4,096 tonnes in 12 hours: JAGUAR 1200 forage harvester from CLAAS sets new world record

The new JAGUAR 1200 from CLAAS has set a new official world record in forage harvesting, harvesting 4,096 tonnes of whole crop silage in 12 hours. In addition to the harvesting performance, the efficiency was also record-breaking with just 0.49 litres of fuel consumption per tonne of silage harvested.

At the beginning of 2025, three young Americans - contractor Todd Poling from P.M.S. Harvesting, CLAAS dealer Ty Rankin and Matt Jaynes, JAGUAR Product Manager at CLAAS of America - asked themselves a seemingly simple question: How much throughput capacity is actually in the new JAGUAR 1200 - the most powerful JAGUAR of all time with a maximum output of 1,110 hp? Since nobody could answer this question precisely and it had not been possible to date to measure the performance potential of the new JAGUAR flagship under practical conditions and yet with high precision over a full working day, it quickly became clear: let's put it to the test!

It was the birth of a project that could not be delayed and at the end impressively demonstrated just how great the leap in performance of forage harvesters has been from 2001 to the present day. At the time, CLAAS set an official world record with the JAGUAR 900, embedding the benchmark at 1,891 tonnes of harvesting output in 12 hours. Now, 24 years later, this mark should not only be broken, but doubled if possible.

The new JAGUAR 1200 has the best prerequisites for this: New PICK UP with independent, variable drive of pick-up and conveyor auger, new hydraulic pre-compression, widest crop flow with 910 mm wide V-FLEX chopping cylinder, high-torque and efficient MAN twelve-cylinder with DYNAMIC POWER, CEMOS AUTO PERFORMANCE driver's assistance, maximum driving comfort with an extremely quiet cab with joystick steering and rotating driver's seat - and maximum reliability.

From the idea to the world record
There was not much time to realise the idea. On 2 June 2025 - in the centre of the tornado season and before the official launch of the new JAGUAR 1000 series - the starting signal was given on a spraying wheat field near the small Texan town of Dalhart. Rich yields for thick swaths, tough wheat stalks as a demanding feed for PICK UP and crop flow, and endless circular tracks - and a logistical challenge. In order to have sufficient removal capacity on site, no fewer than 30 articulated lorries and a team of 39 people were available. Also present: a Guinness referee who closely followed and documented the world record attempt.

It was also clear that the most powerful biomass mower on the market had to be used to ensure that the JAGUAR 1200 did not run out of forage. The DISCO 9700 RC AUTO SWATHER with roller conditioner and double roller drive with steel rollers went into action with an AXION 960, which was optimally motorised with 450 hp maximum output. A XERION 12.590 TRAC with an 18-foot / 5.5 metre wide Grouser silo blade stood ready on the silo to optimally distribute and compact the incoming crop.

The first tracks were tackled at 8 o'clock in the morning. At the wheel of the JAGUAR 1200: Product Manager Matt Jaynes himself - after all, he already knew the new big cat inside out and there is hardly anyone at CLAAS of America who has more JAGUAR DNA in their blood than him. The chop length was set to 17 mm, the CEMOS AUTO PERFORMANCE and AUTO FILL assistance systems were activated and the GPS PILOT CEMIS 1200 steering system was set to "Centre Pivot Mode". Then we were ready to go.

12 hours of top performance
The first hectares fell at an impressive pace, and with an average filling time of 2:42 minutes per combination, Matt Jaynes and his JAGUAR 1200 kept the departing trucks on their toes. In the end, 266 lorry loads left the field and were received, distributed and compacted by the XERION 12.590 TRAC at the silo.

In the meantime, everyone's nerves were put to the test as dark clouds loomed on the horizon, heralding storms and rain. But luck was on the side of the world record team: although it became windy to stormy, it remained dry. And so, after 12 hours - interrupted only by a few knife sharpening cycles and a short refuelling stop - the flag was waved off at exactly 8 p.m. local time.

The announcement of the result was emotional: at 4,096 tonnes, the world record set by the JAGUAR 900 in 2001 had actually been more than doubled. The low fuel consumption of just 0.49 litres per tonne was also record-breaking. However, "only" the harvesting performance was entered in the Guinness Book of Records. " "The world record illustrates that it's not just horsepower that counts in a forage harvester, but an optimally coordinated overall concept from the front attachment to the pre-compression and chopping cylinder to the drive management and driver assistance systems," says Dominik Grothe, CLAAS Senior Vice President Self Propelled Forage Harvesters.

Permanent monitoring via CLAAS connect; precise measurement with the NUTRIMETER
The performance and process data were continuously monitored and documented in CLAAS connect during the 12-hour operation. The new NUTRIMETER, which impressed with its high measurement accuracy, provided valuable support: With 59.4 per cent measured moisture, the ISOBUS-enabled NIR sensor was almost exactly on a par with the 60.006 per cent moisture measurements taken on the scales by P.M.S. Harvesting. In addition to the moisture and dry matter content and the crude fibre content, the NUTRIMETER is also able to determine the crude ash content and ingredients such as crude protein, starch (maize crop) and sugar.

The most important data of the JAGUAR 1200 Guinness World Record at a glance:

• Place and time: Dalhart (Texas), 2 June 2025.
• JAGUAR 1200 with PICK UP 4500; 17 mm chop length.
• Operator: Matt Jaynes, JAGUAR Product Manager CLAAS of America.
• Removal logistics: 30 trucks with semi-trailers.
• Mowing: CLAAS DISCO 9700 RC AUTO SWATHER with steel roller conditioner and CLAAS AXION 960 CMATIC with 450 hp maximum engine power.
• Silo: CLAAS XERION 12.590 TRAC with 18 foot (5.5 m) wide Grouser silo shield.
• Harvested quantity: 4,096 tonnes in 12 hours (266 truckloads).
• Average filling time per truck: 2:42 min.
• Fuel consumption: 0.49 litres per tonne.