The Lincolnshire-based vegetable handling equipment manufacturer believes that mechanical haulm destruction will become a major draw in 2019 once Diquat is outlawed.
“Farmers are not going to have many options once Diquat is taken away from them,” says Derek Scott, managing director of Scotts Precision Manufacturing. “Growers are only going to have one viable option if they want to effectively desiccate their crop before harvest and that will be to use a topper.”
Scotts will be taking one of its Three Bed Toppers to the Midlands Machinery Show at Newark Showground in November. The company will also have details of its popular Trinity 22B Single Bed Haulm Topper available, which this year received a significant upgrade.
In response to the increasing power output of harvesting tractors, earlier this year Scotts boosted the Trinity’s horsepower capacity by 50%, taking its performance significantly beyond the competition.
“Where other manufacturers have struggled to radically improve their versions of the humble potato topper, we believe we have set a new standard in how good a haulm topper can be, ” continues Derek. “The current Trinity 22B usually removes the need for an expensive and high-maintenance cross conveyor by using shear plates to produce an effect similar to a straw chopper with cleverly designed deflectors guiding the vast majority of the “mulch” into the tractor wheelings. The haulm is so finely chopped that the potato harvester can sieve the debris without using haulm rollers. As the Trinity 22B also offers a 2.1 metre working width, tractors don’t trample the haulm either.
“With the power output of modern-day harvesting tractors increasing at pace, we’ve been working hard to ensure the Trinity 22B can keep ahead of them. The improvements made in the latest model will now mean we can stay ahead of the horsepower curve. Growers looking to operate at more moderate speeds will, of course, get the benefit of the improved reliability and performance. Maintenance free machinery is becoming more appealing as we see more reliance on fewer machines expected to do more in any one day.”
As well as being future proof, the new Trinity 22B features quick-change flails for reduced downtime, a broad range of cutting heights, a replaceable steel inner liner hood protector and the largest variation of flail lengths of any topper currently available. The flat and steeply curved flail design offer by far the best suction on the market.
It’s not just the removal of Diquat from the market that makes Derek think that Scott’s will be busier than ever before next year. “Anyone placing an order at the Midlands Machinery Show will be able to buy the Trinty Topper at this year’s prices rather than 2019’s,” he says.
