Specs of Ford-NH Self-Propelled Forage Harvester

Select a Ford-NH self-propelled forage harvester model:

Number of models: 7

History of Ford-NH forage harvesters

The history of Ford-New Holland self-propelled forage harvesters began well before the company itself was formed. New Holland entered the self-propelled harvester market as early as 1961 with the introduction of the SP818. Models such as the 1880, 1890 and 1895 followed in the years that came after, helping establish the company as one of the leading manufacturers of self-propelled forage harvesters.

A major step forward came in the late 1970s with the arrival of a new generation of machines. In 1979, the 2100 was introduced with an output of around 300 hp. The 1900 and 2200 series also appeared during this period and became particularly popular in Europe. These designs later formed the basis of forage harvesters produced during the Ford-New Holland era.

In 1986, Ford acquired New Holland’s agricultural machinery business from Sperry, creating Ford New Holland. Tractors continued to be marketed mainly in Ford’s familiar blue livery, while combines and forage harvesters retained the New Holland name and their distinctive yellow-and-red colour scheme. As a result, the New Holland name appeared on the forage harvesters far more often than Ford.

By the late 1980s, the company had begun updating its established forage harvester range. In Europe, the series comprising the 1905, 2205, 2305 and 2405 became particularly well known. These machines were built in Antwerp, Belgium, and were powered by 11.6-litre, six-cylinder DAF engines.

The entry-level New Holland 1905 produced around 300 hp. The larger 2205 delivered approximately 340 hp, the 2305 around 360 hp, while the flagship 2405 produced about 400 hp. These were impressive figures for the late 1980s and early 1990s, allowing Ford-New Holland forage harvesters to compete effectively with machines from CLAAS and John Deere.

This generation also gained increasingly sophisticated equipment. Features included metal detectors, automatic knife sharpening and an electrically adjustable shearbar. Models carrying the additional CP designation were also available with a crop-processing system, an especially important feature when harvesting maize for silage.

In North America, Ford-New Holland also offered the 1915 and 2115. Production began in the late 1980s and continued into the mid-1990s. These machines were further developments of the earlier 1900 and 2100 families and incorporated improvements designed to protect the chopping unit and make the machines easier to operate.

Another change of ownership came in 1991, when Fiat acquired Ford New Holland. The company initially continued to operate under its existing names, but the process of integrating Fiatagri and Ford-New Holland operations had begun. As a result, some forage harvesters were offered simultaneously in different liveries. The Fiatagri 7820, 7825, 7835 and 7840 were counterparts to the New Holland 1905, 2205, 2305 and 2405.

By the mid-1990s, the existing design had reached the limits of its development potential. The response was the completely new New Holland FX series, introduced in 1995. The initial range consisted of the FX300, FX375 and FX450, with the model numbers broadly reflecting engine output. The new machines featured a completely redesigned cab, a new crop-flow system and a more efficient kernel-processing system.

The FX series effectively marked the end of the forage harvester era associated with the Ford-New Holland name. During the second half of the 1990s, the group gradually consolidated its agricultural machinery range under the New Holland brand, while the Ford and Fiatagri names disappeared from the machines. Forage harvester development continued under New Holland, first with later generations of the FX and eventually with the FR series.

The Ford-New Holland period was therefore relatively brief, but it coincided with a crucial stage in the development of self-propelled forage harvesters. The 1905, 2205, 2305 and 2405 became some of the most recognisable machines of their era, while the engineering experience gained from them helped lay the foundations for the later and far more advanced New Holland FX range.