Self-propelled potato harvesters maybe an increasingly common sight in the UK, but what makes a one-harvester business swap from a trailed machine? Jane Carley speaks to a convert.
Specification
- Engine: Scania DC9 385A Tier V 350hp
- Automatic steering and depth control
- Synchro flow
- Eight camera monitoring
- Harvesting unit width 1500mm
- Cleaning: Three sieving webs, set of Dahlmann rollers, lower hedgehog belt, Scotts Evolution cleaning module and transfer web into the bunker.
- Bunker capacity: 11 cu.m
- Total length: 12.8m
- Width: 3.5m
- Height: 4.0m
After switching from a trailed potato harvester to a self-propelled machine in this most challenging of lifting seasons, Wayne Garrett of RG Produce says that he would never go back.
The Norfolk-based company was established by Mr Garretts father and, after majoring on carrots for wholesale markets for many years, the decision was taken in 2016 to move away from this crop.
My father wanted to retire, and I had some radical decisions to make. Carrots were a lot of work and I did not feel like I was making any headway.
He decided to focus on potatoes and has increased his acreage from 40ha to 200ha.
Our first year was very good, put us on the ladder and allowed further investment, he says.
All potatoes are sold into the chip shop trade in 20-25kg bags, with 80 per cent of the business through P&D Produce in Scotland; while 2,000 tonnes are stored.
Harvesting begins at the end of June, with store filling from October 1.
We have always used a Standen trailed harvester, but in 2021 I had a trailed bunker machine on demo from the company, which opened up my eyes to the benefits of this system. I realised that I could cut at least one tractor and trailer out of the operation we generally used two or three.
Mr Garrett demoed trailed bunker machines from AVR (imported by Standen), but then started to consider self-propelled machines.
I feel that if you are going down this route, a self-propelled is so much better for the operator, as they are not having to constantly look over their shoulder.
He says that at this point he had no intention of buying a new self-propelled harvester, setting his sights on a used machine. But Dewulf importer AgVantage had a stock machine in the UK, a two-row RA3060, available at a pre-increase price.
For the difference in price between this and a one-year old used machine, it was attractive, he says.
The RA3060 arrived on-farm for the 2022 season, which started out exceptionally dry and ended up typically wet.
Configured for UK conditions, the RA3060 has three sieving webs, followed by a set of Dahlmann rollers, lower hedgehog belt, Scotts Evolution cleaning module and transfer web into the bunker.
The Scotts Evolution Separator, fitted to the Belgian-built machine by AgVantage, works by extracting the debris between two contra-rotating rollers.
The larger spiral roller has air chambers and is deformable with a spiralling rib. The smaller clod roller is smooth.
The design of the spiral rib pulls debris down into the valley between the rollers where it is then crushed and ejected down below the separator. Stones are ejected as the spiral roller deforms around them.
We lift on a range of soils, says Mr Garrett, Starting on Breckland sand, moving onto more chalky land and from September onto black fen. The storage potatoes are on the heaviest of all, black fen with clay.
On such variable land, adjustability is key, and profiles for different conditions can be set up in the control terminal and selected to automatically change cleaning unit settings.
Adjustments from the control terminal can also be linked to configurable preset buttons on the joystick for easy activation.
The sieving webs also have the Synchro Flow auto speed system, which adjusts them to the forward speed of the harvester, which is another useful feature, says Mr Garrett.
Potato handling is always a talking point with self-propelled machines, and he was concerned about damage in the dry conditions.
We put a water kit on the harvester to minimise damage, but in fact there was very little, except in one area where we were lifting on sprayer tramlines.
"We sample and hot-box eight to 10 samples a day to check for bruising, and the problems were minimal. Having a good operator is an important element of that, but the machine certainly played its part.
He comments that the harvester has come through the season with surprisingly low wearing parts costs.
The sands are flinty, but the machine has suffered very little wear.
The RA3060 lifts two rows, the same as the outgoing trailed machine, but Mr Garrett explains that outputs have been increased significantly.
The bunker means that there is no need to wait for trailers, and setting into a new field can be much quicker as you do not have to make a path for the trailer.
On greentop potatoes at the start of the season, where yields are 24-29t/ha, and the harvester is lifting 4-6ha/day, he reckons to lift 500-600 tonnes a week with one tractor and trailer combination.
We keep two or three empty trailers positioned in the field wherever the harvester driver wants them and he just keeps lifting, emptying as required, Mr Garrett explains.
The tractor driver brings an empty trailer, collects a full one and takes it back to the yard. There is a further benefit on the black fen, where we could only load about five tonnes into a trailer following the harvester to prevent it sinking; with the trailers positioned on the headland, they can be loaded with the full 10 tonnes reducing the need for trailer movements.
With just one tractor in use, he points out that he is saving 300 litres of fuel a day.
He adds that the wheeled chassis and two axles rather than three also means that headland turns are quicker, especially on smaller fields which can be just 3ha.
Another bonus is that the Dewulfs cleaning system takes out more haulm, improving grading efficiency.
At 3.5m wide, the harvester can be roaded without an escort under a dispensation for which documentation is carried in the cab.
But we work closely with the police and tend to escort it through villages anyway. We often need to move twice a day, but the road speed is good and it is fairly manoeuvrable, says Mr Garrett.
He says that service and support from AgVantage has been very good.
It was all new to us, but the sales and service team have helped us a lot. We had one or two issues and the company has taken on board our comments and will resolve them over the winter.
