inform Grimme NEWSLETTERAutumn 2012

Are we seeing a squeezing effect, self propelled squeezing outtrailed potato harvesters? Maybe there is a trend, but why?

ith wetter seasons becomingmore evident, thus reducing

the windows in which we are able tocultivate the potato crop in terms ofplanting and harvesting. It would seem 2012 is a year this is beingexperienced in several areas of the UK.

The advent of four and six row plantersand now speedier belt planters, theopportunity for expanding daily plantingproduction is a reality.

But what of harvesting? Harvesters inthe main are two row trailed machinesand these machines perform efficientlyand economically in the majority ofcases asked. However, is thistrend in weather patternsallowing this to continue for theprofessional grower when theharvest window is shorter andthe ability to lift is restrictednot only by wet groundconditions but how the landis left after the harvesterleaves the field gate? Muchis asked by the landlords ofrented land to leave the fieldsin good order but in timelinessfor the next crop to be planted.Continued high cereals pricesmay dictate that this land will be

less available and perhaps more marginal landoffered for rent, which will bring added problems inthe future.

The 2012 harvest will be interesting to follow interms of the thoughts of harvester types when a

new harvester is on the futureshopping list.

Being Squeezed

W …for the professionalgrower when the harvestwindow is shorter and theability to lift is restricted…

14860 Grimme Inform 16 AUT 12 ART_A4 09/05/2014 16:45 Page 1

Ralph PowellEditor for Grimme UK

Grimme TechnicaCW 150 Destoner At Work

News & Events

WELC

OM

E DESTONING

NEW

S E

VENTS

Welcome

estoning is a prerequisite to includingcarrots in the rotation for a

Nottinghamshire root crop grower who alsoproduces potatoes, parsnips, brassicas, leeksand rhubarb on his sand and sandy loam soils.

With any high value vegetable, it is essential to keepthe beds clear of any obstruction that might impacton uniform germination says Andy Hammond of THammond and Sons based at New Farm, Redhill.However, with carrots it is even more important tohave a fine tilth down to a depth to grow a uniformcrop, which is what the customer demands.

T Hammond and Sons is a member of SherwoodProduce which is a six member, East Midlandsproducer organisation that supplies the multiples,wholesalers, processors and free trade.

“To even think about growing carrots on this land weneed irrigation and relatively stone free soils,” hesays. “We are probably separating up to 300t ofstones out of each acre of land, which means ourtwo destoners are kept busy from early February tomid May working across all the root crop landwhich includes 250 acres of carrots.

“To grow the highest quality carrots we cannotafford to have any stones in the beds,” he explains.

“We are striving to produce the highest qualityproduct and so we would not even entertaingrowing carrots on our land without destoning.

“Both our destoners are web rather than starmachines because we find them much moreflexible in that regardless of the weather conditionsthe webs still work the same.

The potential impact of increased wear and tear onreliability means Mr Hammond changes hisdestoners after a maximum of four seasons.

His reasons for purchasing a Grimme CW150Multi-Web destoner with boulder box are because

D

elcome to theAutumn edition of

Inform. Whilst I am retiringfrom the commercial side ofthe business (page 6), I willcontinue to edit Inform andsupport Grimme’s marketingactivities. I look forward tobringing you many moreinteresting features aboutour customers, our machinesand our worldwide business.

Opposite you’ll read that theright seedbed is fundamental toAndy Hammond’s root cropbusiness. Our centre spreadfocuses on Benzies - anexceptional family business inTurriff and a real success storybuilt around specialisation andinvestment in added value.

You’ll find details of the new 3row GB330 belt planter too, plussome harvesting “Tricks and Tips”.Our cover story looks at theincreasing use of self propelledharvesters and you may want totake advantage of the operatortraining offered by Grimme.

Finally, some dates for yourdiary – Grimme Technica: 13-16 November, it’s the must-seepotato and root crop event forUK and European growers.

Wishing you a successfulharvest.

W of its free flowing intake web, the quality of the bedthat is formed behind the machine ready for theplanter and the robust build quality and excellentservice from local dealer B and B Tractors.

“When we had the Grimme on demonstration it outperformed our existing machines particularly whengoing downhill. Our Scanstone machine tends to

“bulldoze” in front of the intake and we lose soil intothe wheelings, whereas with the Grimme it keepsflowing evenly through it.” explains Mr Hammond.

Mr Hammond’s Multi-Web destoners have fourwebs. It is the intake web that does most of thework, he says. And it’s the two main webs that arechanged depending on what crop is being grown inthe field. For example, for carrots he uses a 32mmpitch web and for parsnip, leeks and potatoes it isa 35mm pitch web.

“We start destoning in February with the leeksbecause we only destone down to 10 inches whichis easier to do in the wet,” he says. “Then wemove onto the carrots, potatoes and parsnipsdepending on the drilling/planting regime.”

Last season Mr Hammond covered 355 acres onone Grimme intake web compared to theScanstone which would need changing two or threetimes for the same area.

“The fastest wearing part of the web is where itmakes contact with the drive sprocket,” he says.

“Grimme drive sprockets are rubber coated so therate of wear is significantly less. On other machinesthe webs are driven by metal sprockets and it issimply metal wearing against metal. Grimme webs are more expensive but this extracost is easily recoveredover the additional life ofthe web.”

DestoningPrerequisite ToGrowing Carrots OnStony Soils

Technica 201213th to 16th November 2012

The Grimme factory will host itsbi annual Technica Show inNovember.

As many of you are aware, Grimme UKhave in the past organised charteredflights during the show dates. It is ourintention to do the same this year.

Following the successful format ofthe past the daily visit schedule is:-

Tuesday 13th Birmingham

Wednesday 14th EdinburghHumberside

Thursday 15th Norwich

Friday 16th Stansted

Flights will depart these airports at7.30am and fly to Munster, and returnfrom Munster 18.30pm (all times arelocal times).

To book your place, (as seats arerestricted to 50 per flight, exceptHumber side which is 49) pleasecontact your local Grimme Dealer onceyou have received Grimme UK’s directmail letter. Your dealer will have all thedetails. The cost of the flight is£125.00.

14860 Grimme Inform 16 AUT 12 ART_A4 09/05/2014 16:45 Page 2

Gairnieston

Benzies – An Exceptional Family Business

farming enterprise whichhas grown into one of the

largest farm businesses in theNorth-east, specialising inpotatoes and carrots withextensive packing and coldstorage facilities, was recentlyopened to the public for anevening visit.

The farm at Gairnieston, Turriff,owned by Philip and Hazel Benzieand operating as Benzies, last yearwon the Royal Northern AgriculturalSociety’s Good Farming Practiceawards and was described by thejudge, David Brown, Dipple,Lochabers, as an “exceptional familybusiness both in scale and tidiness”.

From a typical mixed farmingenterprise 15 years ago, growing 70acres of potatoes as part of therotation, and diversification into 30acres of carrots 8 years ago, thefarm is now an £8 million turnoverbusiness, growing 1070 acres ofpotatoes and 350 acres of carrots aswell as 1000 acres of winter wheat,spring barley and oilseed rape.

Ware and salad potatoes are soldto Airdrie-based Albert Bartlett andSons, Britain’s leading supplier offresh potatoes and carrots toYorkshire based M H Poskitt, forASDA, as well as other packers.

Benzies are also the exclusivesuppliers of carrots for Bartlett’sScotty branded product launched lastyear in ASDA and Morrisons stores.Late season carrots are packed in1.25 tonnes bags for 3 customersin Ireland. All grain and OSR ismarketed through Scotgrain.

“All our business is by gentleman’sagreement and we have no writtencontracts,” says Mr Benzie, whohas been the driving force behindthe phenomenal expansion of thebusiness. Continues above right…

“It is all a question of trust and I am very comfortablewith that.”

The company is also a supplier to Fife-based KettleProduce and provided storage and packing facilities forKettle when a fire destroyed their packhouse three yearsago. More than 50,000 tonnes of carrots were washedfor Kettle over 18 months with the plant working 24hours a day.

Mr Benzie’s whole business philosophy is based on trustand loyalty and this applies to suppliers as well asmarketing outlets for produce grown on the farm.

Most of the machinery on the farm, including 10 tractors,is John Deere purchased from HRN Tractors and Grimmepotato equipment. All the new buildings have beenerected by W.R. Summers of Keith.

“Of course we get quotes and compare prices to make surewe are getting the best deal but I like to work with peoplewho have given good service in the past,” says Mr Benzie.

Gairnieston and Upper Oldmill are both owned and extendto 520 acres with a further 730 acres rented. But a largeacreage is rented on a seasonal basis throughout Morayand Aberdeenshire for potatoes.

All arable operations are carried out from Gairnieston withtheir own equipment and staff, with additional tractorsand drivers hired-in at peak periods. The only operationcontracted out is spraying.

Mr Benzie is assisted by his father, Ewan (who reckons hespends most of his time carting fuel to the tractors whereever they are working) and stepson Charles Duguid, whois learning all aspects of the business.

The farm employs 50 full time staff plus seasonallabour and Mr Benzie pays warm tribute to his staff,many of whom have worked on the farm for a longtime and are key to the success of the business.

Great use is made of GPS technology to control theapplication of fertiliser and a GPS controlled John DeereGreen Star RTK system is used with the three-bed ridgerto ensure a high degree of accuracy. GPS is also used tosteer the potato planter.

The potato acreage is split into 450 acres of saladpotatoes, 270 acres organic and the rest ware, withRooster, King Edward, Osprey and Desiree being the mainvarieties grown, plus Charlotte, Vivaldi and Maris Peer forsalad production and a number of specialist varieties.

All potatoes are graded into tonne boxes at Gairniestonand delivered to Albert Bartlett & Sons using the farm’sfleet of five lorries.

The organic acreage – all rented land – includes Rooster,Maris Peer, Vivaldi, Valour and Osprey and a gas burner isused for weed control.

Carrots were introduced to spread the risk of growing onlyone crop and have grown into a major part of thebusiness. Total annual production is now 16,000 tonnes(dirty weight) with most carrots leaving the farm in retailpacks. This has meant a huge investment in specialistfield machinery and washing, polishing, grading, packingand cold storage facilities.

“Carrots are a good fit as we can use the same equipmentas we have for potatoes,” Philip explains. “But theinvestment of £1.5 million we made in packing in 2008is the best investment we have ever made and hasbrought us closer to the market.”

The harvesting of carrots takes placethroughout the year from mid July to earlyJune, which has been facilitated by thepacking plant. Previously, carrots planted inMay may not have been harvested andmarketed until the following May. Around 270acres of carrots is covered in straw annually.

Latest investment is £240,000 in polythenetunnels for the chitting of seed potatoeswith a view to earlier harvesting and higheryields. It has proved particularly beneficialthis spring with adverse weather throughoutApril delaying planting. It is hoped theplanting of sprouted potatoes in early Maywill help ensure an early harvest.

Two cold stores, with a capacity for thestorage of 6000 tonnes of potatoes, werebuilt last year with electricity being providedfrom a 2.3mW Enercon wind turbine whichwas commissioned in November 2010.

The farm uses about 15% of the electricitygenerated with the rest being sold to Marksand Spencer through the national grid in anarrangement brokered by Greenspan.

The additional storage has replacedstorage rented on other farms and, withreduced haulage costs and cheaperelectricity, Mr Benzie is looking for a five orsix year payback.

Benzies is a superbly run business and is alesson on how a market can beestablished and built up with flair andentrepreneurship and, above all, meetingthe requirements of customers.

This article is reproduced by the kindpermission of Edwin Gillanders andFarm North-East foodagriculture and ruralmagazine.

A

Benzies is a superbly runbusiness and is a lesson on howa market can be established and built up with flair andentrepreneurship and, above all,meeting the requirements ofcustomers.

BEN

ZIES – AN

EXCEPTIO

NAL FAM

ILY BU

SIN

ESS

14860 Grimme Inform 16 AUT 12 ART_A4 09/05/2014 16:45 Page 4

Tips ‘N’ Tricks + About The New GB330Thanks Ralph

16

s harvest gets under way, how can theefficiency of the harvester increase

when difficult conditions beset us?

Diablo Pressure – One of the Terra Controlsettings allows the pressure exerted by thediablos onto the potato ridges to be alteredto suit the ridge conditions.

Clean Control (if fitted) allows varioushydraulic functions to be preset for varyingconditions thus enabling the operator tohave settings suitable for these settingsstored within the machine control systems.

Remove centre shares and lift theindividual rows reduces the extractingpressure from the centre of the separatorespecially as the centre belts on the webscarry more soil.

Take advantage of the waterfall effect tobreak up larger clods.

Fit larger spiral segments in the firstrows of a Multi-Sep unit be it a single ordouble separator unit.

Fit smaller RS rollers, perhaps only wherethe maximum soil is to be separated.

Can the trailers carry less crop(bulk/boxes) to reduce the potential ofgetting stuck or forming deep ruts.

Harvester Operator Training.Specialised training to suitnew andexistingharvesteroperatorscarried outwith GrimmeUK Staff.

GZ, GT and Self PropelledHarvesting Tips

B330 – plant more per square meter The new 3-rowGB330 belt planter is based on the successful GB230.

The row width is set at a fixed setting of 42 cm and is not able to be changed. Especially for seed-potatoproducers, the better distribution per square meter is apositive development.

Adoption to various varieties is possible by the switching off ofthe centre planting element and creating a two-row machine setat 84 cm row width.

With the special features of the belt planter a higher workingspeed compared with cup planters is possible. The 3 ton bunkerhas enough capacity to ensure a high acreage is planted per fillof the hopper.

For potato planting in separated beds there is a special soildeflection unit fitted to the machine.

This so called FLOW-BOARD was awarded the silver medal at theAgritechnica by the DLG. It is a combination of a shaping boardwith a furrow opener which follows the contours of the groundthus ensuring a constant coverage of the planted crop in a well-shaped ridge. This leads to better crop growth and reduced greens. The hydraulicdepth control is operated from the terminal mounted in thetractor cab.

G

Advantages

More crop per m² compared to a 2-row planting system.

3-rows per bed for betterdistribution and bettergrowth of the seed.

Higher working speed with belt planting elements.

With the special features of the belt planter a higher workingspeed compared with cup planters is possible.

TIPS ‘N

’ TRIC

KS TH

ANKS RALPH G

RIM

ME G

B330

Grimme Scotland SalesManager Eases IntoRetirement

‘Thanks Ralph’

Thanks Ralph ~ From Lloyd Ltd AndThe Borders And East Lothian Farmers

At Kelso Show this year, Ralph receiveda presentation from Lloyd Ltd and TheBorders and East Lothian Farmers, inrecognition of his long and dedicatedservice to these potato growers. EddieAllan from Lloyd Ltd and Mike Daggrepresenting the Borders and EastLothian Farmers made the presentationat which many of the potato growerswere present.

Left: Eddie Allan & Ralph PowellRight: Mike Dagg & Ralph Powell

Right:Allan Twatt& RalphPowell

Ralph’s Retirement AcknowledgedFurther North

The potato growers from Aberdeenshire,Morayshire and Ross-shire organised asurprise presentation in Turriff lastmonth for Ralph, co-ordinated by C CPowell Ltd – Alan Twatt spoke on behalfof the farmers present and those absentthanking Ralph for his dedicated supportover the last 35 years.

fter an agricultural career spanning over 35 yearsGrimme (UK) Ltd’s sales manager for Scotland and with

UK responsibilities for marketing and advertising RalphPowell, has retired. However, he is being retained as aconsultant on the advertising and marketing for the company.

As a well respected and highly qualified agricultural engineer,Ralph will be missed by work colleagues and friends the lengthand breadth of the UK. Retirement does not mean he can hanghis boots up just yet though, because his son Christopher hasfollowed in his footsteps and is now running his own successfulGrimme dealership for northern Scotland, and his wife Barbaraneeds help with the family’s dog boarding kennel businessbased at home in Perthshire.

Replacing Ralph is Graham Fryer who becomes businessmanager for Scotland and Ireland. With over 24 years experienceworking with Grimme – through Richard Pearson Ltd, JamesFowler and Root Systems Ladybank and as Grimme area salesmanager for the south west – he is perfectly placed to maintainand develop business to new and existing clients. Taking on theGrimme mantle in the south west from Graeme is Kevin Mowbraywho will work closely with farmers and dealers on sales, supportand advice. Kevin brings a wealth of experience to the companygained from 16 years with Simba as territory manager, followedby eight years self employed selling trailers and tow bars andsubsequently selling Quicke and Trima loaders from East Anglia toWales through the holding company Alo UK Ltd.

A A

Ralph’s career started at the Royal AgriculturalCollege where he read engineering followed byrelated courses at both Writtle AgriculturalCollege and at the University of London – WyeCollege. He cut his teeth as sales managerfor Mathews and Yates Ltd based in thesouth east and then as sales and servicemanager for W. J. Morray Engineering Ltdfor northern England, Scotland and

Northern Ireland. Subsequent sales manager roles atRichard Pearson (Scotland) Ltd and T R P (Scotland) Ltdculminated with a move to Grimme in 1993 where heremained up until retirement at the end of August 2012.

14860 Grimme Inform 16 AUT 12 ART_A4 09/05/2014 16:46 Page 6

World Potato Congress

rimme attended the WPC inEdinburgh and enjoyed the

opportunity of discussing potatoproduction with many overseas visitors.The potato world is very small and it isevident that many of the issuesexperienced in the UK are similar inother countries – on different scales ortechniques but the overall pattern is thesame – price, potato blight, yield andincreasing production costs.

The drive to reduce production costs was avery common theme with the speakers, aswas product quality, but questions needed tobe asked about the long term solution toovercome these issues when cost ofproduction and farm gate price are going inopposite directions. To sustain production ofthis versatile food source on a worldwide scale farm gate price mustreflect the difficulties in gettingpotatoes to this point. Will GM beallowed to enter the equation, ordoes trying to always obtain theperfect apple potato go by the by?The end user needs to be mademore aware of issues at hand whenpicking potatoes off the shop shelf.

The Future - Grimme’s Perspective

Future production of one of theworld’s versatile foods is paramountto feed the ever increasing worldpopulation. The diversity of where inthe world potatoes are growndetermines the equipment requiredto achieve this goal. Development ofgrowing techniques and theassociated machinery for this ismirrored by the demand for the cropand the products it gives us.

Our aims for the future are toharvest potatoes more gently, thusproducing higher quality with less waste. Andcombined with this aim is another – toincrease capacity of growing, harvesting andhandling systems. With rising production costsways have to be found to reduce these costs.

Continues above right…

The use of machinery to produce potatoesmore efficiently is one of these ways. Labourcosts are areas where these efficiencies can be seen.

From basic planting machines to the mostadvanced harvesting equipment has to be provided.

The developing countries of the world, although requiring simplerequipment at the moment and in the near future will benefit from theinnovations seen for already developed countries.

Grimme’s future developing markets, China, India, South Americaand South Africa all demand indigenous development.

With dedicated people from these countries working with us, our aimat Grimme and Spudnik is to provide the transfer of knowledge wehave to not only support, grow and harvest our nutritional needs butalso our social needs.

Below: The Grimme Stand at the World Potato Congress,Edinburgh May 2012.

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International Events

AGROSALON 2012 | 10.10.2012 - 13.10.2012in Moscow / Russia www.agrosalon.ru

BEET EUROPE 2012 | 7.10.2012 Seligenstadt / Germany www.frankenrueben.de

INTERPOM | Primeurs 2012 | 25.11.2012 - 27.11.2012in Kortrijk / Belgium www.interpom.be

Sima 2013 | 24.02.2013 - 28.02.2013in Kortrijk / Belgium www.interpom.be

Grimme UK Ltd, Station Road, Swineshead, Boston, Lincolnshire PE20 3PST: 01205 822300F: 01205 821196 E: info@grimme.co.ukW: www.grimmeuk.com

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