Mark Saunders, Ben White and Josh Giumelli have racked up more than 1000km in Western Australia over the past few days visiting farms and dealerships to start inspecting a comprehensive list of chaser bins.

The team's trip list this week has covered Corrigin, Cunderdin and Esperance and apart from looking at chaser bins (minimum 30 tonnes capacity) it has been encouraging to see a few harvesters already in action to start the 2018 grain harvest in WA.

Kondinin Group's chaser bin research report will look at a dozen or so brands and include a thorough inspection of the gear. The report will look at over all build quality, finish, ease of access and maintenance, wheel and tyre options, auger function, hydraulics and mechanical functions, drawbar and hitch design, transport width, unloading and cross auger design and optional equipment such as roll tarps, cameras and load cells.

The research team has also had the chance to look at a few other new pieces of machinery including the latest New Holland T9 670 articulated tractor on Smart Trax. The availability of tracks on the big New Hollands has been eagerly anticipated in Australia for many years.

You can read more about the T9 670 in the December edition of the Farming Ahead magazine and thanks to Staines in Esperance for giving us the keys to the tractor and the chance to have a quick look over it.