New Holland hopes that the new CX5 and CX6 Series combines will set new standards of comfort and flexibility – with those on ‘hilly’ ground set to benefit.

These five- and six-straw walker harvesters are ranged between four models and seven versions and will appeal to ‘middle-of-the-road’ buyers.

Users will focus in on the new Harvest Suite cab, but mechanically, the latest engine technology makes these an easy fit for Tier 4B compliance, plus easier maintenance.

Lars Skjoldager Sørensen, NH’s head of harvesters, told The SF: “The CX5 and CX6 Series offers a wide range of features and adaptation possibilities that can address every harvesting situation– from the fixed or Smart Sieve self-levelling cleaning shoe, Autofloat II system, a wide choice of headers (including the high-capacity Varifeed Flex and draper options), and the possibility to select straw chopping or rowing.”

The cab has been redesigned after feedback from an extensive customer consultation. With its 3.7m3 of volume, it is the biggest cab in its class and comfortably accommodates two occupants.

Glazed area is increased by 7% and it has a full width rear window for looking in on the grain tank.

A deluxe air seat and adjustable side console with the well-proven CommandGrip force-based control handle fit in well with the wide and adjustable 26.4cm IntelliView IV colour touchscreen monitor.

Specification on the Laterale and Hillside models includes standard fitment of the Smart Sieve system. This is particularly fitting for Scottish conditions, controlling the lateral movement of the sieve according to the degree of the slope and the size of the grains. It also 'neutralises' unwanted radial movement, which produces improved cleaning efficiency on slopes by up to 25%.

In hilly farms, the Laterale version has New Holland’s automatic levelling system that compensates for slopes of up to 18%, while for severe hillsides, the CX5.90 Hillside is touted as the perfect solution.

This has two independent hydraulic systems – one for lateral slope correction and the other for longitudinal correction. Its added value is that safety and field efficiency are increased as the wheels remain vertical up to the limits.

For grain cleaning, New Holland’s exclusive four-drum technology – Multi-Thresh and Opti-Thresh systems – plus rear beater, rotary separator and straw flow beater, handle a variety of crops and harvesting conditions.

Flexibility comes with the Opti-Thresh system which adapts to crop conditions by repositioning the rear part of the concave, without tools. Multi-Thresh adapts to different cereal varieties of varying degrees of crop maturity, with two adjustment positions of the concave, which offers 20% more capacity.

They also have a new square and adjustable straw beater and the standard sectional concave makes switching crops easy and quick – slashing rebuilding from six hours to 20 minutes.

Changes to the cleaning system means that capacity can be 15% better, mainly by adding an extra cascade in the centre of the grain pan. This maintains cleaning quality even when the machine’s capacity is optimised.

This allows for the fact that a double flight cross auger transfers grain to the elevator faster – leading to up to 10% more grain throughput on six straw walker models.

The Opti-Speed system stolen from the higher capacity CX7 and CX8 combines appears on the new CX5 and CX6 models. This automatically adjusts straw walker speed when working up or down slopes of up to 10% to ensure straw is shaken evenly and the sample kept clean.

Winnowing is helped by the award-winning Opti-Fan system which changes fan speed automatically given the direction and degree of any slope the combine is working on.

Also new from the company is its CR Revelation combine, which promises up to 10% more productivity than the outgoing model.

Claimed to be the most powerful combine in the industry – at up to 700hp – its big selling point is a redesigned straw management system.

Mr Skjoldager Sørensen said: “The CR combine was already the harvesting world record holder, the most powerful combine in the market with the highest capacity. But we are constantly looking for ways to improve our customers’ productivity and profitability further.

“With the new CR Revelation we have improved the crop flow, increased capacity and residue management performance to hit new levels. “

A key feature of the improved capacity is a new cab-controlled adjustable rotor vane set-up, which improves crop flow and power efficiency.

This is available as an option on the four models at the top of the range. The in-cab concave reset contributes to increasing the combine’s productivity, dramatically reducing downtime in case of a concave breakaway, pointed out NH’s spokesman.

This makes resetting the concave easy and quick, saving 20-30 minutes over doing it manually.

Three models at the top of the range feature Twin Pitch Plus rotors, which have three-inch raspbars to deliver power efficiency gains. This saving ranges from 20kW in the CR8.90 to 28kW in the top-of-the-range CR10.90.

The most powerful combine in the industry also gets a power upgrade – up to 700hp.

The record-breaking CR10.90 gets a 50hp power upgrade, while the CR8.80 – the biggest of the two 17-inch CR models – is uprated to a 517hp maximum power rating to make it the most powerful narrow frame combine on the market.

These combines all feature a new straw management system and the chopper’s reinforced rotor, longer counter knives and increased chopper speed, result in a finer sample for tilling in. Spreading width is now 45 feet, adjustable from the cab.

Inside the machine, regular users will spot a functional new colour scheme –the main frame, grain pan and beater grate are now in yellow, providing better visibility in the cleaning shoe.

The colour of the grain tank has also changed to yellow to improve visibility from the cab and make it easier for the operator to check the grain quality at all times.