LOOKING to buy a new combine harvester this late in the year is always problematic.
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But Gleaner has its 'shingle' out with a limited production run of S9 Series headers with a guaranteed delivery to Western Australian farmers by October.
The added bonus is a 54-month finance plan.
Designated the S96, S97 and S98, the models are available for farmers seeking class 6, 7 and 8 machines.
According to distributor AGCO, the models boast a Tyton terminal, plus modifications to the feeder house, drive electronics and drive mechanics.
And there's a new Vision cab.
The Tyton terminal provides the full menu of products and services from Fuse Technologies, AGCO's next-generation technology platform to match the needs of modern precision farming practices.
The terminal has four quadrants, easier-to-read Gleaner-specific graphics and an easy-to-use, colour touch-screen interface.
According to AGCO, Gleaner S9 headers offer growers the choice of a factory-installed FieldStar live-mapping system integrated through the Tyton terminal, which integrates data from yield and moisture sensors and global positioning.
Automatic header width control is included while available TaskDoc task management and record keeping solutions provide complete field documentation systems for wireless transfer of data between the machine and the office.
In addition, the S9 Series offers the optional Auto-Guide guidance system with a NovAtel or Trimble satellite receiver that comes from the factory set up for WAAS (Wide-Area Augmentation System) to ensure maximum steering accuracy and efficiency.
Auto-Guide control also is integrated through the Tyton terminal, eliminating a separate screen in the cab.
The completely re-designed control console is to the right of the operator seat with ergonomic placement and intuitive colour-coding of the buttons and switches.
A multi-function hydro handle controls travel direction and speed and provides easy access to buttons to engage the processor, header and parking brake.
The throttle lever is conveniently just under the thumb of the operator for adjustment of engine RPM.
All header adjustments and controls are consolidated on a panel outside of the monitor.
Gleaner's Vision cab is a completely re-designed cab being 15 per cent larger than previous models and has a larger instructor seat with a fold-down back that doubles as laptop computer storage and workspace.
The cab features a 22pc larger, deep-curved front windshield and six square metres of total glass area for a clearer view of the cutter bar, header ends and harvested areas behind each side of the header.
A solar-protectant laminate minimises sun exposure through the front glass and sound-deadening material throughout the cab keeps operating environment to 75.5 decibels.
According to AGCO, a slim-profile steering post, new cab post placement, 12 new LED cab lights with high-lumen projection and new dual remote mirrors are among the two dozen innovations of the Vision cab.
AGCO says the Gleaner's natural-flow feeding has been refined to improve feeding capacity in difficult crop conditions such as heavy canola swaths where uneven feeding can occur.
The feeder house floor has been lowered and the feeder house runners and torque tube raised, creating clearance under the feed shaft.
The feeder house also has been lengthened for better visibility of the cutter bar from the cab.
Subsequently header lift cylinders have been re-designed and a proportional valve has been added to the header-lift hydraulic system, so operators can adjust header raise/lower-speed and sensitivity to their preference.
New electronics and re-designed hydraulic systems eliminate all cables and linkage for the hydrostatic propel system.
A 13,743 litre bushel grain bin is standard.
FOOTNOTE: Gleaner is approaching its 100-year anniversary, having been founded in 1923 by the Baldwin brothers in Kansas, US.
Their original design was a self-propelled model mounted on a Fordson Model F tractor.
And the exterior sheet metal was zinc-plated (galvanised) because the brothers reasoned it would be exposed to the elements year-round.
Today's Gleaners are zirconium coat-dipped before powder-coating and painting.
More information: Contact your local Gleaner dealer.
