Cyrus McCormick started it all when at age 22, he debuted a horse-drawn reaper to cut wheat. His father, Robert McCormick, tried first. But it was Cyrus who made it work. By the 1950s, many thought the McCormick 64 pull-type combine with a canvas approach bringing wheat or soybeans into the machine was the technology to end all technology. What would Cyrus, or the farmer pulling a Model 64 with a Farmall M tractor, think about the Case IH AF10 combine today?

Farmers got their first official glimpse of the AF10 at the 2024 Farm Progress Show, where Case IH unveiled the AF9 and AF10 models, and showcased the AF11, introduced earlier this year. These three make up the largest models in the Case IH eight-model combine lineup for 2025.

Plenty of technology

The AF Series offers a full suite of precision technology, including dual Pro 1200 displays in the combine cab, Harvest Command combine automation and RowGuide Pro technologies to assist in guidance through the field, Bose explains.

What does automation for this combine mean in practice? Christopher Lursen, another Case IH combine specialist, explains that unlike with machines of the past 100 years, including the iconic McCormick 64, producers no longer must set such things as sieve openings and fan speed manually.

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Instead, they can determine what parameters they want to achieve, including on factors like percent grain loss and percent foreign material in the grain, and then leave the rest to the machine. Lursen notes that AF machines use cameras, algorithms and artificial intelligence technology to improve on performance over time. One camera provides a view of the clean grain elevator, and if you are in the combine seat, you can view it, too.

Additionally, the introduction of Connectivity Included leverages subscription-free connectivity, feeding yield and machine data directly to Case IH FieldOps, providing a comprehensive management solution across an entire operation. These features are purposefully designed to create a customer experience that delivers peace of mind through a simplified harvest season. They’re also part of the trend toward less dependance on subscriptions to get information.