CLAAS is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its leadership in the self-propelled forage harvester market with the release of a special edition JAGUAR 990 TERRA TRAC model at Agritechnica.

Boasting a 24 litre, V12 MAN engine that delivers a whopping 925 hp, this harvesting behemoth is capable of processing a staggering 400 tonnes of forage per hour!

Sporting an exclusive anniversary colour scheme and graphics, the ‘top shelf’ model incorporates all of CLAAS’ latest operator assistance systems, including CEMOS AUTO Performance.

With more than 45,000 units manufactured over the past 50 years, JAGUAR has earned a hard-won reputation for productivity, efficiency and reliability.

CLAAS revolutionised forage harvesting in 1973 with the release of the JAGUAR 60 SF, a hybrid of components from the company’s existing trailed drum foragers and combine harvesters.

More than 500 of the 120 hp units were sold within three years, triggering the start of a series of ground-breaking innovations that rewrote the benchmarks for productivity and efficiency.

In 1975, CLAAS released the JAGUAR 80 SF, the world’s first four-row forage harvester. The following year, it was joined by the JAGUAR 70 SF, which was capable of supporting a then ground-breaking throughput of 75 tonnes per hour. 1983 saw the release of the JAGUAR 600 series, the world’s first six-row maize forage harvester.

Adapted from DOMINATOR combine harvesters, the impressive cab was the first to incorporate electronic controls, including a multi-function lever that gave the operator single-handed control of all the machine’s key functions.

The introduction of the 800 series in 1994 cemented CLAAS’ leadership in forage harvesting technology. The flagship 880 model was the world’s first eight-row harvester.

In 2008, CLAAS smashed performance levels even higher with the introduction of the twin-engine JAGUAR 980.

In 2015, CLAAS acquired the US-developed SHREDLAGE maizeprocessor, which intensively processes corn kernels and long-chop maize to improve the digestibility of starch and fibre. This was followed by the development of a new generation of ORBIS maize headers with working widths of up to nine metres.

In 2019, CLAAS launched the JAGUAR 900 TERRA TRAC with its innovative crawler tracks and the CEMOS AUTO Performance system, which automatically adjusts engine power curves and forward speed for optimal productivity and efficiency. More recent improvements across both the 900 and 800 series include the Actisiler 37 silage additive system, water injection system and the CEMIS 1200 terminal for automated steering and precision farming applications.