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This is your go-to area for everything related to combine harvesters. We offer tips for keeping old combines running well, how to select a new machine and all the specs and prices for the UK market.

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COMBINES

New 260hp model heads trio of five-walker MF Activa combines

Massey Ferguson has tweaked its entry-level, five-walker Activa range, which now includes the option of the firm’s Multi Crop Separator on all three models. The 260hp 7344 is the biggest…

COMBINES

FieldView offers yield and moisture stats on old combines

FieldView, Bayer's digital farming platform, is the latest to offer a retrofit kit that provides live yield and moisture information on older combines. The system costs £4,400, is suitable for…

COMBINES

Machinery Milestones: History of the combine harvester

Threshing machines were an international success story for British manufacturers, and the companies involved became global leaders, but the combine harvester market proved a far harder nut to crack. Britain’s…

COMBINES

Driver's view: Steve Bushell rates his New Holland CH7.70

For years the big debate between combine owners, operators and engineers came down on one of two sides – straw walkers or rotors. But by the 1990s the water had…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2022

After something of a stop-start harvest that for numerous growers involved cutting crops new to their rotation, manufacturers and dealers are looking to sign up customers for combines delivering additional…

COMBINES

Claas updates its widest Vario combine cutterbars

Claas has updated its three widest Vario cutterbars by adding several features that are claimed to improve performance, control and ease of maintenance. The Vario 1080, 1230 and 1380 are…

Combine reviews and tests

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Driver's view: Case Axial Flow 9230

Vital stats Single-rotor threshing| 571hp Fiat 12.9-litre engine with AdBlue| 10.7m (35ft) header| 12,330-litre grain tank| Made in USA A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes…

Driver's view: Claas Cemos Automatic

  The Claas Cemos Automatic combine setting controller is due to be available next season. Andy Collings spoke to a grower who has trialled one this year. John Hawthorne Original…

COMBINES

Retrofit yield monitor offers crop data on old combines

Canadian outfit Farm TRX has developed a relatively cheap retrofit yield monitor that is able to generate downloadable crop performance maps via apps that run on a standard smartphone or…

Driver's view: New Holland CR9070

Vital stats Twin rotor threshing| 490hp Fiat engine with AdBlue| 9m header| 11,500-litre grain tank| Made in Belgium A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes Farm…

Double cutterbar combine can boost outputs by 15%

An unusual double-cutterbar combine header being used by a Midlands farmer is claimed to be able to boost harvester output by up to 15%. Nick Fone explains how. For the…

COMBINES

Driver's view: Richard Ledger's Claas Lexion 8900 combine

Kent farmer Richard Ledger is one of several UK growers to have run a pre-production version of Claas' latest range-topping Lexion combines. We get the verdict from driver Nigel Richardson.…

COMBINES

Video: It's coming - Massey's huge 650hp Ideal combine

Claas and New Holland might reign supreme in European harvesting circles, but Agco is hoping to knock them down a peg or two with its highest output and most sophisticated…

COMBINES

Driver's view: John Roberts’ Massey Ferguson Activa 7240

We get the lowdown on the Massey Ferguson Activa 7240 combine run by Shropshire farmer John Roberts. Farm facts Napley Farm, Market Drayton, Shropshire Size 135ha Soil Sandy loam Crops…

Driver's view: John Deere S690i

Vital stats Single-rotor threshing| 617hp Deere 6-cyl twin-turbo| 10.7m (35ft) header| 10,600-litre grain tank| Made in USA A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes Farm facts…

COMBINES

Driver's view: Clive Wreathall’s New Holland CR10.90 combine

The CR10.90 is still the biggest combine New Holland produces, but this machine has since been replaced by the Revelation model. Despite being located in an area that is a…

Driver's view: Massey Ferguson Delta

Vital stats Twin-rotor hybrid threshing| 509hp Sisu 7-cylinder engine with AdBlue| 9.2m header| 9,500-litre grain tank| Made in Italy A bit of background How has it performed? Likes & gripes…

MACHINERY

Combine users give their verdicts two years on

Two years ago we picked seven different makes of two-year-old combine and got a warts-and-all report from their owners and drivers. We’ve repeated the exercise again this year to see…

Combine buying advice

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COMBINES

Headsight system automates combine header height

A bespoke header control kit could increase yield and reduce downtime by keeping the table height accurate in all conditions. The system is built by Canadian firm Headsight, and the…

COMBINES

Updated Claas Tucano gets Montana levelling option

Combine market leader Claas has revamped its range of mid-ranking Tucano machines, aimed at farmers who want near-Lexion power, but struggle to justify the larger price tag.  Catching the eye…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2021

Increased capacity potential with more sophisticated powertrains promising lower running costs are common themes among new combine harvesters listed in this year’s Ultimate Guide for harvest 2021. At Claas, the…

MACHINERY

2019 Ultimate guide to buying a combine

Increased automation to help both experienced and inexperienced combine operators is the highlight of upgrades to the latest crop of machines destined for harvest 2019. New sensor technology can now…

MACHINERY

Compare tractors and combines with our buyers guides

Farmers and contractors looking to take several options into consideration when choosing a new tractor will find the new specification and price guide published on FWi this week a useful…

MACHINERY

Top tips to keep your combine running in the wet

August invariably delivers a spell of bad weather, so we’ve put together 20 top tips from the experts on how to ease the flow of damp crops through the combine.…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2020

With this year’s combining season well and truly put to bed, it’s time for some growers to look ahead and consider their combine requirements for harvest 2020. We detail the…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2022

After something of a stop-start harvest that for numerous growers involved cutting crops new to their rotation, manufacturers and dealers are looking to sign up customers for combines delivering additional…

COMBINES

On test: Combine reversing cameras – which is best?

Clobbering the back of your combine harvester against an oak tree or backing over the boss’s pickup is no fun whatsoever. So the addition of a rear-view camera to keep…

MACHINERY

Combine buyers guide 2017

Having the right harvester can prove vital for any arable operation. If you are thinking of updating your combine, our tables break down the UK options so you can directly…

COMBINES

16 nifty retrofit items to fine-tune your combine

The internet is awash with bolt on bits of technology to improve your combine's harvesting performance. We've picked out some handy items used by farmers all over the globe –…

TECHNOLOGY

Simple guide to telematics and performance monitoring

Of all the key machines on an average arable farm, the combine is king. It’s the most expensive piece of any machinery – top-of-the-range machines can hit the £400,000 mark…

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MACHINERY

VIDEO: New Holland combine tracks - how they work

New Holland harvester specialist Nigel Honeyman explains how the firm's new combine track system works. [fwi_vidyard code="H4xpBcJmtCz3qbViCP5dGQ"]

HARVEST

Video: Take a £26,000 combine simulator for a spin

Put away your games console, and shut down all social media, we have found the ultimate in farm simulation technology. John Deere have developed a six-screen, fully immersive combine simulator…

Biso launches 12m header Ultralight 800

Austrian header company Biso demonstrated its latest 12m (40ft) header in Warwickshire last week. Made mostly of aluminium, the Ultralight 800 weighs in at just under 4t, a full 2t…

COMBINES

Video: Orkney contractor converts his combine to tracks

Farming on the Orkney archipelago in the north of Scotland throws up challenges unlike anything on mainland Britain. The biggest of those is the weather – the Gulf Stream brings…

Combine insights and practical advice

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MACHINERY

Combine fires: Why do they keep happening?

Combine fires are far from a new phenomenon. From the earliest petrol-powered Masseys to the latest tracked Claas Lexions, they are all capable of succumbing to the destructive forces of…

COMBINES

Ultimate guide to buying a combine 2021

Increased capacity potential with more sophisticated powertrains promising lower running costs are common themes among new combine harvesters listed in this year’s Ultimate Guide for harvest 2021. At Claas, the…

MACHINERY

Top tips to boost combine output

Optimising combine harvester output is a difficult task that can often involve a degree of guesswork. Ever wondered how manufacturers’ product experts can identify problems so accurately? It’s all down…

COMBINES

Video: Orkney contractor converts his combine to tracks

Farming on the Orkney archipelago in the north of Scotland throws up challenges unlike anything on mainland Britain. The biggest of those is the weather – the Gulf Stream brings…

COMBINES

Custom-built combine spares could save farmers cash

Bent drums, bashed augers and snapped straw walkers are just some of the common injuries that can bring combines to a lengthy standstill. And with genuine replacements for these major…

TECHNOLOGY

How to improve slurry and silage kit with infrared sensors

Scientists have been using near-infrared spectroscopy for decades, analysing everything from blood and tissue samples to livestock forage and grain. But now this technology is starting to migrate from the…

MACHINERY

Combine buyers guide 2017

Having the right harvester can prove vital for any arable operation. If you are thinking of updating your combine, our tables break down the UK options so you can directly…

Exotic and unusual harvesters: Sugar cane

The earliest sugar cane harvesters date from the 1920s and a single machine could replace up to 100 labourers. In Australia, mechanical harvesters first appeared in the 1950s and were…

TECHNOLOGY

Simple guide to telematics and performance monitoring

Of all the key machines on an average arable farm, the combine is king. It’s the most expensive piece of any machinery – top-of-the-range machines can hit the £400,000 mark…

MACHINERY

2019 Ultimate guide to buying a combine

Increased automation to help both experienced and inexperienced combine operators is the highlight of upgrades to the latest crop of machines destined for harvest 2019. New sensor technology can now…

COMBINES

Headsight system automates combine header height

A bespoke header control kit could increase yield and reduce downtime by keeping the table height accurate in all conditions. The system is built by Canadian firm Headsight, and the…

COMBINES

Retrofit fire suppresion kit could save combines

Isolated in an air-conditioned capsule at the front of the machine, combine operators are usually completely unaware when there’s an inferno slowly building behind them. By the time they do…