Trevor Scherman, inventor of the Schergrain grain pan, now not only has a means of alerting combine operators to excessive crop losses, but the ability to suggest threshing settings that might help reduce them.

His novel Combine Settings online platform allows operators to share their machine configuration and, in return, view those of others running similar models anywhere in the world.

Access to the system starts with a flat fee of C$200 (£112) per farm – irrespective of the number of combines in the fleet.

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This allows farmers to input the crop they’re harvesting, their combine model, and all their current settings, including those of their sieves, the rotor and fan speed, and concave clearance.

There is also scope to specify any aftermarket modifications.

Once this is done, operators are free to view the setups of all other subscribers locally and globally for the current and previous seasons.

Each combination of settings can be rated, and comments or questions posted, giving a quick insight into their effectiveness.

The company has 800 users signed up and is working specifically with Claas to increase the number of Lexion owners involved.

Adapting to weather conditions

More features are in development, including weather data that will make it possible to view the settings of an identical combine working in the same conditions.

In time, this will be integrated into an artificial intelligence package, allowing the system to recommend settings based on the weather and crop moisture.

However, this is a couple of years from release, as it relies on having a good bank of combine data against which it can compare.

The existing system will be officially launched in Europe at Italy’s Eima show, which takes place in November.