Largest combine harvester touches down

Larger grain tanks, faster unloading, updated engines, new technologies and a redesigned cabin are just some of the upgrades producers can expect with New Holland’s latest reveal – the CR11 combine harvester.

With a 20,000-litre capacity and a 775hp power output, the CR11 is also the biggest and most powerful combine harvester in the world.

The groundbreaking machine had its curtain-drop moment at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre last week, much to the awe of customers, members of the media and dealers in attendance.

The CR11 is expected to be joined by the CR10 later this year which features a 16,000-litre tank and 635hp.

Built at New Holland’s combine Centre of Excellence in Zedelgem, Belgium, the CR11 and CR10 have been designed to provide higher productivity with close to zero grain loss, improved residue management and maximum uptime.

New Holland’s ANZ Crop Harvesting Product & Portfolio Manage, Marc Smith, said the new CR combines were designed and built upon four pillars of harvesting excellence—productivity, grain saving, residue and uptime—to reduce the total cost of harvest.

“Farms are consolidating, they’re getting bigger so farmers want more productivity to try and reduce harvest costs where they can,” Smith told farmmachinerysales.com.au  

“The beauty of these two new machines is, they will provide our customers with the ability to reduce their total cost of harvest, meaning they'll be able to harvest more essentially for less.”

The new CR combines feature New Holland’s tried and tested twin rotor technology but with larger rotors to process more within the machine.  

“Both combines feature twin 600mm (24-inch) rotors of increased diameter and length, providing greater capacity for the crop to circulate and the grain be threshed and separated,” Smith said.

“The CR11 features a 15.9-litre FPT Cursor 16 engine producing 775hp, while the CR10 engine is a 12.9-litre FPT Cursor 13 generating 635hp.

“The CR11 grain tank holds 20,000 litres, with an impressive unloading rate of 210 l/sec, while the CR10 tank holds 16,000 litres and has a 210 l/sec unloading rate.”

Both combines are equipped with revised and improved IntelliSense™ automation systems which make automatic adjustments according to the chosen harvest strategy, whether limited loss, best grain quality, maximum capacity, or fixed throughput.

“New Holland developed a totally new cleaning shoe which can handle all materials coming from the rotors to reduce grain loss close to zero,” Smith said.

“We achieved this with an all-new Twin-Clean cleaning shoe consisting of two sieve systems in sequence, each having its own upper and lower sieve and clean grain auger.

“The cross-distribution mechanism guarantees an even cleaning shoe load in all conditions to maintain maximum grain quality—a signature feature of New Holland’s Twin Rotor technology.”

The new combines also feature a completely new residue management system- IntelliSpread™ that uses twin radars to continuously measure, interpret and control the residue spreading system to ensure a full width and uniform spreading coverage, with spread width up to 18m (60ft) to satisfy the largest of draper heads on the market.

“New Holland has developed the cleanest driveline in the market to significantly reduce maintenance and downtime,” Smith said.

“We’ve reduced the number of drive components by 25 per cent and all drive chains have been eliminated to further reduce downtime and maximise efficiency. 

“A new in-cab de-slug feature, which once engaged, is fully automated saving the operator time and effort, as well as improving operator safety should the situation arise.”

Speaking of cab, the machines also feature a redesigned operator office to provide ultimate comfort.

“We've gone to much higher resolution screens and we’ve also changed the finish in the cab. It's quite luxurious in the cab now with seats that are ventilated and have comfort ride and so on," Smith said.

“It's not a bad office at the end of the day.”

The CR11’s technological advancements and incredible capacity has been recognised with the prestigious Gold Medal Innovation Award for Agritechnica in November 2023.

The CR11 has undergone comprehensive validation testing in Australia, with plans for in-field demonstrations and limited production of new machines for the 2025 harvest.