Written by Tom Allen-Stevens
Download PDF The flagship of Grimme’s potato harvester fleet, the Varitron 470 Platinum boasts a range of features. CPM visits one in Sussex to get an insight into what these do and to find out if the machine meets expectations. It doesn’t take long to hoover up a field with this Varitron. By Tom Allen-Stevens The weather is ideal and ground conditions near-perfect for harvesting the Gemson salad potatoes, destined for the salad, pre-pack market. But the Grimme Varitron 470 harvester has come to a halt in the 4.5ha field at Donnington near Chichester, Sussex, farmed by Greenseed. Arable foreman James Silvester doesn’t seem too fussed, however. “There seems to be a problem at the grader that’s holding things up,” he explains. “No one likes hanging around at harvest time, especially after last year. But it doesn’t take long to hoover up a field with this Varitron, so the wait won’t be much of a worry.” Greenseed grows over 1600ha of seed, salad and new potatoes across East Anglia, Sussex, Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The operation based at Chichester comprises 320ha of salad potatoes and 80ha of seed, with a cold storage facility of 15,000t. There’s a gentle shallow…
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