In late August, during the U.S. Farm Progress Show in Iowa, Claas announced several updates to its line of Jaguar self-propelled forage harvesters.
First among those updates “is our new V-Flex knife drum. You can get it in 20-, 24-, 28- and 36-knife,” says Matt Jaynes, the product manager for the Jaguar line.
The new drum’s most attractive feature, he says, is its flexibility. “You can run whole knives or half-sectioned knives… For example, with a 28-knife drum with whole knives, you can chop up to 18.5 millimetres.
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“We’ve now added a third ring. And that third ring allows us to run half knives, so we can double the length. For customers that want to chop 14-millimetre cereals, but then want to chop 28- or 30-millimetre corn silage, it allows them to do that but still have 28 knives to feed the corn cracker.”
The knife design has been changed as well, going from a seven-degree to a 10 degree angle, which helps them chop a little more efficiently.
The new knife design also deals with rocks a little better; a new bendable tab behind them will allow the knife to push back and minimize damage.
The new knife design also reduces the noise level in the cab, and comes with improved hard surfacing to slow down wear and extend the knives’ lifespan.
“The hard-face coating gives the knife life 20 per cent more,” Jaynes says. “So you get 20 per cent more wear out of the knife, because you can wear that knife further back.”
As for digital functions, the Jaguars get a new feature called “comfort sharpening.”
“It really speeds up sharpening times,” Jaynes says. “It will do five passes really quickly and then walk the shear bar in evenly. So instead of taking two to three minutes to sharpen, we’re down to less than one minute. Against the competition that’s a huge advantage.”
New Carrero axle options allow for axle extensions in four-wheel drive models, creating a new feature for the line.
“It’s something we didn’t have before,” Jaynes says. “Now if you want 710 tires set up on 30-inch rows, we can put axle extensions on the back. In addition we can have tires on 120-inch centres so we don’t get stubble damage.”
For those growers ensiling hay crops, a new pickup header will be available for the 2025 models.
“We went to a full curtain to help hold in the leaves and dandelion that like to float up in the air,” he says. “We have a curtain that goes over top of the hay head to hold that in.
“As well, we redesigned the auger. We went from two paddles to four. With those four paddles, the wear plates are replaceable. If we’re in really light crops, we can run a serrated paddle. In heavy crops we use a flat paddle to help absorb the clumps from a rake or merger. It helps with capacity.”
The biggest update for the 2025 Jaguar is arguably the new earlage adapter.
“It’s the first time a forage harvester manufacturer has made their own adapter,” Jaynes says. “It allows us to contour left and right so we can run 30-foot heads and keep the same stubble height. We’re seeing almost double the capacity in some cases, due to the very wide, free-floating chevron feeding drum.
“Earlage seems to be something that continues to grow, whether it’s a feedlot or dairy looking for more starch in the diet. A lot of people are turning to earlage, so they don’t have to combine corn and then grind it. The Jaguar does it all in one process.”
The Jaguar line includes seven models, the 930 through 990. The 980 and 990 use a V-12, 24-litre MAN engine.
