Corrigin farmer Craig Larke is based in the central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 229km east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. As a third-generation farmer, Craig and his wife, Peri, raise their four children on a 4100ha property, with an additional 1100ha shared-farm. Their operation is 100% continuous cropping, which is 40% canola, 30% wheat, and 30% barley.
The owner of two new CLAAS LEXION 8800TTs with CONVIO 1380 fronts, that are now in their second harvest season, he can often be found speaking to neighbours about the performance he gets out of the European-made machines.

“It’s so easy these days to be a follower and support the largest brand, but it was more important to me to do the research before I was ready to buy my machinery. I wanted to know that I would invest my money in something that would increase my on-farm efficiency and be the best spending outcome for my business. I also wanted to guarantee that after the sale, I would be backed by a team of professionals who cared about keeping me going, particularly through the peak period”. Craig’s relationship with the local Northam, CLAAS Harvest Centre (CHC), started five years ago with the purchase of an AMAZONE Spreader, well before he was ready to invest money into his new grain harvesters.

When it was time to upgrade his three John Deere combines, Craig’s goal became to reduce losses and improve automation. He took the time to be analytical and pair the mathematical results he sought before purchasing, with the right product and to him, the CLAAS combine seemed superior to the competitors. Placing a call to Melvyn at the Northam CHC, Craig said, “I’m done with the single-rotor machines. I want to buy two LEXION combines to reduce our rotor losses and improve residue spreading.” And he hasn’t looked back! “We are very happy with how the LEXIONs perform; their reliability has been exceptional. We knew the LEXION platform had been well proven over the years and continues to develop”. “We’ve reduced our losses and improved throughput – all through the LEXIONs ability as a true small grains combine (which is what we grow in WA). Early threshing and separation, twin rotors, an even cut, and a spread residue system are a priority. The CLAAS CEMOS automation has provided us with an efficiency gain with inexperienced staff, when running multiple machines. It gives confidence in the correct combine setup for a learner driver and for loss control, whilst still maintaining capacity”.

Craig is an avid fan of pre-season maintenance being conducted by the CLAAS Harvest Centre team. “I prefer CLAAS Harvest Centre Northam to come out and check over my machines to prepare them well before harvest and check for any potential future issues. Doing repairs myself Isn’t practical these days. Qualified, experienced mechanics that see these machines every day typically know what fails and when. “I’m happy to do this ASAP post-harvest taking advantage of early offer promotions and not leaving it to the latter half of the year where dealerships get under time pressure pre-harvest.” When speaking about the qualified technicians from his local CLAAS Harvest Centre, he is particularly impressed with their meticulous service and detailed explanations. “They take a lot of pride in what they do. And with parts and consumables, I like to keep a really good supply on-hand on my farm. The hour-and-a-quarter drive to the CLAAS Harvest Centre can be time-consuming, but Mel will often drop them off to us if he is coming our way”.

Since purchasing the LEXION machines, Craig has added a new CLAAS XERION 12.590 Tractor and a second-hand SCORPION telehandler to his fleet. “I’m happy with all of the gear that I have purchased and the support that I have from the team”. Craig has also been pivotal in spreading his thoughts on light green. “Several neighbours rang me, there are very few new LEXIONs in this area, so everyone was inquisitive. Two was a big upgrade, but the aim was simplicity and efficiency. A lot of guys ask me how they are going, as they are built in Europe, and they expect them not to work in our conditions. I tell them they are performing fine, with no overheating or cooling issues”. Craig has replaced only normal everyday consumables in the two seasons, and with the rising cost-of-living, questions why people are still going with single-rotor corn harvesting machines. “I now do the work of the three machines with only two, with less fuel, less labour, less losses – it just makes sense. I like to think I’m opening other people’s eyes to the possibility of changing from other brands” Craig says. Craig was instrumental in converting another local customer to two CLAAS LEXION 8800TTs, two CONVIO 1380s, a CLAAS ARION 630 C-MATIC tractor and a CLAAS LINER 2900 TREND.