Gatcombe takes delivery of 2000th Claas Lexion combine
27/06/05

Mike Dolman, farm manager of Gatcombe & Aston Farms in Gloucestershire receives the keys of the 2000th LEXION combine harvester to be sold in the UK from Ulrich Timcke, Managing Director (Commercial) for the CLAAS combine production company based at Harsewinkel in Germany.

CLAAS celebrated the sale of the 2000 th CLAAS LEXION combine to be sold in the UK with a presentation at Cereals 2005 to Mike Dolman, manager for Gatcombe & Aston Farms, who received the keys for the new combine from Ulrich Timcke, Managing Director (Commercial) for the CLAAS combine production company based at Harsewinkel in Germany.

The sale of this combine coincides with the production of the 20,000 th LEXION combine since this range was launched 10 years ago.

The new LEXION 570 combine has been bought by Gatcombe & Aston Farm, based at Cherington near Tetbury, Gloucestershire to provide the farm with greater harvesting capacity, following a 283ha increase in the area owned or managed by the company to 688ha.

“The farm has expanded considerably with this additional land, which is just three miles away, and we want to get much bigger still,” explains Mike Dolman. “We will also be harvesting a further 121ha for a neighbour, which will give us a total of 810ha to harvest this year.”

Supplied through local CLAAS dealer Mill Engineers, based near Bibury, the 427hp rotary LEXION 570 replaces a far smaller LEXION 420 straw walker machine, and in addition to over 280ha of winter wheat, will be used to harvest 121ha of winter and spring barley, 89ha of naked oats, 113ha of winter oilseed rape and 20ha of linseed.

The new combine has been specified with a 7.5m VARIO cutterbar to make it easier to direct cut oilseed rape and ensure maximum output in cereals. With a recent change to minimal cultivations, the combine is also fitted with the optional Power Spreader which mixes the chaff and chopped straw together, then blows it across the full cutterbar width in order to achieve a better, more even spread of material for incorporation, in addition to 3D sieves to reduce losses on the farm's hilly fields.

“Whilst I did look at a couple of other makes, we have used CLAAS combines for the past 20 years and it's a brand that we like and trust,” says Mike. “Just as importantly, the parts support and back-up we get from Mill Engineers is brilliant. We have never had to wait more than a few hours for a part which is critical at a busy time like harvest."