CLAAS expands equipment series for U.S. farmers

DECATUR, Ill. — The CLAAS JAGUAR 1000 series forage harvester features greater throughput, power and operator comfort.

“This new machine is equipped such that we’re going to completely change the game on forage,” said Dennis Ogle, head of sales for self-propelled harvesting equipment at CLAAS of America.

CLAAS offers four models of the JAGUAR series — 1080, 1090, 1100 and 1200, ranging from 850 to 1,110 horsepower.

“This forage harvester is completely new from the front all the way to the spout, with new heads, better serviceability and easier maintenance,” said Ogle from the CLAAS display area at the Farm Progress Show. “With the 1,100 horsepower, we’re seeing 20%-plus increase in the throughput.”

Processing forage as it goes through the machine is key for dairy producers.

“We’ve completely redesigned the heads and the traction units,” the head of sales said. “There are not a lot of chains and clutches in the pickup. The crop is handled hydraulically with larger components through the end of the spout to the truck.”

For processing scores, Ogle said, the JAGUAR utilizes AI to take pictures of the crop.

“We’re upping the game for the consistent and high-quality feed you’ve seen from CLAAS in the past,” he said.

“To make sure everyone is happy throughout the day, our all-new cab has foot pegs, joystick steering, as well as screens and monitors to make sure the machine is performing optimally,” he added.

‘The Long Run’

“Launching products in the U.S. is very important because we have come to stay here and bring the most current and newest technology to North America,” said Jan-Hendrik Mohr, CEO of CLAAS Group.

“At the moment, the circumstances are not positive in agriculture in the U.S., but people continue to consume food and the population is growing so that is why we are here in North America,” he said.

CLAAS is not only about product, the CEO said; it is also about providing retail locations for farmers.

“We put in our own retail stores called CLAAS FARMPOINT,” he said. “That concept is linking our sales and service with our customers.”

In addition, CLAAS is also focused on research and development in the United States, with a new 44,880-square-foot Research and Development Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

This center will be the hub for all North American testing activities.

“We are here for the long run,” Mohr said.

Combine Harvesters

CLAAS is expanding the LEXION 8000 series of combines.

“We’ve expanded our 8000 series to include a new Class 8 8500 and we’ve added a new 8600 which has a bump of 50 horsepower which puts it into the Class 9 realm to complement our 8700 which gets a bump of 20 horsepower,” said Jeff Gray, CLAAS product supervisor.

“We’ve also standardized the MAN engine across all combines — not just the 8000 series, but the 7000 series, as well,” he said.

All the 8000 series combines can be equipped with either wheels or TERRA TRACs.

“We introduced a new cab for the combines a couple of years ago and now we’re enhancing that with new storage, new lighting, both exterior and exterior and a new touch screen radio for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to give customers conveniences for those long days of harvest,” Gray said.

CLAAS has made some changes to its hay equipment machines.

“Our DISCO mowers now have steel rollers available on the 3600, 9300, 9700 and 1100 triple mowers to optimize the condition of the hay crop,” Gray said.

“We also have a new center swath turner on our LINER rakes so they can get the center flipped over,” he said. “That’s available on our 2600-3100 LINER rakes.”