'Clarkson'

OPINION: The huge success of former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson's new TV show, Clarkson's Farm, and the boost it…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter