New Case IH AFS Harvest Command system ‘most impressive on the market’

Case IH’s latest Advanced Farming Systems (AFS) product is seeing success with combines.

The AFS Harvest Command system was released to the Australian market at last year’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days through the latest Case IH Axial-Flow 250 combine harvester series. A combine harvester automation system, the AFS Harvest Command is designed to improve ‘efficiency and performance’ by reducing the operator’s functions to just three; controlling the concave clearance, header position and the grain tank unload.

“AFS Harvest Command takes care of the rest,” Case IH says.

AFS Harvest Command allows for settings such as rotor speed, rotor cage vane angle, cleaning fan speed, and sieve positions to be continuously monitored and adjusted as conditions change, without driver intervention.

The AFS Harvest Command automation on the 250 series combines use a total of 16 sensors.

“AFS Harvest Command is designed to improve grain quality and grain savings through sensing and optimising machine settings, and with this level of automation even less experienced operators can achieve a similar level of productivity and performance to their more experienced counterparts,” Case IH ANZ Product Manager for hay and harvest Tim Slater says.

“AFS Harvest Command automatically adjusts itself based upon feedback from sensors and targets the maximum ground speed and engine load as set by the operator. The additional advantage is there is no time required to establish a baseline as can be required on competitor machines,” Slater adds. “The results we’ve seen in the field and the feedback we’re getting from our customers means we’re proud to say this is the most impressive combine automation product on the market.”

Corn, soybeans, wheat and canola are already supported by the technology, and a further version of AFS Harvest Command for barley would be introduced this year.

AFS Harvest Command monitors everything from ground speed and engine load up to feed rate control and sieve settings, which are based on the feedback received from the loss sensors, grain camera and sieve pressure sensors.

Simplicity, grain savings, grain quality and crop adaptability have always been at the heart of our Axial-Flow series. The addition of AFS Harvest Command only serves to reinforce the benefits of these features and importantly, extend them into uncharted territory – where increased performance, efficiency and productivity are the reward,” Slater says.

“What this technology can do is something we’ve never seen before, and what Case IH is currently developing and refining will ensure AFS Harvest Command remains a market leader, continuing to revolutionise the harvesting sector and redefining just what’s possible.”