New Holland Announces Partnership With Honey Bee Manufacturing

Thu September 07, 2023
New Holland Agriculture

New Holland Agriculture North America and Honey Bee Manufacturing have formed a partnership on a new draper header series for Speedrower PLUS Series self-propelled windrowers.

Developed with customers in mind, the new Honey Bee WSC Swather Series presents new opportunities for the Speedrower PLUS Series in small grain crops.

"Operations that swath grains have been asking for a draper head solution to work with our Speedrower PLUS Series self-propelled windrowers and we listened," said Josh Harkenrider, commercial hay and forage product marketing manager of New Holland Agriculture North America. "We're confident this partnership will provide a robust solution for customers as it combines the experience from Honey Bee with the productivity, precision and performance of our windrowers."

Built on a draper platform, the WSC Swather Series brings more than 20 years of development and proven results from Honey Bee Manufacturing.

"We are proud to have forged this agreement with CNH Industrial as it puts our proven platform into the hands of more farmers through CNH Industrial's robust dealer network," said Jamie Pegg, general manager of Honey Bee Manufacturing.

To maximize the capacity of the Speedrower PLUS Series, two models are available: the 30-ft. (9.1 m) WSC30 and the 36-ft. (10.9 m) WSC36. For clean cutting, these headers feature the tried-and-true SCH Easy Cut Cutting System, which has spring steel guards with cutting edges on the top and bottom, along with alternating, bolted, heat-treated sections that eliminate the need for hold downs.

For increased capacity, the Honey Bee Reel features six bats and quick change plastic teeth. To adjust in changing crop conditions, both hydraulic reel drive and hydraulic fore/aft reel adjustments can be conveniently made from the cab. Cut crop is gently delivered onto two swath decks where it then can be shifted left, right or center with in-cab controls.

WSC Swathers also come with adjustable gauge wheels to help in conditions where skids can scrape or dig and an integrated transport system for convenient maneuvering on-road and storage.

"When you combine the wide cutting widths and the array of proven components, along with the hydraulic capacity, advanced SensiDrive drive-by-wire controls and easy-to-use precision solutions on our Speedrower PLUS Series, customers can expect a faster and more efficient harvest for seasons to come," Harkenrider added.

New Holland Agriculture North America first displayed a WSC30 Swather Draper Head along with a Speedrower 260 PLUS windrower at the 2023 Ag PhD Field Day in Baltic, S.D.