The commercial version of the long-awaited Tribine combine harvester can be seen in action at this month’s Farm Progress Show, and machines are available to order for the 2017 harvest. Much of the internal technical spec remains under wraps until the official launch, but a couple of things the design team have not changed from earlier prototypes are the centrally articulated configuration and 30-tonne capacity grain tank. Engineered and built at Tribine Harvester’s factory in Newton, Kansas, the novel harvester hides what we understand to be the world’s largest threshing and cleaning system. Comprising a large diameter rotor with 270° concave wrap feeding a pneumatic cleaning system, the result is claimed to provide up to twice the cleaning area of any other harvesting machine (regardless of colour). Tribine inventor, farmer and company president Ben Dillon has worked on the concept for nearly 20 years, and the commercial version follows four generations of prototypes. “The future of harvesting is now,” he said. “The Tribine performs all of the functions of a combine, only better and faster.” The Farm Progress Show takes place at Boone, Iowa, from August 30 to September 1.