John Deere’s new 8600i self-propelled forage harvester fitted with the three-in-one HarvestLab sensing unit, will make its Scottish show debut at the Highland, on Avenue S.

Displayed alongside an advanced technology S-Series automated combine harvester and the company’s latest Agricultural Management Solutions precision farming solutions, the forager’s HarvestLab 3000 near infrared system features AutoLOC automatic length-of-cut settings and silage additive dosing on the move based on dry matter content.

The same sensor can also be used in stationary mode for analysing clamp silage in order to manage feed rations more accurately, and for analysing the constituents in manure when operating a slurry tanker.

Launched together with the new high-capacity 9000 Series range for the 2019 season, the updated 8600i self-propelled forager tops the company’s range of standard crop channel models from the 8100 to 8500. Its introduction has been driven by the market demand for more power, more efficiency and more productivity in self-propelled foragers with a transport width of less than 3m.

It is powered by John Deere’s PSX 13.5-litre 625hp engine – as fitted to the new entry-level wide body 9600 model – and can come with the new XStream KP kernel processor for maize.

All 8000 and 9000 Series self-propelled forage harvesters for 2019 can also be equipped with John Deere’s complete range of AMS precision farming systems. Technology features include AutoTrac automatic steering, RowSense feeler guidance for maize, Active Fill Control for automatic trailer filling and the MyJohnDeere Operations Centre web portal, for machinery fleet management.