John Deere Secures Record 20-Harvester Deal
The old saying is ‘go big or go home’, which appears to be something that German contracting business Kohl Harvest of Saxony-Anhalt in Bavaria has done with a record order for John Deere.
Technology used by farmers to maximise harvest capacity in difficult conditions has earned John Deere’s HDR Cutterbar Draper Series a 2021 AE50 Award.
It was one of six John Deere products named by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), which each year recognises innovative product-engineering designs in the food and agriculture industry.
Winning products are selected for ingenuity in product development and for their ability to save farmers time, costs and labour while improving safety.
The HDR Rigid Cutterbar Draper Series was recognised for its ability to maximise harvesting capacity for small grains, canola and pulse production across changing conditions and uneven or rolling terrain while capturing more grain.
Featuring a new hinged frame, the HDR provides terrain-following capability and uniform cut height when harvesting on curves or uneven terrain.
“This reduces crop losses and increases hectares harvested per hour,” says JD’s Australia and New Zealand production system manager Ben Kelly.
The HDR will be available in New Zealand in time for harvest 2022.
Further 2021 AE50 Awards were picked up by the JD X9-1000 and X9-1100 Combine Harvesters.
The latter offers the ability to harvest up to 12 hectares (30 acres) of wheat per hour, or 182 tonnes per hour of corn. The X Series will arrive in New Zealand in August 2021.
Likewise, John Deere’s CF Folding Corn Heads help reduce operating costs by offering fold cycle time of less than 40 seconds, when fitted to X Series harvesters. Or less than 60 seconds when connected to an S700 Series machine.
The folding corn head helps reduces a farmer’s costs by eliminating the need to purchase a header trailer to transport between paddocks.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the red meat sector is doing an excellent job promoting our pasture-fed system around the globe.
The European Union ramped up its presence at this year's Fieldays.
Moves are underway to create a single organisation to represent the country's beekeepers.
Against all the odds, the primary sector has turned in a stellar performance with export returns for 2026 hitting $64.3 billion - up 6% on the previous year.
Farmers and growers are powering the economy with export revenue at record highs.
Forestry Minister Todd McClay has today congratulated the winners of the 2026 Growing Native Forests Champions Awards at Fieldays.

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