In 1961 New Holland revolutionised forage harvesting mechanisation: it transformed the highly successful pull type forage harvester into the first self-propelled unit, the now legendary SP818. With this daring move, New Holland dramatically increased in-field performance. In line with this ambitious philosophy, over the last 60 years, New Holland has introduced a vast range of pioneering industry-firsts to improve the profitability of your forage businesses. Today, the FR Forage Cruiser reflects New Holland’s continuous and unswerving commitment.

Whether you are a farmer or a contractor, when you invest in a forage harvester you begin the process that will provide your business with a profitable return. That’s why New Holland gives you the maximum capacity for your money, whether you are harvesting feed or fuel. This is why we give you the versatility you need to harvest a whole host of crops, and the precision that’s crucial to creating the best possible clamp quality, so what goes in is as good as what comes out, meaning maximum energy for meat, milk or methane production.

Designed and built to meet the demand for high yields of today’s farming in a variety of crops and conditions, the UltraFeed™ is a true testament to ultimate capacity. The Active Crop Guidance crop flow is intently designed to be as short, straight and smooth as possible to manage the highest throughput and provide the best operator comfort. This begins with the pick-up reel, through the large diameter high-capacity auger to the feed rolls. All features on the header are made with efficiency in mind; be it the pick-up reel with heavy duty tines, the maintenance free drive line with no chains or clutches and automatic greasing, or the optional heavy duty wear liners. The reduced service requirements gives you more time in the field where it matters.

New Holland offers two ranges of the updated Pro Series row independent maize headers, matching any crop condition. Ultimate fleet flexibility is guaranteed as combine maize headers can also be fitted. Whether you are looking for the most nutritious silage, or the highest energy biomass maize, you’ve found your perfect harvesting partner.

Through the growth of crops to produce gas and electricity through anaerobic digestion, agriculture has great potential to help address the world’s energy challenges, producing renewable, sustainable forms of energy from the land. If this is your business, New Holland FR Forage Cruiser models have the features you need to produce forage ideally suited to AD gas production. From whole-crop to maize to wood-based biomass, these machines have the robust build and the range of options to ensure they can cope with the demands imposed by the volume, density and abrasiveness of bio-energy crops. Options that span a full range of headers to the ideal chopping drum to match each crop mean FR Forage Cruiser models can be specified precisely, to overcome energy crop harvesting challenges.

The heart of the FR – the crop flow channel – is made to deliver the highest throughputs securing unrivalled performance in the field. From the widest feed rolls in the industry, through to the large and heavy knife drum, the kernel processor, and the crop flow of the FR is made for the highest throughputs delivering the most consistently chopped crop into the clamp.

1. High performance feed roll module
2. Knife drum
3. Crop processor
4. Blower 

Maize/corn harvesting requires power and precision to produce the performance necessary to handle big volumes of plant material at high speed, keeping trailers on the move and clamps filling fast. Whichever FR Forage Cruiser model you select, these machines are fitted with a full suite of standard features and are available with an array of options that come together to provide the perfect set of specifications for maximum maize output, tackling the toughest challenges these crops can create.

With Variflow™, you can alter the position of the blower to match the requirements of the crop being harvested. The system features one maize setting and two for grass: one for heavy crop such as first cut and a second for lighter second and third cuts that narrows the gap between the blower and the processor. In grass mode, the blower is situated 20cm closer to the knife drum, saving up to 40hp power requirement to enhance overall machine efficiency. In under two minutes, one person can change the Variflow™ system from maize to grass setting without tools. An exclusive tensioning system ensures correct belt tension in both positions, with no need for operator maintenance. During extended grass silage harvest periods, or when harvesting wholecrop, the crop processor can be removed in under 20 minutes with the assistance of a winch. 

New Holland forage harvesters are engineered to take in crop fast and process it rapidly – and they have a delivery system designed to match. With the latest New Holland blower design, Forage Cruiser models transfer higher volumes of crop even more efficiently. A 40% increase in air mass produces higher rates of crop transfer, while the smooth crop flow has an impressive stability value of 80%, with reduced turbulence resulting in greater unloading efficiency. As a result, filling time is rapid, keeping trailers on the move and ensuring everything runs like clockwork.  

With New Holland NutriSense™ technology, exacting information on forage quality is at your fingertips – and if you are a contractor, that means you can quickly make it available to your customers too. The system not only continuously measures forage dry matter, enabling the operator to make decisions on settings based on crop quality parameters, ensuring your New Holland Forage Cruiser produces the perfect forage without undue operator stress.

When you have hectares of crop ahead of you, and you need to make the most of good weather and crops that are at exactly the right stage for ensiling, you need to move fast with your foraging team, while keeping fuel use to a minimum. That’s why New Holland powers the Forage Cruiser range with FPT engines that blend output with efficiency.

With all the power needed to tackle the task at hand, you are in full control of your harvest. Whether you are in the field or on the road, even when doing the tightest turns or going   up the steepest hills, the FR Forage Cruiser will make sure you get the job done.  World class ground drive performance is ensured by the optional mechanical four-wheel drive system with differential lock, getting you out of the muddiest fields filling trailers on end.

Step into the latest FR Forage Cruiser cab, and once you settle in for a day’s harvesting, you will notice more of many things, but less of some others. There’s more space, increased seating comfort and better visibility. Once you’re at work, though, you’ll see where the ‘less’ comes in, particularly in terms of reduced noise levels. This is a place designed to make the longest days seem shorter, and leave you refreshed at the end.

New Holland design puts every key function of your Forage Cruiser in the palm of your hand. With our latest design multifunction controller, we have retained the familiar New Holland layout and feel, but have enhanced areas, such as button pressure and handle operation, for enhanced precision and even greater comfort over long hours of operation.

FR Forage Cruiser models are supplied with a full suite of technology designed to make your harvest as precise, productive and profitable as possible, and a number of options are available to bolster this comprehensive standard specification. From a range of guidance systems to yield mapping software and a full telematics package, including IntelliField™ data sharing, these machines take technology and turn its power into productivity.

Good lighting on a machine which is often expected to work into the night to get the work done means many things. It means high accuracy at night, ensuring minimal uncut crop misses and harvested crop spillage. It means reduced driver fatigue. And, of course, it makes work much safer for the operator and all those around.

New Holland has carefully assessed every aspect of lighting on the FR Forage Cruiser range to ensure every area you would expect is easy to see. By adopting the latest technology such as LED lighting, all areas are illuminated in sharp, bright, clear definition. Using the dusk sensor in the cab, road lights are automatically switched on for more comfort.

When the crop is ready and the weather is good, New Holland knows you want to be out in the field as quickly as possible. That’s why the FR Forage Cruiser range has been designed with servicing simplicity at its heart.

These machines are engineered to ensure that your daily checks can be done quickly and easily. The thought we put into our designs comes from years of experience building forage harvesters for the world’s farmers and contractors. When you talk, we listen – and we act.