John Deere combine range offers increased automation
Increased automation to make the operator’s job easier, promote productivity and reduce losses is built into the four-model John Deere S700 Series single-rotor combines destined for production next year.
The new Combine Advisor package comprises 7 technologies designed to help operators set, optimise and automate the machine for the most effective harvesting performance, based on crop and field conditions.
There are preset programs for corn (grain maize), soya, canola (oilseed rape), wheat and barley to cope with changes in moisture level, weed infestation and terrain, and whether the crop is down or standing, all of which can impact threshing performance, losses and sample quality.
The new John Deere S700 series
ActiveVision cameras give the operator a view into the tailings and clean grain elevators, while sensors and a processor analyse the images and data to suggest or automatically change settings that will maintain optimal threshing performance, based on set targets.
For example, if the system detects increased levels of non-grain material in soybeans as conditions change towards the end of the day, it can automatically close down the sieves and adjust fan speed to maintain a clean sample.
Automated features
Similarly, an increase in the presence of whitecaps – unthreshed wheat heads – in the sample will prompt an increase in rotor speed and a tighter concave setting to thresh the crop more aggressively to avoid grain price deductions.
Increased losses as a result of factors John Deere says a typical combine operator might not address – such as light rain on a corn crop, can also be tackled automatically by opening the chaffer and adjusting fan speed.
Product summary
Company: John Deere
Name: Combine Advisor – S700 Series combines
Type: Automated set-up and threshing, cleaning adjustment in response to changing harvest conditions
Key feature: Combine settings for different crops with automated adjustments
More info: John Deere
Active Yield feature
Active Terrain Adjustment alters fan speed, chaffer and sieve settings to reduce the impact on losses and sample quality when harvesting on sloping ground, while auto adjustment of the rotor and chaffer in response to data from the rotor loss monitor can reduce losses from oilseed rape/canola in windy, drying conditions.
To ensure accurate yield data collected for mapping, analysis and crop performance records, the Active Yield feature automatically calibrates the S700 combine’s mass flow sensor, while eliminating the time taken up by manual calibration into the bargain.
Join 17,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the agricultural sector, two times a week.
