MachineSync allows for synchronized operation of tractor and combine operation during in-field combine unloading.

New software updates from John Deere

Deere’s Gen 4 displays and Machine 
Sync get improvements

In February, John Deere released its 19-1 software update, which it says will “Further enhance the automation, documentation, functionality and security of its Generation 4, 4600 CommandCenter and 4640 Universal Displays.” “It also enables Gen 4 Display compatibility with more John Deere equipment,” said John Mishler, marketing manager for precision ag technologies, in a press […] Read more

Photo 6: This photo was taken on August 23, 2018. On the left is Iver Johnson’s JD S680 combine, with Iver standing. In the middle is Wayne Leonhardt with the grain cart and tractor. On the right is helper Martin Millar on the Block Farm JD S690 combine. This was a very smooth operation, very efficient with no down time.

Combines I have known, Part 3

In the third part of an ongoing series on combines, 
Les Henry goes for the green paint

This is No. 3 in an occasional series on combines. When completed, the series will span the 63 years that I have spent running combines. Some years just a few hours, but a bit in each of the years. The first piece included a bit about a Case K2 combine. I did not have an […] Read more


Case IH held a media event at its Grand Island, Nebraska, combine assembly plant to introduce its two new combine lines. These retro-styled 150 Series machines are being offered in limited numbers to commemorate 40 years of the Axial-Flow IH machines.

Case IH introduces the 250 Series combines

The next generation Case IH combines debuted at Grand Island factory

In July Case IH invited members of the farm media to the combine assembly plant it shares with sister CNH Global brand New Holland in Grand Island, Nebraska. That’s where the brand wanted to give journalists their first look at the new 250 Series models. Available for the 2019 season, the 250 Series offers a […] Read more

Stripper headers have a rearward-rotating rotor fitted in front of the header.

Stripper headers an alternative for dry regions

Headers offer improved combine performance and soil moisture retention

While there are many options when it comes time to harvest a crop, for some farmers, stripper headers are the only choice. Designed with rotating teeth that lift grain into the combine and leave straw in the field, stripper headers are perfect for harvesting cereals, grass seed and rice, according to Adam Whitaker, product specialist at the U.K.-based […] Read more


How do you buy half a combine?

How do you buy half a combine?

Overequipped? Underequipped? How do you make those farm equipment decisions?

How do you know if you are over equipped or under equipped? In other words, do you have the right number of tractors, combines and seeders on your farm? When do you need to buy or change equipment? What if you decide to seed more acres and one combine isn’t quite enough but you don’t need two. What […] Read more

The RT 520 is built around the same basic threshing body used in the previous RT 490, but offers a few changes to improve threshing performance along with a much more comfortable cab.

PHOTOS: Versatile replaces the RT 490 combine

The brand makes improvements to the cab and interface in its RT 520 combine

In 2011 Versatile introduced the RT 490 combine. It was the first time the brand — under its current ownership — has offered one since combine production in Winnipeg ceased a few decades ago. Versatile’s parent company combine manufacturer Rostselmash of Russia built and supplied the RT 490 to the Winnipeg brand. Adam Reid, marketing […] Read more


The 1482 pull-type combine

The era of the pull-type combine: Part 2

A look at how the pull-type design evolved and production eventually ended

In the first part of the pull-type combine story in the January 23, 2018, issue of Grainews we looked at some of the earliest commercial offerings. Now, we pick up the story from World War II until last production in 1991. The war created a serious shortage of farm manpower, which accelerated the demand for […] Read more

The sign (written in German) above John Deere’s exhibit at Agritechnica in Germany in November reads, “More affordable, guaranteed.”

John Deere offers performance guarantees in Europe

Maintenance agreements help owners in Europe stabilize machinery costs

What do you think the average field size is in Western Europe,” Thomas Höglmeier, segment manager for John Deere, asked the group of North American journalists clustered around him. A moment later he answered his own question: “Two hectares (about five acres) is the average field size,” he said. Höglmeier was leading a media tour through […] Read more


Photo: Scott Garvey

Seven new product reveals from John Deere

In early June John Deere invited members of the farm media to its Harvester Works facility in Moline, Illinois, to see the full line of equipment it was introducing in 2017. And all of it was parked on the lawn in front of that combine manufacturing facility for reporters to photograph and learn about from […] Read more

The first combine I ran, back in 1955, was an Oliver 30 Grain Master. The capacity was small and travel speed was low in a good crop. There was no unloading auger.

Combines I have known, Part 1

While we’re thinking harvest, Les Henry remembers some combines he’s loved

With harvest sputtering off to a slow start we all have combines in mind. My barley (malt, I hope — perhaps wishful thinking) is safely in the bin and dry. It was my great pleasure to run Curtis Block’s S 680 for a few hours in that crop. For me, that marked 61 continuous years […] Read more