Potatoe Harvest 07in Staffordshire

[ctsboy]

Alrite folks

Its been a while since i posted anything so time for an update(its been a long year)

Well i'm sure some of you will know that we had 900acres of pots to lift this year across stafordshire.This year the we undertook the task with 3 Grimme harvesters, 2 GZ's and a brand new GT.

the GT and 1 of the GZ's started the season on our 2 JD6920s , 1 with a grimme front topper and the other with a brand new Basalier topper from Standen, The other GZ was on the back of a new JD6930 from a local contractor who also puts a couple of tractors and men on to assist that also had a grimme topper on. At the peak we where running 10 tractors and trailers, on our own tractors(well hired in McCormicks)and there was a few owner drivers some with there own trailers. I think the list of carting tractors ran some where along the lines of:JD6430,JD6630,JD6920s,2x New Holland TS115, Case CVX1180, New Holland TM150, And a choice(depending on cultivation duty?conditions) 0f McCormicks 2x MTX150 1 MTX 150Diamond Edition and a ZTX 200.

Trailers where 2x 14tonne AW, 2x 16tonne Bailey, 2x 18tonne AJP, 1x 16tonne Triffet,2x 14tonne AJP, 2x 14 tonne Bailey.

We also had a new butterfly topper from Standen to match up with the front topper off 1 of the harvesters to make a triple bed topper if required or we could run it on its own, which we did on a MTX150.

Thats the boring bit over now for some pics.

[ctsboy]

Some more.

[ctsboy]

At times conditions got bad so we were forced to extreme measures! In places the ground was so dry and hard that we were just taking big solid lumps of soil up the machines which was causing to much bruising so we started cambridge rolling the ridges to crack them

[ctsboy]

And some times the trailer men found wet holes

And some times we were down to a snails pace on the harvesters to try and seperate the soil.

[ctsboy]

When we moved off the crisping varieties on to the McCain varieties we started to windrow to speed the operation up, for this the contractor we use put narrow wheels on his JD6630

[ctsboy]

As the season drew on it started to take its toll on the machines the older GZ went through many bearing and other bits and then towards the end a drive shaft bent so the contractor dropped it off and put the 6930 on the triple topper and the windrower after he had topped enough. Both of our 6920s had transmisson and hydralis trouble the older 03reg died and was replaced with a brand new 6830 auto power and my 6920 had a hydrulic pump go 10 days from the end so i put the MTX150 on narrow wheels off the topper on to finish.

[ctsboy]

A pic of the GT windrowing an opening.

Thats all the pics for now till i downsize some more.

[new holland driver]

were still going here are you or have you fin now

[ctsboy]

Alrite NHD we finished last saturday, i was going with my harvester for 7 weeks i think, i spent the first week as the only harvester going lifting seed in to the cold store as it was not fit to lift anything else to store due to it being so dry. how much you got left to do?

[new holland driver]

200 acres xmas is looking good at the min

[ratholderen]

: nice pics :o

[new holland driver]

chap gear though all old a worn up

[Powerstarâ„¢]

Nice picture's!

Don't state too many JD problems, the Massey Massive will get all big headed!

What companies do the crisping varieties go to?

[Deerepower]

thanks for posting the pictures some nice bits of kit there 

[ctsboy]

The crispers all go to Walkers. As for the "chap gear though all worn up" comments, all i can say is it got us finished a week ago , and if a brand new Grimme GT and brand new triple bed Basilier topper are Chap???? i don't know what else we should do. And as for the colour war Powerstar i know what you mean! But that just shows how narrow minded people can be, All tractors break down what evere the colour some after 10000hrs some after 100hrs, In my carear i have drove lots of different makes and all have there positive and negative points, i class myself as a John Deere man/Fan but they have thier faults, i drove a MX200 for 2 years drilling and ploughing and i loved it , i used both a MF8220 and JD6920 on a JD730 mower and the MF was the better tractor for the job, so people should try all before they can comment, at the end of the day its driver prefrence. Its the same when you post a pic of a tractor stuck the comments are down to the colour of the tractor but its the man in the seat who is to blame, we had 2 TS115 on 14 tonne trailers  this year and niether got stuck but the TM150 and JD6920 where 2 that did get stuck.

[rich.new holland]

nice pics  are there many differances between the mccormicks then  \

[ctsboy]

Between which McCormicks?(sorry i'm being thick)

A few more pics

1 MTX150 on narrow wheels topping

2 6930 auto power on windrower and basilier topper

[ctsboy]

Another couple

1 TM150 stuck witha load of what can only be described as 70%soil and 30% pots

2 6830 on the GT loading the TM150and triffet

[new holland driver]

walkers we do a lot for birds eye as it just uop the road all tractors have there probs but this landis are verey basic and have done a lot of work you give me a massey that as done this much work and had that many drivers  that is in that gooder nick then it is a mercal

[NewHolland2]

Nice pics mate......Looks like it's been quite an eventful harvest for you eh......

[JC]

Thanks for the pics and descriptions. 

[Massey Boy]

nice pics :)

[FB]

nice pics and narrative bit! :)

[JMG]

Great pics,

Out of interest, which villages were the 900 acres near/which roads were you carting on; as a Staffordshire lad myself I think I may have seen your tattie harvest

[massey man]

real nice pics ctsboy,sum squad of tractors workin there