IT'S been 60 years since New Holland first graced our fields with its first self-propelled forage harvester – and now it is launching a special edition model to celebrate that milestone.

Back then, it transformed its legendary SP818 pull-type forage harvester into a self-propelled unit and since then has been at the forefront of foraging technology with a host of pioneering industry firsts that have revolutionised the sector.

Its 60th anniversary special edition FR Forage Cruiser for next season will feature a distinctive livery, including a silver swash and silver leaf to symbolise the machine’s advanced technologies and exceptional performance.

But they will also come with unique benefits, including standard MyPLM Connect, UpTime Solutions and UpTime Warranty according to the market.

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New Holland will also celebrating this anniversary with a European demonstration tour that will include the UK.

FR Forage Cruisers have the proven Power Cruise technology which adapts the machine's work capacity to cope with fields of varying crop density. They also have HydroLoc technology which ensures constant chop length regardless of crop type and variations in load.

Other technology includes ActiveLOC, which automatically calibrates chop length to ensure the most best silage depending on the actual moisture of every individual swath. The award-winning NutriSense NIR sensor nutrient analysis also provides valuable on-the-spot crop nutrient data collected by the harvester, which can be accessed on the MyPLM Connect portal, which is a telematic feature which keeps the farmer connected to the machine at all times.