Danish starch industry invests in cutting chain costs CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY BIGGER LIFTERS, LOW COSTS The windrower puts the potatoes between the adjacent ridges and the Double L lifter picks them up and carries them without stones to the lifter. Besides storage, the Danes also invest in faster lifting techniques. The autumn harvest period is not very long in northern Denmark, since the winter frosts can set in fairly quickly here. This means that all early autumn days must be used as optimally as possible. Last year, AKV started to look for lifters suitable for this purpose. They ended up with the American manufacturer of the Double L lifters. These growers all grow starch potatoes in stony soil. The Double L is not only a harvester with a remarkable capacity but, thanks to an ingenious system, it also can remove stones from the harvested crop. The main advantage is that growers, who use a Double L do not have to remove stones in the spring. This saves them time and money. They can also start planting earlier in the spring and as a result, the potatoes have a longer growing time. How does the lifting system with the Double L actually work? When harvesting, the Danish growers apply the American lifting system, whereby a windrower first lifts four rows of potatoes which are then put aside between two other potato ridges. Subsequently, a lifter/loader lifts the two ridges that were not yet harvested and loads the potatoes (and stones) that were lifted earlier and left between the ridges. This colossal Double L lifter is over 5 metres wide. First, the potatoes, stones and soil are lifted over the conveyor mats. After the hedgehog belt, the flow of potatoes passes a kind of large vacuum cleaner, the Air Head. This sucks the lighter potatoes slightly upward and they continue their journey on another cleaning conveyor. The heavier stones stay behind on the first belt and are dropped off in the field. The result is a clean product and stone damage is prevented This also results in lower transport costs in the chain, because the stones are left behind and are not transported to the factory. Lifting multiple ridges at the same time also adds to the lifting capacity. Hendrik Pedersen, chief agronomist of AKV, has calculated that a grower who uses the Double L can cut lifting costs by up to 50 percent. Also for growers who don’t have stony fields, storage lifting may mean an increase in capacity. The profit is around 25 percent, he has calculated. The investment in the Double L lifter with an Air Head and Windrower cost USD 400,000. To help growers discover the added value of this piece of machinery, AKV had already made a pre-investment in the first harvester. Meanwhile, the first four growers have bought their first Double L. Pedersen also sees opportunities for this harvester for growers who have no stones in their fields. The American company also supplies machines without the Air Head. Together with a Windrower, this machine costs about USD 120,000. AKV is a player that supplies special products and develops them for the world market together with Cargill. Potato World 2011 • number 1 19 Pagina 18
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