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It's not often that a new make of self-propelled forage harvester comes to the market. But this week Claas, New Holland, Krone and Deere were joined by a fresh name - Fendt.
The German company first announced that it was making a SPFH back in 2010 and machines have been in the UK for testing for some time. But last week was the official launch of the 653hp Katana 65, with local contractor Martin Haskett cutting a surprisingly lush crop of grass on Wyke Farm near Wincanton, Wiltshire.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT?
* Fendt has aimed its sights firmly on the full-size 550-750hp SPFH market. That's currently a smaller sector of the European market than the mainstream 400-550hp machines. However the company says it's a sector that's likely to expand as contractors aim to boost their throughputs.
WILL IT SELL?
* There's a big market for these machines in Europe, with German farmers and contractors buying 700 every year, the French buying 300 and the UK 165 machines annually. The company says it had already sold 100 machines by 2 May and aims to sell 300 a year.
Fendt...