Forage harvesters upgraded

The John Deere 9500 self-propelled forage harvester was launched in Australia in August.

The 9500 self-propelled forage harvester will deliver more power, precision and productivity, according to John Deere’s Stephanie Gersekowski.

She said the 9500 was part of a redefined self-propelled forage harvester line-up, which included the reintroduction of the 9600 and a new horsepower level and engine for the 9700.

The 8000 series will remain the same, however, horsepower has been increased via an engine upgrade for the 8200.

“Farmers and contractors demand durable high-capacity forage harvesters that consistently deliver maximum throughput to make the most of peak harvest windows,” Stephanie said.

“The new 9500 is one of three models offering increased power and throughput in 2023, delivered through John Deere’s new JD18X engine which reduces revolutions per minute, while decreasing fuel and oil usage to drive further efficiency gains during operation.”

The 9500, as well as the 9600 and 9700, also comes equipped with HarvestMotion PLUS, an advanced feature synchronising engine speed with crop flow and power needs to maintain consistent crop throughput at low RPMs.

“HarvestMotion PLUS delivers an additional 18, 27 and 48 kW of power across the 9700, 9600 and 9500 respectively,” Stephanie said.

“This provides farmers and contractors with 10 per cent more productivity and 10 per cent less fuel usage per tonne harvested.”

She said the models’ upgraded spout also increased visibility and ease of maintenance.

“A new spout design will become standard across the complete 9000 series.

“The spout has a longer, optimised contour to create increased visibility and more service openings, making the machine easier to service to help farmers and contractors maximise their machinery up-time.”

Model fronts have also been redefined, and the 30R Windrow Pick-Up comes equipped with an 80cm auger, which is a 24cm upgrade compared to the 56cm standard on 6X9 pick-ups.

Stephanie said the hard iron updates complemented the tried and tested advantage of John Deere’s crop analysis and documentation tools.

“HarvestLab 3000, and precision guidance technology, Autotrac, all seamlessly integrate with John Deere’s forage harvesters,” she said.

“In July last year, John Deere made the digital ecosystem more accessible to Australian farmers by removing all ongoing costs for JDLink.

“We are seeing, now more than ever, Australian farmers using this tool for the collection of agronomic and machine data to power efficient, profitable and environmentally sustainable improvements for their business.”