- Pre-harvest combine inspection and servicing can not only mean smooth harvest but also ensure your equipment is calibrated for peak performance and maximum yields.
For Wayne Bolam of Bolam Contract Harvesting, downtime from machinery breakdowns or lack of replacement parts is something he can ill afford at harvest time.
His business, based in Dalby Queensland, harvests cereal crops from Northern Queensland to southern Victoria covering approximately 45,000 to 50,000 acres of cereal crops per year ranging from wheat, barley, chickpeas, mung beans, corn, and sorghum.
“It's seasonal work, so when you only get one crack at it, you need to get it right,” said Wayne.
“It is extremely important for us to have reliable machines; we don’t want any downtime with machinery breaking down or if parts aren't available.
“We certainly like to bring in our machines to (New Holland dealer) McIntosh & Son for preseason maintenance—they have a good look at our machines for any things we might miss during our own services, just to keep the machines optimal for the harvest,” he said.
Bolam Contract Harvesting is currently operating two New Holland CR8.90s and an older CR9070 and cites the Twin Rotor™ system as the key feature.
“The Twin Rotor™ on the combines lets us tackle any type of crop; the extra separating area gives us a few more options, to be heavy on the straw and light on the grain, which is good for pulse crops,” Wayne said.
“We find exceptionally good high capacity in wheat and barley. The adjustable rotor vanes inside the concave itself is a huge feature that I use quite regularly to adapt to different crops.
“It lets you change rotor settings without completely changing your wire setup so you can slow crops down if you need to keep them in there longer or speed them through if you're over threshing,” Wayne said.
New Holland offers four combine models, which feature the revolutionary Twin Rotor™ concept which New Holland has refined for more than four decades to increase capacity and improve grain and straw quality. It offers two different sizes of rotor to suit farmers’ individual needs, with the 17” standard rotors fitted to the CR7.90 models, and the heavy-duty, high capacity 22” design fitted to the CR8.90, CR9.90 and CR10.90 models.
Darling Downs farmer Lance Wise, who grows wheat, barley, sorghum, legumes, and canola, introduced a new CR9.90 to his Darling Downs farm, Wise Farming, in 2022.
“The CR9.90 has got a lot of new technology on it, which has seen our throughput increase quite a bit,” Lance said.
“The amount of grain you can pump through it is just amazing. It's really increased efficiency, plus it’s an absolute pleasure to drive which makes the job a lot easier.
“We can see at the end of the day how many tonnes we’re getting; how clean the grain is and how much better our operation is running.
“The CR9.90 has also got IntelliSense, which changes settings on the go for different crops like wheat and barley in particular for us, and it's just made the machine three times better than our previous machine,” he said.
Product Segment Manager – Broadacre Marc Smith urged farmers to book pre-harvest service with their local dealer to ensure they are ready and equipped for harvest in 2023. New Holland has also developed a harvest parts hub to ensure if there is a breakdown in parts, the hub will be able to support customer fast and efficiently to keep their combines running.
“New Holland have over 100 dealerships strategically located across Australia to ensure farmers’ machines are always running in optimum condition.
“We all know how precious time in the field is during short harvesting seasons, which is why our dealers also offer field service to respond quickly to assist farmers at their own location,” Marc said.