CLAAS DISCO smashes mowing world record

CLAAS has beat the current world record for mowing by an impressive 40.5 hectares with what it claims to be the largest tractor-mounted mower-conditioner on the market – the CLAAS DISCO 1100 RC.

Mounted to a range-topping CLAAS AXION 870 tractor with 295hp and continuously variable transmission, the triple mower-roller conditioner unit processed over 140ha of lucerne in eight hours.

CLAAS said the DISCO 1100RC worked at an impressive average rate of 17.6ha/h, given the average yield of 5.24 tonnes/ha of dry matter and the fact the crop was spread across four different fields.

The record was established by Tate Mesbergen from Mesbergen Farms, Greely, Colorado, with the assistance of his support team and CLAAS staff.

CLAAS will submit the necessary documents to Guinness for verification.

Despite the successful attempt, not everything on the day went according to plan, according to Mesbergen. The start was delayed by several hours due to 12.7mm of rainfall the previous day, as well as two unplanned stops.

“I hit a piece of concrete on the first field and had to check whether the mower unit was damaged,” Mesbergen said.

“A quick examination showed that no harm was done – not one blade had to be replaced.”

He also had to stop to check that the DISCO mower unit was correctly folded before moving to the last field.

“Not all fields were close to one another, so it was a real challenge to quickly fold up the mower units for transport and hurry along the roads,” he said.

The DISCO 1100’s operating width ranges from 2.6m to 10.7m but it has a transport width of less than 3m, thanks to hydraulically-folding telescopic arm technology developed for the massive CLAAS COUGAR self-propelled mower.

The DISCO 1100 RC has a conditioner with two V-shaped interlocking polyurethane rollers, which compress the hard stems while simultaneously preserving the leaves.

“This reduces the wilting time required and guarantees maximum feed value, because the leaves are preserved, but on the flipside, increases the mower’s power consumption,” said CLAAS Harvest Centre Product Manager for Greenline, Shane Barratt.

“The AXION 870 tractor handled this easily.”

The 1100 is the flagship of the revamped series of DISCO mowers, which now includes 28 new front-mounted, rear-mounted and trailed models.

All CONTOUR configurations incorporate the award-winning MAX CUT cutterbar, which features a wave-shaped mower bed press-formed from a single piece of material.