X9 investment pays dividends

A big investment in brand new John Deere range-topping X9 harvesters has paid off for the York family who runs Anameka Farms in Tammin, Western Australia, following consecutive record harvests.

Oscar York, his father Tony and uncle Simon bought two John Deere X9 1000 combines from the AFGRI Equipment dealership at Cunderdin and had been rapt with their purchases.

“The new X9 Harvesters with their 50ft hinged draper fronts were amazing, just in a league of their own,” Oscar York said.

“It was challenging to manage the logistics when the two headers were harvesting 140 tonnes per hour but we saved at least two weeks on harvest, which was huge.

“They’re a great leap forward.”

Throughout 2022, the Yorks sowed 11,500ha of crop and 3500ha of sheep pasture for their self-replacing flock of 4500 Merino ewes, and growing conditions were ideal.

They managed to dodge December’s devastating hail storms that hit farms 40km away and harvested a total tonnage of just over 31,000 tonnes, with wheat and barley yielding just more than 3t/ha, canola 1.4t/ha, lupins 2.1t/ha and peas 1.3t/ha.

The impact of the X9 Harvesters was instant, York said, with the larger 50ft fronts, 630 max horsepower engine, 23 per cent wider feederhouse, and 36 per cent more cleaning area combining to deliver a significant boost in harvesting capacity compared with their previous combines.

“When they arrived, we took them straight into the canola and instantly noticed the huge difference in capacity. They operated at double the speed of our John Deere S680s, doing nine to 10km/h in canola and whizzing past the 680s doing four or 5km/h,” York said.

“In the cereals they were harvesting 50 to 70t/h each no matter what the conditions, so that was exciting but meant we had to change the focus on logistics to trucks.”

Due to the big increase in speed and capacity, York had to make some logistic arrangements quickly.

“We had three road trains with a capacity of 50 to 65t, and hired another as well, then brought an old truck out of retirement that pulled our seeding trailer and another one behind it. Dad was driving that full time and we still required contractor trucks to help out,” York said.

“With six trucks coming and going, three headers, two chasers, six field bins and between five and 10 other vehicles, it was a lot to coordinate.”

So far, York has had nothing but praise for the X9 combines.

“We loved everything about them. The fuel economy is a lot better, the grain tank is bigger, the speed they can travel at and, with the dual separators, you can tell the harvester is working better,” he said.

“The hinge draper fronts were a huge step up, just the way they followed the contour meant it was a case of ‘set and forget’. And because you weren’t distracted by the fronts, you could look at speed and revs and push the header to maximum capacity.

“With the X9, you could be working it really hard but there was nothing out the back of the header, no losses. That was a huge improvement.”

He added he was also impressed by the comfort of the new bigger and quieter cab on the X-Series, with its swivel seat and screen on the armrest.

“We had to fight to get a drive in it,” York said.

“They’re awesome, a huge leap forward and in another league compared to the ones we’ve had previously.”