When we talk about silage harvesters today, the first thing that comes to mind is often:
high horsepower, high efficiency, and the ability to harvest over a thousand tons in a day. But you might not know that - more than 50 years ago, silage harvesting was a completely different scene.
Fact One: Before JAGUAR, silage harvesting was not "efficient".
Before the 1960s: Silage operations mainly relied on trailer-type, semi-mechanized equipment, which was inefficient and highly dependent on manual labor, making it difficult to meet the demands of large-scale farms.
As the European livestock industry rapidly developed, a question became increasingly realistic: Is there a machine that can efficiently complete silage harvesting like a combine harvester?
Fact Two: CLAAS brought the "combine harvester concept" to the silage field. In the early 1970s, CLAAS made a crucial decision:to develop a fully self-propelled silage harvester.
In 1973, the first generation of CLAAS JAGUAR self-propelled silage harvester was officially put into production.
This was not an "experimental machine", but a mass-produced product ready for the market. It brought about three fundamental changes:
A self-propelled chassis, significantly enhanced continuous operation capability
A dedicated chopping and throwing system tailored to silage requirements
Laying the mechanical foundation for subsequent large-scale farm operations
From this moment on, silage harvesting truly entered the industrial age.
Fact Three: It's not just "done once", but "done for 53 years". Over the past 50-plus years, JAGUAR has not remained static: larger intake capacity, stronger power systems, more intelligent operation control, and a variety of cutting heads suitable for corn, grass, and whole plants.
As of today, more than 46,000 CLAAS JAGUAR silage harvesters have been put into use worldwide, becoming the "main equipment" for many large-scale farms and contractors in various countries.
Fact Four: Today, CLAAS is still pushing the upper limit of silage efficiency. The latest generation of JAGUAR 1200, in official tests, was able to harvest 4,096 tons of silage crops within 12 hours while maintaining extremely high fuel efficiency.
This indicates one thing:
CLAAS is not just an early participant in the silage harvester field, but a long-term technological driver in this area.