The run of wet seasons has driven some farmers to buy harvesters with tracks but it's not the only reason they are making the switch.
Claas Lexion national product manager Steve Reeves said more than 90 per cent of the Claas harvesters sold in Australia have the Terra Trac system.
The company are no strangers to this market and in 2022 celebrated 25 years of producing tracked machinery.
Mr Reeves said their customers were used to seeing tracked machines and the technology was well accepted.
While getting onto paddocks faster in wet weather was a factor, he said it probably wasn't the biggest reason Claas sold tracked machines.
"Combines are getting bigger, heavier, and have more capacity; they are driving faster so they need the stability and that ability to be able to carry that weight safely," he said.
"A lot of our customers are looking at controlled traffic; they want to run a single wheel or a narrow track on that controlled traffic line, so we can do that with a tracked machine and you're struggling with a wheeled machine.
"When you talk to some customers around here that have got tracked machines, they are harvesting when others aren't, so that's a big bonus."
The Lexion is available with a choice of 635, 735 or 890mm track widths, which Mr Reeves said had been very popular with farmers running controlled traffic systems.
He said the first Lexion with tracks was sold in Australia in 2005 and they had some customers now returning for their third or fourth machine.
"The Terra Trac system is fully suspended, so it's based on two hydraulic cylinders that allow upward, forward and backward movement, so it has a very smooth ride," he said.
"It allows the combine to go up to 40 kilometres per hour as well and the ground footprint is large being a flat track, which we see as an advantage."
Another tracked harvester turning heads at the Aon AgQuip field days earlier this month at Gunnedah, NSW, was the Fendt Ideal.
NFS-Ag Machinery business development manager Nick Rouhan offered similar insights on the reasons behind the interest in tracked machinery.
"I'd say in general the inquiry is definitely higher for tracks and that would be across the board, not just combines but also tractors," he said.
"One reason is flotation in wet conditions, which we've suffered a lot of in the last two years, and two is even in a dry year there's less compaction in the crop on the tramlines.
"Also there's the need for tracks to support bigger, heavier header fronts and the capacity to have bigger grain carrying tanks on the combine."
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Mr Rouhan said the Fendt Ideal harvester was a relatively new product to Australia and had a number of top features.
"The bin on this particular machine can hold 12 to 14 tonne of wheat and unload in about 70 to 120 seconds depending on the capacity," he said.
"This machine also has no steering wheel, it's a full joystick controlled machine for great visibility.
"It has a front, two track drive with a positive grip on the tracks from the driveline with a fully suspended triangle design."
Case IH ANZ hay and harvest product specialist Andrew Wood said if the wet weather continues, he expects interest in harvesters with tracks will remain strong.
However, overall he expects demand will be based more on what occurs season to season.
"The ability to get into the field when the conditions are wet, earlier than you could with say a wheeled machine, can be quite critical because the windows to get the crop off can be quite narrow," he said.
"This obviously gives those farmers the advantage to get in there a little earlier, with minimal risk of getting stuck."
Mr Wood said certain areas like northern NSW were moving more toward tracked machines like Case IH's 8250 harvester, which was on display at AgQuip.
He said harvesters with tracks were also able to perform well in dry conditions.
"They are a four roller suspended track, so they are a track system with suspension on the front," he said.
"The idea there is to give a much better ride in the machine and obviously with the four mid-rollers we get a nice large footprint, a nice long track, which helps with compaction and flotation as well."
