Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 61 MACHINERY First outing for Landini tractors at the Midlands Machinery Show with new dealer Landini tractors will be exhibited at the Midlands Machinery Show for the first time following the appointment of Clover Farm Services as a main dealer for the Italian marque. Dwayn Clover, who heads the machinery sales and service business based at Swineshead south of Boston, will use the event to launch the new Landini venture, along with new franchises for Faresin telescopic handlers and Alpego tillage equipment. Clover Farm Services is the rst dealer in Lincolnshire to handle the Landini range, which traditionally has catered mainly for livestock farms with a selection of ‘bullet proof ’ tractors from 90-120hp that meet demand for a relatively simple but versatile power unit for a mixed loader and eld- work working routine. But in recent years, the range has expanded to include more powerful, more sophisticated and fully-equipped tractors catering for larger grassland farms and arable units. “ ere’s no question in my mind that these tractors are as good as anything else out there,” says Dwayn Clover. “If you want something that’s still relatively simple for vegetable work, then the Landini range still o ers that. But equally, farmers and contractors wanting more features, including multi-speed powershift and CVT transmissions, can have that too.” Lightening the load at M H Poskitt Ltd e rst of Tong Engineering’s latest Fieldloader machine, the FieldLoad PRO, is proving to bring a dramatic reduction in loading times at one of the UK’s larger vegetable producers and processors, MH Poskitt Ltd in Yorkshire. Better known as Poskitts, the family- owned farming business based in Goole, East Yorkshire, was the rst to receive delivery of the new FieldLoad PRO machine in September, after it was launched in January 2019 as part of Tong’s ongoing product development programme. Edward Tong, Managing Director at Tong Engineering, said: “ e emphasis from growers on reducing ‘crop miles’ and soil on the roads continues to be a fundamental element when specifying new grading equipment. In addition, changes in contract speci cations for many growers has meant that loading crop straight into bulker lorries at the eld-side is an increasingly desirable way of doing things. is is where we have seen great demand for the new FieldLoad PROmachine since its launch.” At approximately 15metres long in transport mode, the self-containedFieldLoadPRO con gured forMHPoskitt Ltd features a high capacity receptionhopper feedingTong’s six-row EasyClean separator, renowned for its unrivalled cleaning capabilities in all conditions, on all crop types. After crophas passed over the EasyClean, it is gently transferred toTong’s adjustable PUspiral sizing unit withhigh-speed self-cleaning function, for e ective removal of smalls. An insulated 4-man inspection cabinhouses themachine’s intelligent Auto-TouchHMI touch-screen control unit and completes the system, before crop transfers toTong’s new-style slewing and foldable 1.3mwide cart elevator for high capacity loading. Fast and even lorry loading is achieved by Tong’s advancedWI-FI operated touch-screen remote control, ensuring gentle transfer of crop into the bulker trailer. e newmachine also comes completewith road-going lights, suspension, brakes and a super-silent onboard generator whichprovides power e ciency for in- eld operation, which canbe bypassed formains powerwhen operating on-farm. “We already operate a Tong Fieldloader which has proved to be very reliable across the multiple sites where it is used,” says Guy Poskitt, Managing Director at MH Poskitt Ltd. “With increased contract demands, we needed a second eld-loading machine.” e newmachine replaced an old system that featured a grader and supplementary loading elevators. Jamie Gutteridge, FarmManager at MH Poskitt Ltd said: “Compared to that old system, the FieldLoad PRO has reduced our lorry loading times by at least half. e machine is also versatile across all our main root crops. We’ve already used it to load potatoes, carrots and parsnips in one day, with excellent cleaning results. e Auto-Touch HMI control from Tong makes any adjustments for each crop type exceptionally quick and easy. We simply select from pre-programmed settings and the machine automatically adjusts. It’s so simple. Another huge bene t is that the FieldLoad PRO is fully transportable by tractor, and in less than 10 minutes we can have it completely folded into transport mode and ready to move on from eld to eld.”