Covering 2500km over three days and visiting five farms around southern Western Australia, the team collected data and spoke to owners and operators about harvester front performance.

The fronts evaluated included the Shelbourne-Reynolds XCV42 stripper front which was measured for performance including front losses against a standard draper front operating in identical conditions.

Three fronts with extendable tables including the 640X from John Deere, Varifeed from New Holland and the Claas Vario were also evaluated.

Owners of extendable table fronts reported excellent performance in canola although the performance of these fronts in cereal applications were varied with some owners suggesting the front performance was reduced compared to standard draper fronts operating beside the extendable table units.

Front retro-fit modifications to the drum on draper fronts from Esperance farmer and inventor, Mic Fels, were also inspected.

The full report on harvester fronts will be available in the March 2017 edition of Farming Ahead.