THIS is one case where big is definitely better. When it comes to headers, there's no bigger combination than that put together by Tasmanian contractors Radford Harvesting.
They have custom built an 18.6m (61 feet) front, believed to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the world, and mounted it on a Claas Lexion 600 combine.
The combination had its first demonstration at the Hillston Show on the weekend, and its size and scale impressed the locals.
Radford Harvesting principal Peter Radford said the outfit had been built for farmers who wanted a header that could fit in with their controlled traffic sowing and spraying gear, which worked on 18.3m spacings.
He's been heavily involved in the development of the super-wide front, picking the best ideas from other models to build his own version.
That's meant the front is made from one main 9.1m beam, with 4.6m arms on each side, to allow it to flex to maximise grain harvesting efficiency.
It soon became clear that with such a massive front, Mr Radford needed the biggest header in the world, the Class Lexion 600, to mount it on, bringing the cost of the outfit to about $600,000.
The new header and front will make harvesting safer, Mr Radford said, bringing ground speed down from 16km/h to 12km/h.
Harvest for the 10-header team from Radford Harvesting begins in about two weeks, and the mega-combination will debut in either the Hillston or Moree districts.
