New Holland has further confirmed its position as the industry-leading harvesting manufacturer with two Agritechnica silver medals for combine harvester innovations. The unique-in-the-industry Opti-Speed™ strawwalker system improves productivity by up to 10% and the Cornrower™ header perfectly combines in-field efficiency with New Holland’s hallmark commitment to sustainable farming practices.

"New Holland is committed to developing innovations which bring practical benefits to the world’s farmers," said Carlo Lambro, brand president, New Holland Agriculture. “Furthermore we, together with the world’s farmers, have the great responsibility of maximizing sustainable food and energy production. Opti-Speed technology helps reduce losses, which subsequently means more grain is available for food production. The innovative Cornrower header enables farmers to produce both food and fodder from corn crops as well as converting the previously wasted by-product of corn stover into productive energy through biomass.”

Ground-breaking Opti-Speed strawwalkers: Up to 10% higher productivity
The Opti-Speed strawwalker technology, which was recognized with a silver medal, is exclusively available on the CX8000 Elevation range of super conventional combines. The range, which includes the world's most powerful strawwalker machine, producing up to 490 horsepower, is extensively used by the world's large-scale farmers and custom harvesters.

The unique Opti-Speed system delivers up to 10% higher productivity by automatically varying the strawwalker speed based on the field's gradient. The operator simply selects from four pre-set crops, and the Opti-Speed system autonomously modifies the strawwalker speed. When driving uphill, the strawwalker speed reduces to decrease the transport speed of the straw over the strawwalkers and when driving downhill, strawwalker speed is increased to prevent blockages. Moreover, in flat fields, this system is particularly beneficial for corn harvesting thanks to slower strawwalker speeds. As such, a productivity gain of as much as 20% can be achieved.

Innovative Cornrower header: One-pass swathing reduces operating costs and improves bale density by up to 15%
New Holland, through its Clean Energy Leader strategy, is committed to improving farming productivity and sustainability and the silver-medal-winning Cornrower header is a key element in this. The fully integrated Cornrower system can be fitted to models 99C and 980CR chopping corn headers, and produces uniform windrows of finely chopped corn stover. This fine chop can increase bale density by up to 15%, and the bales also benefit from improved combustion and fermentation profiles, perfect for biomass production.

This one-pass system reduces operations’ fuel consumption as well as limiting in-field compaction. Furthermore, all corn stover is chopped and remains clean and free from dirt and stones. Any lost kernels fall onto the windrow, and as such, bales used as fodder have an improved nutritional profile. This superfine chop system also allows the stover to release moisture more quickly to reduce the time from chopping to baling. Additional usages include as absorbent animal bedding and as a ration supplement which, when mixed with hydrated lime and water, can help to reduce the cost of fodder by up to 40% when compared to traditional corn silage.