Chopping the final few acres of maize for the 2020 season, Mark Troy and his team were making the most of the fine spell of weather last week. We visited the crew as they chopped away outside the southerly town of Belgooly, Co Cork. Ahead of the 2020 season, Mark traded his 2018 Jaguar 980 for the new 990, the first and only 990 to be sold in Ireland and one of just three which have been sold by Claas UK and Ireland.
Claas introduced its flagship 900 series forager to the public at Agritechnica in November 2019. At 925hp, the 990 is the most powerful forager offering from Claas to date, surpassing the previous 884hp Jaguar 980. The latest 980 and 990 models are powered by a 24.2l V12 MAN engine. An 850hp version is now used in the 980, while all 900 series foragers are now are Stage V-compliant.
Mark traded his 2018 Jaguar 980 for the new 990.
Other new features on the 900 series machines include the introduction of the new touchscreen Cebis terminal and the beefing up a few bits around the feed rollers.
Mark says he needs a machine with high horsepower to get through heavy first-cut.
More power
“I have been running Claas Jaguars since 2002. We always change the forager every season or every second season as reliability and avoiding downtime is essential. When looking at upgrading my 2018 980, moving to a 990 was a no-brainer. If I had changed it for another new 980, the reduction in power in the new model would mean it would have been a step backwards for us,” Mark outlined.
When asked if he needs and utilises all 925hp chopping 30ft swaths of grass, Mark noted: “We need this high horsepower to get through heavy first-cut for a hectic 10-14 day period at the end of May and into early June, and similarly for maize.
“We lift 30ft swaths and aim to gather 180-200ac each day. We run the machine at full capacity, keeping the six trailers on the move and the two wheel loaders busy on the pit. We can’t afford to compromise on power,” Mark explained.
The new 900 series machines include the new touchscreen Cebis terminal.
Throughput
While chasing the 30ft rakes in grass, Mark often operates the 990 at 16-20km/h. While running the machine at full capacity, Mark has achieved a consistent throughput of 15-20ac of grass per hour. He notes that this is vital to hit the target of 200ac/day. Across the first cut, the average fuel consumption of the 990 has been 5.7l/ac.
Meanwhile in maize with the eight-row Kemper header, forward speed varied from 7-13km/h. Mark noted that output capacity in maize is more difficult to judge, as draws are typically a lot longer and there doesn’t tend to be the same pressure as which comes with silage. However, he noted that they have got through 10ac/h, or typically 70-80ac/day.
The latest 980 and 990 models are powered by a 24.2l V12 MAN engine.
The forager is fitted with a 20-knife drum. This offers a theoretical chop length of 5mm to 26.5mm. The 900 series foragers have the capability of altering the chop length from the touchscreen terminal while on the move.
For the full story and to find out Mark's verdict on the forager, check out this week’s edition of the Irish Farmers Journal.
Chopping the final few acres of maize for the 2020 season, Mark Troy and his team were making the most of the fine spell of weather last week. We visited the crew as they chopped away outside the southerly town of Belgooly, Co Cork. Ahead of the 2020 season, Mark traded his 2018 Jaguar 980 for the new 990, the first and only 990 to be sold in Ireland and one of just three which have been sold by Claas UK and Ireland.
Claas introduced its flagship 900 series forager to the public at Agritechnica in November 2019. At 925hp, the 990 is the most powerful forager offering from Claas to date, surpassing the previous 884hp Jaguar 980. The latest 980 and 990 models are powered by a 24.2l V12 MAN engine. An 850hp version is now used in the 980, while all 900 series foragers are now are Stage V-compliant.
Mark traded his 2018 Jaguar 980 for the new 990.
Other new features on the 900 series machines include the introduction of the new touchscreen Cebis terminal and the beefing up a few bits around the feed rollers.
Mark says he needs a machine with high horsepower to get through heavy first-cut.
More power
“I have been running Claas Jaguars since 2002. We always change the forager every season or every second season as reliability and avoiding downtime is essential. When looking at upgrading my 2018 980, moving to a 990 was a no-brainer. If I had changed it for another new 980, the reduction in power in the new model would mean it would have been a step backwards for us,” Mark outlined.
When asked if he needs and utilises all 925hp chopping 30ft swaths of grass, Mark noted: “We need this high horsepower to get through heavy first-cut for a hectic 10-14 day period at the end of May and into early June, and similarly for maize.
“We lift 30ft swaths and aim to gather 180-200ac each day. We run the machine at full capacity, keeping the six trailers on the move and the two wheel loaders busy on the pit. We can’t afford to compromise on power,” Mark explained.
The new 900 series machines include the new touchscreen Cebis terminal.
Throughput
While chasing the 30ft rakes in grass, Mark often operates the 990 at 16-20km/h. While running the machine at full capacity, Mark has achieved a consistent throughput of 15-20ac of grass per hour. He notes that this is vital to hit the target of 200ac/day. Across the first cut, the average fuel consumption of the 990 has been 5.7l/ac.
Meanwhile in maize with the eight-row Kemper header, forward speed varied from 7-13km/h. Mark noted that output capacity in maize is more difficult to judge, as draws are typically a lot longer and there doesn’t tend to be the same pressure as which comes with silage. However, he noted that they have got through 10ac/h, or typically 70-80ac/day.
The latest 980 and 990 models are powered by a 24.2l V12 MAN engine.
The forager is fitted with a 20-knife drum. This offers a theoretical chop length of 5mm to 26.5mm. The 900 series foragers have the capability of altering the chop length from the touchscreen terminal while on the move.
For the full story and to find out Mark's verdict on the forager, check out this week’s edition of the Irish Farmers Journal.
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