Good luck root crop farmers …….

Robt

Member
Location
Suffolk
common sense is a requirement for a job here, so clearly not the policeman who stopped this neighbours trailer !
You never hit a spud or onion or sugar beet on a motor bike then! Our local lot are carting onions. Every corner is like a roulette of huge onion marbles. Only saving grace is it’s slowing the racing Lycra lot! If that was rubble that fell off a lorry and hit your wife in her Porsche with your kids, you’d be creating hell. Why are farmers any different?
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
Had they got any evidence the potatoes in the road fell from that trailer? If not they could be told to pursue other avenues of investigation. They had enough evidence to pursue an investigation when the Tracker on my quad led them to a nearby caravan park, but not the manpower at the weekend to get it back. Next time it snows, leave them on top of a hill in a blizzard directing traffic.

It's not the potatoes that were found on the floor, their issue is the load wasn't seen as being secure.
 
Location
southwest
common sense is a requirement for a job here, so clearly not the policeman who stopped this neighbours trailer !

We don't know what was said. It could be that the tractor driver got a bit lippy rather than just saying he'd not do it again.

Lots of police documentaries on the box where the coppers try to diffuse a situation but end up arresting some idiot who argues the toss rather than keeping his mouth shut.
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
Even level or below the sides you’ll still need to sheet it your securing the load for normal traffic conditions so heavy braking swing round roundabouts accelerating etc you can not really on gravity only you are not securing it to stay there in the event of an accident as the forces involved would be very hard to secure against

I can totally see the perspective here. All lorries on the roads are (usually) level fill, with rollover sheet, or at minimum one of those front to back skip type nets. Not that one of those skip nets on either a skip, or an 8 wheeler transporting sand/soil/stone would keep the load secure and enclosed in the event of an accident I would suggest.

But again, even grain lorries are sheeted when they leave the farm, although this is as much for assurance/rain/leaves in load etc. type logic.

Farm trailers are not and almost never have been, which is why I think this topic has taken many people on here by surprise and the coppers tweet has got peoples back up. Taking this one step further, the suggestion is therefore that ALL trailers with loads that cannot be strapped down should be sheeted. Grain trailers at harvest for example which are never just filled level full. Or a full muckspreader crossing the road to spread in a different field. Or if you go to the local sand and gravel merchant for a couple of tonnes of sand or stone (just like the lorries they deliver with are sheeted). Same for the builder or DIY chap who goes and collects a builders bag of sand from B&Q, or just loose from the same sand and gravel merchant.

As far as I'm aware nobody has said all grain trailers must be sheeted when transporting at harvest....are potatoes significantly different?

I might be wrong, but it seems the law is a bit of a grey area here and that's causing some friction due to potential lack of clarity.

(Point of note: I'm not having a go at anyone or suggesting farmers are right or wrong carrying on doing what they have done previously....I haven't a clue and am just trying to make sense of it all.)


As a side note - I also think that the police are wrong to be posting photos of things on Twitter like the above. It's one thing to say in words, but posting a picture is rather singling out individuals and publicly shaming them even if not mentioning any names. To me that is rather a violation and is bound to alienate farmers and others and get their back up. It comes across as them having a chip on their shoulder and throwing their weight around. In the post above they haven't actually provided any postive help in stating what the correct procedure is. i.e. Please would all farmers note that any potentially loose loads (including potatoes, onions etc.) are liable to shift.......these loads should all be sheeted before travelling on a public highway. Unsheeted loads leave you at risk a fine of up to £xxx.
 

roscoe erf

Member
Livestock Farmer
You never hit a spud or onion or sugar beet on a motor bike then! Our local lot are carting onions. Every corner is like a roulette of huge onion marbles. Only saving grace is it’s slowing the racing Lycra lot! If that was rubble that fell off a lorry and hit your wife in her Porsche with your kids, you’d be creating hell. Why are farmers any different?
or gone round a corner to see grain across the road like driving on ice with slicks
 

ColinV6

Member
How high a trailer can modern beet harvesters fill could you not get away with silage sides and fill normally so it can’t fall out


How high a trailer can modern beet harvesters fill could you not get away with silage sides and fill normally so it can’t fall out

Probably would be doable but I always thought the root crop trailers were long and shallow to prevent damage to the crops when loading from the lowest possible height.
 

roscoe erf

Member
Livestock Farmer
I can totally see the perspective here. All lorries on the roads are (usually) level fill, with rollover sheet, or at minimum one of those front to back skip type nets. Not that one of those skip nets on either a skip, or an 8 wheeler transporting sand/soil/stone would keep the load secure and enclosed in the event of an accident I would suggest.

But again, even grain lorries are sheeted when they leave the farm, although this is as much for assurance/rain/leaves in load etc. type logic.

Farm trailers are not and almost never have been, which is why I think this topic has taken many people on here by surprise and the coppers tweet has got peoples back up. Taking this one step further, the suggestion is therefore that ALL trailers with loads that cannot be strapped down should be sheeted. Grain trailers at harvest for example which are never just filled level full. Or a full muckspreader crossing the road to spread in a different field. Or if you go to the local sand and gravel merchant for a couple of tonnes of sand or stone (just like the lorries they deliver with are sheeted). Same for the builder or DIY chap who goes and collects a builders bag of sand from B&Q, or just loose from the same sand and gravel merchant.

As far as I'm aware nobody has said all grain trailers must be sheeted when transporting at harvest....are potatoes significantly different?

I might be wrong, but it seems the law is a bit of a grey area here and that's causing some friction due to potential lack of clarity.

(Point of note: I'm not having a go at anyone or suggesting farmers are right or wrong carrying on doing what they have done previously....I haven't a clue and am just trying to make sense of it all.)


As a side note - I also think that the police are wrong to be posting photos of things on Twitter like the above. It's one thing to say in words, but posting a picture is rather singling out individuals and publicly shaming them even if not mentioning any names. To me that is rather a violation and is bound to alienate farmers and others and get their back up. It comes across as them having a chip on their shoulder and throwing their weight around. In the post above they haven't actually provided any postive help in stating what the correct procedure is. i.e. Please would all farmers note that any potentially loose loads (including potatoes, onions etc.) are liable to shift.......these loads should all be sheeted before travelling on a public highway. Unsheeted loads leave you at risk a fine of up to £xxx.
there is no grey area ,any load loose in the back of a trailer/truck should be sheeted netted etc christ why is this so f**king hard for people to get there head's round agriculture is not exempt and more of you will get prosecuted .I think this tweet is brilliant its getting the message out there so when you now get stopped shrugging your shoulders and saying I dint know won't wash
 
there is no grey area ,any load loose in the back of a trailer/truck should be sheeted netted etc christ why is this so f**king hard for people to get there head's round agriculture is not exempt and more of you will get prosecuted .I think this tweet is brilliant its getting the message out there so when you now get stopped shrugging your shoulders and saying I dint know won't wash
Wonder why they didn’t check the weight whilst they were at it, after all, it was loaded well above the sides.
What’s the fine on a lorry for being over legal weight?
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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