THREE TONNES OF WHEAT A MINUTE: One of the massive combine harvesters touring the region.
TWO Guinness World Record-setting combine harvesters are hitting Moree this week, following the harvest season, to perform some demonstrations.
The super-capacity Claas Lexion 750 machines, with 12-metre-wide fronts, are headed this way as part of a three-month trip down the eastern wheat belt, from Emerald in central Queensland to Kadina in South Australia.
The two combine harvesters will be working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, stopping only for maintenance, the weather or to move to the next demonstration.
Each of the machines is capable of harvesting 250 hectares of grain a day, or enough to fill 24 semi-trailers.
Hundreds of producers are expected to attend the 150 on-farm demonstrations the crews and machines will be performing on their 3000km journey south.
Claas northern region general manager Rob Massina said the demonstrations were a great opportunity to gain a first-hand appreciation of what this technology could do.
Last September a Claas combine harvester set a Guinness World Record in Europe by harvesting a staggering 676 tonnes of wheat in eight hours, effectively processing three tonnes of grain and straw a minute.
Mr Massina said the harvesters' new draper front would also be of interest to local producers.
"Australian producers have been asking us for a draper front to suit Australian crops and conditions for years. The bottom line is that it ensures uniform crop flow with minimal grain loss, even in lighter conditions or bulk direct-cut canola," Mr Massina said.
The machines are also fitted with Trimble's RTX correction system and Trimble-Ready technology, which allows farmers to interchange their GPS technology from machine to machine.
Trimble Agriculture regional sales manager Adam Wall said Australian farmers previously had to choose between relatively expensive base stations, accurate to within two centimetres, or an augmented satellite-based correction system, which is only accurate to 10cm.
"The RTX system means broadacre farmers now have access to a highly accurate and repeatable GPS guidance system anywhere in Australia," he said.
