Inventors are not often the types of people that rest on their laurels for long, so it’s not surprising that Gerry Devloo, inventor of the Canola Crusher, has a new invention that’s attracting attention.

Coined the ‘Miniature Combine,’ this battery powered device makes it easier for growers to gauge the moisture content of their crop by saving them the trip of taking their full-size combine out to the field.

Here, Devloo demonstrates his Mini Combine at Manitoba Ag Days last month where the invention caught the eye of the Innovation Showcase judges and he was awarded runner-up in the Farm Built Solutions category.

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The new program, dubbed ‘Claas Used,’ will offer warranty protection on certified late-model units in Canada and the U.S., along with lower-rate financing through Claas Financial Services.

The Claas Used program replaces the ‘First Claas Used’ program set up in 2018, which in turn was billed as the “next generation” plan following the Lexion Field Ready Reconditioned program set up in 2011.

The new program also scraps the First Claas Used system of gold-, silver- and bronze-level classifications on used Claas equipment in favour of a new certified pre-owned (CPO) standard.

The ‘Claas Used’ plan comes as “supply chain disruptions and financial constraints have affected many growers across North America,” the company said Tuesday.

“By combining the superior power and efficiency of Claas machines at a pre-owned price with a one-year protection plan and excellent low-rate financing, growers who take advantage of the Claas certified pre-owned program can have the best of both worlds,” Allen Miller, the company’s remarketing manager for North America, said in Tuesday’s release.

The company will also offer “flexible” protection plans for CPO combines, forage harvesters and tractors under the Claas Used program.

All certified machines to be sold under the program will have been “inspected, repaired and approved based on rigorous criteria by Claas certified technicians,” the company said.

The one-year plan will also provide repairs, done with Claas parts, plus standard one-year drive-train protection with an option to upgrade to a “comprehensive” protection plan.

The level-up plan, dubbed Maxi Care Comprehensive Extended Protection, will be “an optional layer of coverage” for Claas CPO machines meeting the “strictest inspection standards.”

On eligible combines and forage harvesters, the standard one-year plan will provide protection for either a year or 500 hours of use, whichever comes first, with a $500 deductible.

On tractors, the coverage will be for either a year or 1,000 hours of use, whichever comes first, with a $500 deductible — or $250 under the Maxi Care plan.

Eligible CPO combines and forage harvesters must have fewer than 2,500 hours use and be no older than five years of age by machine model year. Eligible tractors must also be no older than five years, with less than 5,000 hours’ use.

Equipment certified under the Claas Used program will be available through the company’s used equipment website. As of Tuesday afternoon, in the CPO category, just three self-propelled forage harvesters are listed for sale on that site, all in the U.S.

For the Canadian market, the company said it will offer a low financing rate on CPO Lexion combines and Jaguar forage harvesters, at zero per cent for the first 24 months up to a maximum financed amount of $450,000. That offer expires Dec. 31 this year.

Claas bills itself as an early adopter of the CPO system for sales of pre-owned equipment, which has given major manufacturers the opportunity to boost their brands’ sales beyond the showroom floor.

John Deere and Agco rolled out CPO programs for their late-model equipment in North America starting in 2014, followed in 2015 by Case IH and New Holland. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Case IH and New Holland, both owned by CNH, said separately Thursday they have partnership agreements in place with Winnipeg-based MacDon to make co-branded headers, for sale in almost all of Case and New Holland’s markets internationally.

The new MacDon draper headers are expected to be available for order through Case IH and New Holland dealers worldwide — except in South America — starting in early 2022.

A draper header uses conveyors, rather than the augers seen on conventional-style headers, to carry crop coming in off the cutter bar toward the centre of the header for feeding into the combine.

“By pairing Case IH’s industry-leading portfolio of Axial-Flow combines and a robust dealer network with MacDon’s draper header expertise and products, we aim to deliver a best-in-class harvesting package for producers,” Case IH global president Scott Harris said in that division’s release.

As for New Holland, the NH agriculture division said its new MacDon co-branded draper headers would complement its own lines of combine headers.

New Holland will continue to make its own Varifeed grain headers and CornMaster corn headers, “allowing the brand to offer the best header solutions for all customers,” the company said.

“Bringing together the expertise from both brands will unlock the potential to significantly increase our customers’ in-field performance and decrease their running costs,” Lars Skjoldager Sorensen, head of harvesting product management for New Holland Agriculture, said in the same release Thursday.

“This partnership creates a best-case scenario for both brands, our dealers, and most importantly, our customers.”

MacDon, which makes windrowers, pull-type mowers and pickup headers as well as draper headers, started in 1949 as Killbery Industries and was renamed after its acquisition by the MacDonald family in 1971. Linamar, a Canadian industrial equipment and parts manufacturer, bought the MacDon business in 2018. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network

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