CLAAS LEXION vs. the World!

Cameras were mounted on the various demo machines and set to run in real-world conditions. In central Iowa, that meant harvesting corn that was down or badly damaged by this summer's derecho winds. The CLAAS LEXION 8700 and its massive 16-row chopping corn head made an excellent showing in the challenging corn conditions. The harvest was evenly and finely chopped with minimal grain loss.

Along with the chopping head, operators were impressed with the autonomous capabilities of CEMOS AUTOMATIC.

Jeff Gray, CLAAS Product Manager for Field Support, says CEMOS autonomously and continuously optimizes the operations, so the operator can concentrate on other things. He was able to speak on camera with Willie Vogt, Executive Director, Content and User Engagement, at Farm Progress about CEMOS AUTOMATIC during a Ride and Drive in Boone, Iowa. Catch the conversation here.

“As the combine travels through the field, CEMOS evaluates the conditions of the field it’s in, and makes the most educated adjustments possible in real time,” he says. “It goes into learning modes as it travels through the fields. It continuously reacts to the changing conditions it senses and adjusts the machine for optimal performance.

A Head-To-Head Comparison

One of the machines the CLAAS LEXION 8700 took on was the John Deere X9 1100 – a new class-11 combine. Even though CLAAS only brought their class-9 combine to the demos, the data confirmed that the performance in acres per hour was neck and neck with the two machines. However, CLAAS won the day in several areas:

• LEXION 8700 had lower losses per acre.
  
• LEXION 8700 provided gentler grain handling.
  
• LEXION 8700 had a lower capital cost than the X9 1100 - $2.05 less per acre.
  

In fact, the CLAAS LEXION 8700 losses were less than half that of John Deere. The extra-large (15% more upper sieve area than the John Deere X9 1100 chaffer) top sieve paired with the cascade pre-cleaner evenly distributed the crop across the entire cleaning shoe to reduce loss.

Another significant area where the CLAAS excelled was in grain handling. The amount of gran damage (broken kernels) was significantly lower in the LEXION 8700. The CLAAS APS SYNFLOW HYBRID system separates up to 30% of the crop before it reaches the threshing area, reducing the workload on the mechanical contact with the rotors. This is a major advantage over the John Deere X9 Series that threshes and separates 100% of the crop within the rotor area.

Get the Details!

See the LEXION demo run from the Farm Progress Virtual Experience here, and you’ll quickly understand why the small panel of farmers that witnessed the demos in person was so excited about the LEXION 8700 Series combine.