How to: Prepare your combine harvester for a challenging season

It’s no secret that the agricultural industry has gone through some of its toughest times in decades, and as a result, harvest is more challenging than ever.

The variable crop conditions across individual paddocks caused by frost plus pinched grain and crop height due to lack of moisture are set to cause headaches for many combine operators in southern Australia, according to header technicians.

As a result, operators will need to be alert to higher ground speeds and careful concave and rotor speed adjustments in combines.

Hutcheon & Pearce general manager, Bill Armstrong, said pre-season combine servicing is just as important in lighter crop years as it is in normal harvest years.

“Some of the challenges this year will be around (crop) feeding so a lot will be in regard to front adjustment and making sure the machine is ready for the shorter crops, including skid adjustment and reel heights,” Armstrong said.

“It always pays to keep a close eye on the machine through the lighter crop years as the machine is not as filled up, a bit more shaking can go on.

“Operators will be going a lot faster than normal so it is important to be alert on the operational side as higher speeds mean a higher load on the axle and bearings.

“The year may be quieter in a harvest sense but we are always busy in the workshop so it does pay to have those checks done on time.”

Armstrong said operators need to be aware of four main areas of grain loss.

Pre-existing loss occurs when the crop is shaken by a weather event.

“There is also front loss or grain losses created by the platform, followed by the separating or threshing rotor and the sieves or cleaning area,” he said.

“It is important if there is grain loss, to identify which part of the machine it is coming from or is it from the machine at all.

“If it is a machine loss, you will need to know what areas to address to rectify that.”

Hutcheon & Pearce held two John Deere S Series harvester optimisation clinics at Temora and Finley in October.

The topics included optimisation and adjustments, combine screen navigation and calibrations, combine and front walk-around, and data management.

On display was a S680 with a 615P Belt Pickup Draper front, a S780 with a 740D HydraFloat platform and a S780 with a 645 FD HydraFlex platform.

Armstrong said the main updates in the S700 Series over the 600 Series combines is in the technology.

“While there are modifications in feeder house drives and clutch sizes, it is really the technology in data and sample management and automation which are the big keys for the 700 Series,” he said.

“In recent years, the physical size of the cabins has changed, including the layout and the amount of glass to improve visibility.

“Technology in seating has come a long way for high operator comfort.

“Operator comfort is paramount, and added features like in-cab refrigeration and video surveillance make for an easier and less stressful time in the cab.”

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Hutcheon & Pearce Albury product optimisation diagnostics manager, Glen Montgomery, said operators need to be mindful of ground speeds this harvest.

“In the 615P Belt Pick-up platform, ensure you adjust for ground speed as too fast can cause grain loss and over threshing,” Montgomery said.

He said an indication of slow belt speeds is heavy loading of the side belts or material along the sides of the centre belt.

“Excessive belt speed can cause heavy loading in the middle of the centre feed belt, crops to be pushed across the centre belt or crops to be pulled under the platform by the side draper belts.

“Platform tilt can help keep material on the belts.”

The feeder house drum in the S700 Series can be adjusted manually without any tools, with up for coarse grain and down for small grain.

The feeder house conveyor spread can be changed by repositioning the chain on the drive sprocket using a 24mm wrench.

The 26 tooth small sprocket is for corn and the 32 tooth large sprocket is for small grains.

“The feed accelerator has two speeds – high and low – run in low when the crop is dry and brittle while high is recommended for small grain crops,” Montgomery said.

“If the concave is too tight in the rear or front, poor threshing and grain damage may result.

“The larger the grain, the bigger the gap required between the tip of the threshing elements and concave.”

Excessive rotor speed can result in grain damage, over threshing and an overload on the cleaning shoe.

“If the concave spacing is tight, broken straw will fall on to the cleaning shoe compared to an open concave where there will be less broken straw on the cleaning shoe and less horsepower,” Montgomery said.

When it comes to cleaning shoe adjustments, the conveyor augers, fan speed, chaffer opening and sieve opening can be adjusted from the cab.

Montgomery said the S700 Series features an extended length of sieve to reduce tailings, with the sieve being remotely adjusted within cab.

Active Tailing returns operate on the S680 and S690 only with an ‘up’ position for corn and ‘down’ for small grain, no tools required.

There is no need for adjustment on the S650, S660 and S670 machines.

The two speed drive for straw chopper speed adjustment allows for the ‘in’ position for corn and ‘out’ for small grains.

The stationery knife bank adjustment determines how fine the material is chopped.

A Premium Residue Package can either mix and chop straw and chaff together, or separate the chaff and straw – this is simply changed over from the cab.

“This is a good option if the grower wants to bale straw,” Montgomery said.

According to Montgomery, crop harvesting performance indicators include the grain tank sample, grain losses, straw quality and tailings samples.

“Look for grain loss firstly in front of the header, then behind the header, followed by rotor and shoe losses.

“Check the pre-harvest grain loss by walking into the crop to get a base reading on what you see after the header has gone through.

“Check for head loss across the header width by stopping the machine, reversing and then looking at the area immediately in front of the header.

“To properly calculate separator loss, the operator must also know the amount of header and field loss.

“It’s important to have the reel at the right angle for small, low crops so the heads are dropping on to the belt and not on the ground.

“Grain will be valuable this year so you don’t want to see too much coming out the back at all,” Montgomery said.

“If you are seeing unthreshed grain and half heads out the back, tighten up the concave, drive a bit faster or run the rotor a bit quicker.

“Unthreshed or free grain means the crop may be a bit green, so it is best to find another paddock.

“It’s all about having the patience to leave the crop a bit longer to mature.”

John Deere’s VisionTrak technology measures the losses from the separator and cleaning shoe, with the shoe/rotor balance able to be adjusted and shoe loss can be split.

Montgomery said excessive grain in the tailings indicates incorrect chaffer/sieve and fan settings.

On the other hand, excessive trash in the tailings mean insufficient fan speed or the chaffer was too open.

“A machine power shutdown gives the operator a snapshot of the combine’s performance and assists where grain loss is being generated, and what adjustment to make,” he said.

“Check the cleaning shoe for material distribution, check for grain quality, losses, free grain or unthreshed grain, and make any required adjustment.”

In canola, if there is foreign material in the grain tank, Montgomery advised to consider concave spacing, rotor speed, sieve opening, fan speed and tailings return.

In wheat, he said to check the grain tank for excessive grain damage, white caps and foreign material.

“The concave opening, rotor speed, fan speed, chaff and sieve openings, and tailings may need adjustment.”

Hutcheon & Pearce general manager, Bill Armstrong, said combine sales had been steady in the group, stretching from Albury on the NSW-Victorian border to Orange, in central NSW.

“The cropping season is a mixed bag in those regions – there is potential in a lot of areas but there is no getting away from the fact it will be challenging,” he said.