BIG PICTURE

JOKER IN THE PACK

As the potato harvester leaves the field, autumn cultivations and drilling step up a gear at the 950-acre, family-run Brobury Farms near Hereford. A 3m Horsch Joker with TG bar carries out deep loosening and mixing of trash and stubbles ahead of the farm’s 3m Amazone Centaya 3000 Super and KG 3001 power harrow drill combination.

“One deep pass with the Joker is enough to set our soils up for drilling after potatoes,” explains Charlie Blandford, who runs the farm alongside his brother Dave. The brothers prefer min-till for almost all their seedbeds, reaching for the plough only after long-term leys.

All power requirements are met using a fleet of three 170hp Kubota M7 tractors in Premium specification with KVT transmissions. “There’s enough performance from the four-cylinder engine to run the power-harrow drill e ortlessly at 10-12kph behind the cultivator,” Charlie adds. “It doesn’t take much to finish the seedbed, particularly on our grade one soils.”

IMAGE GEOFF ASHCROFT