With harvest season approaching, Fendt IDEAL combines are heading into the field with several updates for the 2026 model year, led by a completely redesigned cleaning system aimed at increasing capacity and reducing grain losses in challenging conditions.

The biggest change is Fendt’s new CyclonePlus cleaning system, which is now standard across all IDEAL models. Fendt says the redesign addresses one of the most important areas of combine performance, particularly when high volumes of material other than grain are moving across the cleaning shoe.

A New Approach to Cleaning

At the center of CyclonePlus is a newly designed pre-sieve with 1.0 square meter of concave area, along with a redesigned upper concave. Fendt repositioned the components so pre-cleaned crop reaches the upper concave earlier in the process, leaving more cleaning area available to separate remaining grain from chaff.

Airflow through the cleaning system has also been revised with an optimized wind guide. According to Fendt, the changes increase cleaning capacity while maintaining grain quality and limiting losses as harvest conditions change.

For operators, the redesign also simplifies machine setup. Previous IDEAL combines offered five different cleaning system configurations. The new system moves to a uniform configuration designed to make switching between crops, including grain and corn, easier while improving access to key components.

The updated IDEALbalance system includes a redesigned grain pan with new fall levels, and Fendt has repositioned the rotor loss sensor. A new slope performance kit is also available to help distribute crop material more evenly across the cleaning system when harvesting on side slopes.

Brighter Lights for Longer Harvest Days

Fendt has also upgraded the IDEAL’s work lighting for Model Year 2026. Revised LED spotlights in the cab roof now produce 4,000 lumens per light, increasing forward illumination for operators working after dark.

The upgraded lights are also available as a retrofit for existing IDEAL combines, giving current owners an option to improve nighttime visibility without moving into a new machine.

Connecting Planting and Harvest Data

For North American operators, Fendt is also adding PTx YieldSight integration to the IDEAL platform. The system allows operators to use a PTx 20|20 display in the combine, bringing harvest data into the same precision agriculture ecosystem used during planting.

The goal is to create a more direct connection between what happened in the field during planting and the results measured at harvest. For farmers already using the 20|20 platform, that could make it easier to analyze yield performance against planting decisions without moving between separate systems.

More Tire and Track Choices

Fendt has expanded the available tire and undercarriage configurations as well. New options are available for front tires, track systems and rear tires across the IDEAL lineup, including new 600/70 R28 and 620/70 R30 rear tire options from Alliance.

The expanded choices give operators more flexibility to configure the machine around field conditions, flotation requirements and transportation needs.

Fendt Brings Back the Harvest Tour

Fendt is also bringing back its Harvest Tour for 2026 after running the program in 2025. This year’s version is being offered as a sweepstakes, giving selected farmers the opportunity to have a Fendt IDEAL participate in harvest on their farm.

The program gives Fendt another opportunity to put the IDEAL in front of farmers during real-world harvest conditions, particularly as the company rolls out the CyclonePlus system and other Model Year 2026 improvements.

A Focus on Moving More Crop Through the Machine

The 2026 IDEAL updates do not represent a complete reinvention of Fendt’s combine platform. Instead, Fendt has focused much of its attention on areas that can directly affect the harvest experience: cleaning capacity, crop changeovers, hillside performance, nighttime visibility and data collection.

Of those changes, CyclonePlus is likely to draw the most attention once combines reach the field this fall. Cleaning capacity can quickly become a limiting factor when crop volume and material other than grain increase, and Fendt’s redesign is intended to give the IDEAL more room to perform under those demanding conditions.

With the 2026 harvest approaching, farmers will soon get a better look at whether those changes translate into greater capacity and lower losses where it matters most: in the field.