THE first forage harvester with a factory-integrated crawler track assembly has been officially released by harvest specialist Claas for delivery in 2019.
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First sighted at Germany’s Agritechnica, the Jaguar Terra Trac was awarded a silver medal for innovation.
CLAAS Jaguar product manager Luke Wheeler said the Jaguar 960 Terra Trac set new benchmarks for harvesting performance.
“CLAAS first released Terra Trac for use in combination with Lexion combine harvesters in 1996,” he said.
“This technology has revolutionised grain harvesting by significantly reducing soil compaction, improving driving comfort and improving field access.”
The system is available in track widths of 635, 735 and 890 millimetres, and power to the ground is not a problem given the 635mm had a contact area of more than 1.3 square metres, equating to more twice that of an 800-size tyre.
“The intelligent headland protection system takes the Terra Trac concept to another level,” he said.
“During turning, the support rollers in each track unit are pushed down hydraulically and the front drive roller is raised, effectively reducing the contact area by about a third.
“This results in the visible avoidance of damage to the grass cover by the shear effect when turning.”
When combined with the tyre pressure adjustment system on the rear axle, the system allows improved field access and reduced damage to croplands and headlands.
“Put simply, this technology means the harvester won’t sink into the ground when operating in difficult, wet field conditions,” he said.
“This makes the going so much easier for the harvester and the transport vehicles following it.”
Mr Wheeler said the chassis of the Jaguar had been extended by almost a metre to accommodate the tracked assemblies, which can oscillate 23 degrees upwards and downwards.
“This pivoted mounting system allows the machine to be operated in even the most difficult conditions.”
The Jaguar 960 with Terra Trac is capable of up to 40 kilometre per hour road speeds and can be licenced for Australian roads.