CLAAS harvester establishes an a-maizing record
Published on 04 December 2018
A US family-owned farming operation has set not one but two new Guinness World Records by harvesting 1,111 tonnes of maize in eight hours and then 1,620 t in 12 hours using a CLAAS LEXION 760 TERRA TRAC combine harvester equipped with a 16-row corn front. In doing so, the team at Stewart Farms Partnership from Yorkville, Illinois, easily cruised past the 1300 t, 10-hour record they established eight years ago.
The feat represents a remarkable throughput of almost 135 t per hour or one truckload every 12 minutes. Harvesting commenced at 9 am in less than ideal conditions, with 12 mm of rain falling the previous day. The grain bin was emptied at precisely eight, 10 and 12 hours.
The 1379 t recorded at the 10-hour mark represents a six percent improvement on the 2010 record, which was attributed to ongoing improvements to the LEXION platform. Compared to its 2010 counterpart, today’s LEXION 760 features significantly higher power, a more efficient cooling system, a larger grain tank and several operator assistance systems.
