Fendt has introduced the Katana self-propelled silage harvester to the British and Irish markets this season in an effort to take a share of what is considered to be a market worth between 150 and 200 machines annually. The new Katana was released at a technical day in Somerset, England, last week at which the Fendt self-propelled silage harvester was in action on a grass silage field.

The Irish self-propelled silage harvester market is a smaller but equally competitive one, with annual sales of between 20 and 30 machines. Claas are market leaders. It is obvious that Fendt sees the Claas as its target.

The new Katana is a single model in the Fendt range and is geared towards the 550hp to 750hp sector, which is not currently the biggest sector of the market.

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Richard Shelton, of Fendt, believes that this power sector will be the one that most contractors will aspire to. He believes that it is the sector which will experience most growth in the future and it is a sector that market leader Claas does not currently dominate. With 653hp under the hood, this is where Fendt believes that the Katana can succeed.

For Fendt, the new Katana harvester has to offer something more to contractors and the company claims that this is fuel economy. Despite this, Fendt was unable to give us a target tonnes per hour rating for the machine in grass harvesting or tonnes per litre of fuel used. For contractors today, these are key operating parameters, especially when it takes 1,100 litres to fill the tank each day.

The machine was fitted with a 3m Kemper grass header that has some different features to the competition. The drive to the header is mechanical through a pto type shaft, but at the machine end that is fitted with a variator speed drive.

The six feed rollers are also hydrostatic powered and both can be combined to give a form of forward speed linked control system. Here, the forward ground speed of the harvester will control the speed of the pick-up and feed rollers in a proportional way; increase the forward speed and the pick-up and roller speeds increase too. The aim is to give an even feed to the chopper at all times.

A cruise control system is available for the machine. This can be set so that the harvester is working to peak forward speed consistent with the volume of the crop. You can set the machine to a speed of 16km/hour and it will try to achieve this but only if the computer on board is happy that this gives the most fuel efficient harvesting speed.

The pick-up unit is a floating one. It follows the ground contours while retaining a parallel pick-up to feed roller position to keep the feed rollers evenly fed with grass.

The machine is different in its construction compared with much of the competition. The engine used is a Mercedes Benz MTU V8 diesel. That is similar to engines used by other harvester makers. The difference with the Katana is the way that it is mounted.

For the Katana, the engine is mounted low down and lengthwise, while most of the competition fit the engine in a transverse way. Fendt claims that this gives a lower and more compact machine and better engine cooling. It also makes the engine very accessible for servicing. With the engine in this position, the machine is fitted with a right angled gearbox. This then gives a straight line belt drive to all of the features, such as the chopper and blower. This means that the flow direction of the grass crop is even through the chopper and up the chute.

Fendt claims that the six feed rollers even out the crop flow to give a more consistent chop length. The feed rollers also give a longer distance between the metal detector and the chopper so it’s more likely to spot a metal object and stop it before it hits the chopper.

The chopper is the widest on the market at 800mm and has the biggest diameter at 720mm. It can be operated with 28 knives or half that number for a longer chop length. The machine is fitted with a wide, six paddle blower/crop accelerator.

All machines are sold with the Fendt twin disc type corn cracker fitted as standard. This is similar to what Krone offers on the Big X.

On the Fendt Katana, it is relatively easy to take out of action for grass crops or removed altogether. Each cracker is made to suit each specific machine rather than as a retro-fit and that’s why it is a standard item.

Fendt has an eco-drive option for the machine to allow operators to use it at lower engine revs when chopping lighter crops of grass. This allows the engine revs to drop to 1,600 rpm, while still giving full power at the chopping drum. Fendt claims that this gives better fuel economy. This is not a reduction in engine power, more of a reduction in gearing to allow for more efficient use of the machine. For Irish conditions, this would apply to less than 20% of the operating hours. This is because of our heavy grass conditions as many farmers are opting for a single cut of silage as against multiple cuts on the continent. The eco system is not applicable in maize silage crops, which demand full engine power.

The Katana cab is similar to that of the newer MF combine harvester ranges with a similar roof profile and lighting.

There is a new controller to suit the harvester rather than one taken from the tractor cab. This is a multi-function controller that seems easy to use and can be programmed to suit the operator.

The entry list price for the Katana 65 is expensive at £378,000, plus VAT, in England, so expect an even higher price here. This makes it one of the most expensive farm machines on the Irish market. I get the feeling that there is considerable room for manoeuvre on the price and finance packages will be available.

In the early stages, there will be four machines working in Britain and one possibly coming to Ireland at some stage this year for testing purposes. For 2013, these machines are on contract hire to users as part of the development process. Fendt will offer a five-year warranty on the first 10 machines sold later this year.

KEY POINTS

Fendt Katana specifications:

Engine power: 653hp (480kW).

Drum width & drum diameter: 800mm x 720mm.

Blower width & diameter: 644mm x 550mm.

Field speed max: 20km/hour.

Road speed max: 40km/hour.

Fuel tank capacity: 1,100 litres.

Weight (without header): 14,400kg.

List price: £378,000.

Katana in Ireland

In Ireland, Antrim-based Massey Ferguson dealers McElderry’s, of Ballymoney, are the sole agents for the Fendt Katana silage harvester so far, but expect some more to be appointed. McElderry’s have already some self-propelled silage harvester experience having sold a number of the Claas Big X machines in recent years.

The Katana will be a new experience and they expect to demonstrate the machine at grass and maize silage during the year.