John Deere’s combine headers have now stepped over the 15m threshold. It’s not been the best kept secret that a 50-footer was on the way but Cereals provided the UK launchpad for the green giant’s belt-fed HDX 50 hinge-flex cutterbar.
Built in the US to European spec. its 1200mm deep belts will accommodate tall crops like oilseed rape while its three-piece reel pivots with the bed sections to maintain an even feed on undulating ground.
Four wheels across the back of the table are said to aid accurate contour-following and the pressure in their hydraulic circuit can be tweaked to bias weight transfer back onto the combine’s front axle should ground conditions require it.
With a true working width of 15.24m, the wide-span cutterbar is likely to command a modest premium of £5,000-£7,000 over a 13.7m (45ft) version – small fry when you consider the X9 1100 flagship it’ll be hitched up to will arrive on farm somewhere north of £600,000.
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