An AGCO Challenger MT875B pulling a set of 14m wide Grégoire Besson XXL discs has set a new world record by cultivating an area of 644ha in 24 hours - enough to cut a 150mm wide strip around the equator.

Working to a consistent depth of 12cm in demanding heavy to medium clay loam soils, the record-breaking team disced an area equivalent to 780 football pitches in 24 hours. This was achieved at a workrate of a 26.8ha/hr, or 30 pitches every hour with an extraordinarily economical fuel consumption of just 4.42 litres/ha.

The 24hr cultivation marathon, carried out on a privately-owned farm close to Timisoara, Romania, demonstrates how the tractor’s awesome 570hp and its performance enhancing features, coupled with Grégoire Besson’s massive new XXL discs, offers unrivalled output in demanding conditions.

Throughout the entire event the tractor was driven by one man, Grégoire Besson’s demonstrator Benoit Verdin. At precisely 13.32hr on Tuesday 25th September 2007, the tractor set off with Auto-Guide satellite navigation automatically steering the tractor in exact parallel tracks across the field, discing a hectare every two minutes. It worked continuously and stopped only briefly to take on fuel, lubricate the discs and pass refreshments to the operator.

When Ben Verdin finally shut down the tractor at 13.32hr the following day he had travelled an incredible 460km, which if he was at home in France, would be equivalent to driving from Nancy to London, or from London to Glasgow.

“While this record sets a new landmark in productivity, it actually represents a typical day’s cultivating for this equipment. Both the tractor and the Grégoire Besson XXL discs are specially designed and built for this type of high-output operation,” explains Richard Miller, Marketing Manager for Challenger Tracked Tractors. “There are many Challenger MT875Bs working across the globe, consistently delivering workrates similar to those achieved in the record, providing unrivalled performance and economy.”

Both the tractor and the discs used in the world record were entirely standard production machines without any modifications. The Grégoire Besson XXL discs, which will be introduced at the Agritechnica Show, have been developed especially for working in the demanding conditions in Eastern and Central Europe.

At 14m wide, the discs are the widest in the new XXL range. “More producers are moving to using high power tractors, like Challenger,” says Matthieu Peron, Marketing Manager. “These discs are designed to cope with the rugged conditions found in the region and particularly to help farms to bring land that has been left derelict back into production. They are also ideal for minimum tillage operations and can also pull a packer roller if required.”

Equipped with eight gangs, mounted on a central chassis, the 14m wide XXL uses 120, 7mm thick discs each measuring 660mm in diameter. These are set at 230mm spacings on the axle and each exert a pressure of about 120kg.

The Challenger MT875B, the world’s most powerful tracked tractor, is equipped with a 570hp, 18.1 litre capacity, Caterpillar C18 engine, which transmits its power through a 16F/4R powershift transmission. This is linked electronically to the engine by the ‘Intellitronics’ system and provides a number of shifting modes. Power Management automatically controls the tractor to enhance performance in particular applications.

Key to the Challenger’s exceptional productivity is its Mobil-Trac rubber track units. At 240cm between the axles, the tracks provide the longest wheelbase in the industry to ensure they deliver maximum power to the ground. The track units are also fitted with the exclusive Opti-Ride suspension system. This unique system not only provides the best ground contact/traction in the industry, it also offers superb comfort and safety that allows the machine to run at high field speeds and up to 40km/hr on the road.

“The Challenger MT875B is not only the most powerful tracked tractor in the world, it’s also the most sophisticated,” explains Mr. Miller. “By employing the latest technology and electronics systems users benefit from unrivalled – record beating – performance and exceptional economy.

“By, for example, using Maximum Output in the Power Management system the tractor manages itself to produce the highest output at optimum efficiency. The high power combined with tracks and Opti-Ride suspension enabled the tractor to operate at an average speed of close to 20km/hr for 24hrs. This means even pulling a set of 14m wide discs, which made the tractor work hard, it was able to operate very efficiently with an exceptional fuel consumption of just 4.42 litres/ha.”

Using Auto-Guide automatic steering, helped operator Ben Verdin maintain the high working speeds throughout the day and night. It not only relieved him of the stress of steering it also could ‘see’ through the high levels of dust and keep on track better than his own tired eyes in the dead of night.

Moreover, by keeping the tractor on the exact track eliminates wasted time, fuel and effort from overlapping. For example by removing even a modest 2.5% overlap (350mm on the machine’s 14m working width) will have increased the overall area by 17ha – at the world record output that’s equivalent to gaining nearly 40 minutes extra work and 71 litres of fuel.

Additional functions on the new Auto-Guide terminal improved field efficiency. With AGCO GTA 400 Mapping software the team was able to log the field boundary, set up warning signals for the headland turn, note the position of any obstacles on the map and work out where best to place the parallel tracks to optimise work by making the longest runs with fewer headland turns.

In eastern and central Europe farms are growing and developing fast. The host farm in Romania, for example started with 3,500ha five years ago, and is now farming an incredible 35,000ha and has ambitions to add a further 15,000ha in the near future.

The need for efficient and cost-effective mechanisation on this scale is, obviously, essential, explains Mr Miller.

“The host farm is a prime example of where there is a huge opportunity to save money and increase productivity. If it swapped its current fleet of modern, but traditional wheeled tractors and implements to a cultivation regime using Challenger tracked tractors and Grégoire Besson discs it would benefit from some significant savings in fuel alone.

“There are also further benefits from using fewer tractors to cover more land faster. The record proves that instead of using nearly 50 normal tractors, a farm this size could employ just five or six Challengers and discs worked in shifts, to cover the entire area in just ten 24 hour periods. The potential savings are immense.”

24hr cultivation world record facts

ENDS
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About AGCO
Founded in 1990, AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AG) (www.agcocorp.com) is a global manufacturer of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts. AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage, tillage equipment and implements, which are distributed through more than 3,200 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries worldwide. AGCO products include the following well-known brands: AGCO®, Challenger®, Fendt®, Gleaner®, Hesston®, Massey Ferguson®, New Idea®, RoGator®, Spra-Coupe®, Sunflower®, Terra-Gator®, Valtra®, and White™ Planters.  AGCO provides retail financing through AGCO Finance. The company is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, and in 2006 had net sales of $5.4 billion.

CONTACTS 
Paul Lay
Manager, Public Relations & Communications
+ 44 (0)2476 851209

Richard Miller
Marketing Manager, Challenger Tracked Tractors
+44 (0)2476 852241