inform - Grimme UK

Grimme launches New GT Harvesters
Autumn
2005 will see the launch of the
new GT range of trailed 2 row harvesters –
the GT range will replace the GZ models that
have been so successful in the UK market
over the last eight years.
After 3 seasons of extensive field trials, the
GT has been developed to retain the benefits
of the GZ in terms of high output combined
with gentle crop handling, but focus
improvements in the areas of:-
•Innovative frame
construction
•Simplified drive lines
•Simplified fitting of
different options
•All new cart elevator
construction
•Hydraulics &
electronics protected
within the side frame
•Easy access for maintenance
The result is a harvester which can do
everything that the GZ can but with:-
•Improved visibility
•Reduced running costs
•More flexibility
•Improved reliability
•Less down time
There’s still time to book a place on one of the
BPC’s Workshops. As Mike Alsop learned when he
attended the “Getting the most from your potato
crop - Potato Forum” at Duchy College, Cornwall in
June, the events are good value & contain a wealth
of valuable advice backed by solid research. Details
are available at www.potato.org.uk or by calling
Kate Jackson on 01937 558245.
The Consequences of Sugar Beet Reforms
Sugar
beet is an important crop for
Patrick Dean Ltd., both rotationally and
economically. With quota cuts, all farms will
have to cut back on production. Small farms
may cease production if these cannot
achieve the minimum threshold below which
management of sugar beet and price is not
feasible. However, some smaller producers
could become involved in local sugar-beet
production and haulage groups that manage
various aspects of production, harvest and
delivery of crops.
With price cuts, the least profitable sugar
beet producers will exit the industry and the
extent to which sugar-beet production is
reduced will depend on current crop
profitability as well as the profitability of the
alternative land uses. In the short term,
production on individual farms is likely to
continue as long as the enterprise generates
a positive gross margin but in the longer
term, if the price does not generate a
positive net margin, production will cease.
If land goes out of sugar-beet production it
will probably be replaced by one of the
following crops - winter and spring barley,
LAUNCH
DEMO DATES
See the new GT Harvester
at one of 20 sites across
the UK during July &
August. Your local
Grimme dealer will have
the dates or visit
www.grimme.co.uk
for more information.
BPC’s Workshops
winter and spring wheat, beans, peas,
oilseed rape and potatoes. The most likely
alternative is winter wheat since
opportunities to replace sugar-beet with
potatoes or field-scaled vegetables will be
limited by soil type and the availability of
irrigation.
We shall be watching with interest the
outcome of high-level talks with British Sugar
and would anticipate the need to introduce
more growers into our Harvesting and
Haulage Groups. This would have the effect
of increasing efficiency relative to the fixed
costs of production and reduction of input
costs through economies of scale.
David Knott, Patrick Dean Limited
Patrick Dean Ltd is situated four miles south
of Lincoln on the Lincoln Heath. The
Company produces approximately 7000
tonnes of sugar beet per annum and delivers
this to the local sugar-beet factory in
Newark. The sugar beet is harvested using
the Company’s shared contracting machine
and delivered to the factory by its jointly-run
haulage group.
INTRODUCTION INDUSTRY UPDATE GT HARVESTER LAUNCH BPC’S WORKSHOPS SUGAR BEET REFORMS