Evolution of the John Deere Combine ~ Antique John Deere Tractors & Dealers

Evolution of the John Deere Combine

A John Deere combine is a vehicle that combines the steps of harvesting, threshing, and cleaning grain crops. Harvesting is the process of gathering mature crops from fields and threshing is the process of beating the plants in order to separate the seeds or grains from the straw. A John Deere combine leaves the remaining dried leaves and stems of the crop behind. These materials are usually either left on the field, chopped up for feed, or used for bedding for livestock.




Combines are usually equipped with headers. These headers are removable heads, which are designed for various crops. The header cuts the crop and puts it into the threshing cylinder. The typical John Deere Combine has different heads for wheat, corn, and grains. Since some terrain can be steep and unlevel, some John Deere Combines have a sidehill leveling system. This technology allows the John Deere Combine to harvest soil that is on very steep ground. Since the machine is kept level, harvesting and threshing can be completed more efficiently, whether going straight up a hill, downhill, or moving sideways along a hill.

John Deere continues to come out with new lines of intelligent combines that allow John Deere combine operators to harvest at full capacity, all day long. New technology allows operators to plant, till, and spray crops in more efficient ways, which leads to higher yields per acre. Specifically, John Deere's "bullet rotor" technology. This uses a bullet shaped and tapered front end nose profile and threshing characteristics to cut down on rotor load and engine power requirements. It improves efficiency of the entire threshing system. It provides more room in front of the combine. This lets higher volumes of crops to enter smoothly and be distributed more evenly. This technology was introduced in 2006. John Deere combines now can operate on 20 percent less engine power in certain small grains conditions. This improvement in efficiency can be seen no matter what crop you are harvesting.

Other technological improvements have also been seen in the area of residue management. In some of the new STS John Deere Combines, there is a PowerCast Straw Chopper Tailboard feature. This feature provides operators with a thin residue layer, spreading from 35 to 50 feet. This is adjustable as well, directly from the John Deere combine cab.

The new STS John Deere combines can cover more acres at faster speeds. One example of this new technology is the John Deere Combine 9870 STS. It can reach up to 480 horsepower and can maintain ground speed. It also implements the CommandTouch(TM) Multi-Speed Feederhouse drive, which is a five speed drive system that allows increased productivity from the new 600C corn heads, by delivering 45 percent additional feederhouse. Furthermore, the 9870 STS Combine features a new cleaning system that can deliver 15% additional cleaning capacity. This is called the DynaFlo II system and it utilizes a longer sieve stroke. Some models such as the 9670 STS, 9770 STS, and 9870 STS also have higher clean grain elevator capacities, which leads to more bushels per hour during harvest time.

Another technological innovation in John Deere combines is the CommandCenter(TM) display screen. This displays harvest information that can be seen easily on the armrest mounting. John Deere combine operators can even customize the information that they want to see on the screen. Some of the information it displays includes yield information, moisture information, and systems alert information.

We hope you enjoyed this article on innovative John Deere combine technology. Stay tuned for more information about John Deere Combines.