The BIG picture
Economy of scale figures large in Philip Plowright’s business philosophy. So when he saw Vervaet’s 9 row ‘Beat Eater’ demonstrated at Beet UK, he could see immediate benefits to his Nottinghamshire customers and his own farm contracting business.

He had already had a standard 6 row Vervaet beet harvester since 1994 so he was familiar with the company’s high standards of engineering and this made it easier to decide on the considerable investment involved in purchasing the larger replacement machine. “If a better machine comes along and I feel it will improve the job I do for my customers then I go out and buy it. The Vervaet 9 row allows me to produce higher quality of work and this has to be good for my customers” explains Philip.

Low beet prices and lifting conditions that started with baked hard ground and have turned to sticky wet in a couple of months have confirmed the wisdom of his choice. “Most people think we have stony ground in Nottinghamshire and much of it is. However we have to meet every conceivable condition across the 2,000 acres we lift” including almost ‘organic’.

For a big machine however the ‘Beet Eater’ has a very good weight spread over wide low ground pressure tyres leading to less wheelings. In fact the machine often handles wet conditions rather better than the tractors that must accommodate its high throughput. Lifting 9 rows at speeds up to 6kph soon fills the generous 25 tonne beet holding tank. Philip Plowright supports his harvester with two low ground pressure trailers. Already bulkers, he has had side extensions engineered for extra capacity. Ideally each trailer should maintain a 5 minute turnaround if the harvester’s full potential is to be achieved so beet heaps at the headland are the best option.

The 50% increase in lifting capacity over a 6 row machine means that Philip can realistically increase his overall lifting capacity to between 2,500 and 3,000 acres per campaign without additional staff and he is actively seeking new customers.

field tests