Proud British entrepreneurs continue to innovate even after Brexit CU LTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Now also air bags at Farm Electronics The investment in the air bags costs approximately £20,000 for a storehouse with 1,800 to 2,000 boxes says Joe Sambridge of Farm Electronics. Joe Sambridge, Operations Director at Farm Electronics in Lincolnshire, can still laugh. He and his British colleagues in the potato sector are not afraid of a discussion about Brexit. Yes, there are concerns about the future, but potato growers aren’t giving up so easily’, he says. Investments will continue, mainly because innovations in mechanisation contribute to cost reduction. As an example he points to a drawing of a box storage facility. ‘Sorry I can’t show you anything live, but setting up a whole box storage facility in our Two products in one operation ‘Your wish is our command’, is a slogan that’s not unusual for sprayer manufacturer Techneat. In each year of British Potato, the company presents another novelty with which the potato grower can take a step forward. This time, Techneat brought a spraying unit for dosing two products in one operation. ‘Growers are applying more and more agents during planting. They asked us to make a sprayer with which they could dose at least two products at the same time. These are agents that you spray during planting on the tuber and/or in the row, such as various fungicides. We’ve made a special spraying device for this’, explains Director/Owner Tom Neat. The water tank of the sprayer has a capacity of 200 litres and has two dosing units with separate holders mounted on it. Furthermore, the unit can be connected to GPS equipment in order to carry out dosing on different spots by means of a task card. The price of the new unit is 3,800 British pounds, around 4,500 euros. ● Leo Hanse Techneat brought a spraying unit for dosing two products in one operation. ‘We’ve made a special spraying device for this’, explains Director/Owner Tom Neat. stand is a bit too much to ask’, he grins. ‘What you see here is our own design for air hoses to close the top and front between the rows of boxes. This system, as you know, ensures that the ventilation air is forced through the product in the boxes. Because much less air flow is lost, you not only get a better ventilation of the potatoes, but you also save energy. You can turn the fans down a notch. It works both ways, the better aeration maintains the quality of the tubers for longer and you save on the electricity bill. The investment in the air bags costs approximately £20,000 for a storehouse with 1,800 to 2,000 boxes. Calculated in terms of costs saving, this investment will easily pay for itself within 5 years,’ says Sambridge. Potato World 2020 • number 2 39 Pagina 38
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