Slope adjustment can reduce grain losses

 John Deere recently announced new innovations to its combine lineup at the Agritechnica machinery show in Germany.

John Deere showed three new technologies available now or will be available soon.

Harvesting grain, especially small grains, on slopes challenges getting the grain cleaned as it floats toward the down-slope direction.

John Deere has its Hillmaster line for significant slopes, but its reach is limited, especially because Hillmaster combines can’t be fitted with tracks.

As a result, the company has developed active slope adjustment, which uses belts to adjust the cleaning shoe, keeping it level for better grain separation and more even chaff spreading out of the back of the machine.

“When we’re on side slopes, we need a system that’s able to level the material on the shoe,” says Jonathan Edwards, a product manager for combines in Europe for John Deere, during an interview at Agritechnica.

The tilt angle is determined by the drain compensation module on the Starfire 7500 receiver.

“By levelling, it’s also preparing the material to the residue system evenly which will make residue management much, much better,” says Edwards.