FARMERS will be forgiven for feeling more than a little deja vu when they first glance at the new range of Case IH Axial-Flow 150 Series harvesters.
While firmly designed with the future in mind, Case IH has also given a big nod to the past in the design of the state-of-the-art machines.
The 150 Series harvesters were officially launched at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days at Longerenong, near Horsham, earlier in the month.
There was a steady stream of people coming over to the stand of O'Connors, the local dealers for Case IH machinery.
"The headers have certainly created a great deal of interest, people are keen to come over and check them out," said Tom Sheridan, O'Connors salesman in Warracknabeal and Birchip in the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee.
Case IH has attempted to get the right mix of history and modern practicality in the new machines.
The headers feature a heritage-inspired paint scheme with the traditional IH white roof and rims, beloved by fans of the red harvesters across the country, while the side panels are reminiscent of the first Axial-Flow harvesters, which first shot to prominence in Australia over four decades ago.
However, the 1970s vibe is definitely not present in the engine or the technology.
Farmers who came for a look at the retro colour scheme left with the feeling the machine was far more than a novelty act honing in on people's sense of nostalgia for the machines that played their part in taking Australia's cropping sector to the next level with their increased capacity and functionality.
Some of the key features include state of the art cleaning systems, with the cross flow cleaning system an industry class largest.
In terms of operation, Mr Sheridan also said there was a big tick for the simple to operate transmission that is designed to be used in first gear for harvesting and second gear for moving paddocks and on the road.
The transmission also features increased propulsion and improved tractive effort to help farmers through difficult paddock conditions.
Irish farmers Brendan Larkin and Rory Quinlan, now working at LIsmore in Victoria's Western District, stopped in to take a look at the new rigs and were impressed.
"It looks a nice piece of machinery," Mr Larkin said.
The pair said the residue management system, featuring integral straw choppers and dual disc spreaders would make distributing residue better, which is a key priority in higher yield environments where sowing into the previous year's crop residue can provide issues in some seasons.
Tim Slater, Case IH ANZ product manager for hay and harvest, said his team was proud of the new harvesters.
"We had an idea to pay tribute to our proud history and present an Axial-Flow in the 40th anniversary colours at AgQuip 2017, and it got a great response from visitors to the Case IH site," he said.
He said this interest soon spread internationally, via social media, with visitors to the major US field day, Farm Progress wanting to the see the machine that was displayed at AgQuip.
"So, due to such strong interest it was thrown out there as a global idea and now it's being rolled out on combines in the US and here," Mr Slater said.
"It's really gratifying to know that an idea we had down here in Australia has had such an impact.
"It also shows that while Australia and New Zealand may be smaller markets on the global scale, we have a strong influence when it comes to product development and releases and growers like the new technology and performance they see in the machine as well.