SOME pretty heavy duty gear on show from New Holland at LAMMA included its biggest ever forage harvester.

The new flagship FR920 Forage Cruiser majors on new maize crop processing units, the DuraCracker and DuraShredder technology, to make the most of the capacity offered by its FPT Industrial V20 engine.

That means there's a choice of three ranges of crop processors, covering every requirement from biogas applications to silage making.

The FPT Industrial V20 engine has been specially configured for forage harvesting and delivers 911 hp, with maximum power at 1600 to 1800 rpm – and there's a whopping 4095 Nm of torque at full power, plus a 44% torque rise at 2100-1600 rpm. This power curve is specifically mapped to match the precise requirements of foraging, so that the FR reacts fast to changing load.

The new feed system design has a 12.5% bigger intake channel than the previous 'big' model.

Aiming to keep as much power available to the system, its in-line concept and direct drive-line logic is all about efficiency. The drive-line and components have been reinforced to manage the increased engine output of the new range topper and a heavy duty mechanical four-wheel-drive option – which would have been welcome last summer – is also now available.

This is claimed to increase the maximum torque transferred to the wheels by 60% compared to the standard hydrostatic four-wheel-drive system. It features new heavy-duty axles that are guidance ready and a reinforced steering axle support.

It can also cope with larger footprint steering tyres.

Engagement of this four-wheel-drive set-up is controlled by the standard Terralock feature, which automatically activates and deactivates the all-wheel-drive axle depending on the steering angle setting, so minimising damage during headland turning.

The maize-ready DuraCracker system has reinforced frames and drives for kernel cracking and high throughput processing, while DuraShredder has rolls with additional spiral cuts that shred the crop and deliver more intensive processing to both kernel and stover.

The big power available also means that New Holland has been able to develop a big 9m row-independent corn header, with six drums. The header also features a fast double-folding function with hands-free support wheel attachment.