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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPALDINGS INTRODUCES NEW RANGE OF TUNGSTEN

POWER HARROW TINES

Terry Fytche, Arable farm manager in Humby, Grantham

Lincoln, 8^th April 2010 -  Minimising farm production expenses and controlling rising costs are familiar concerns faced by the farming community, Terry Fytche, farm manager for Grangeheath Ltd, Humby Hall Estate, Lincs, believes that reducing operator downtime is an important first step in tackling these issues. That’s why in autumn 2009, he fitted a set of Spaldings Tungsten tipped power harrow tines to his Kuhn/Accord combination power harrow drill.

The arable farm sits on 1,400 hectares of land which ranges from sand to heavy clay. The land is used in the production of cereals where wheat, barley, rape and oats play an integral part of the rotation policy. The Kuhn/Accord combination drill is used as part of the seeding process and typically costs the company £2,000-£3,000 a year in replacing the standard Durafaced tines. Terry, who was looking for ways to improve operational efficiency, turned to Spaldings to trial their new Tungsten tipped tines.

“The tines were worked last autumn over 223 hectares of dry and hard ground, which is extremely abrasive and would usually cause excessive wear,” he explained. “I couldn’t believe how little wear the tines had experienced, they had lost hardly any length, ensuring efficient fuel consumption through better soil movement.”

With regards to machinery, the farm currently runs a diverse fleet, with a range of Massey Fergusson tractors, a Class Lexion 600, Kverneland and Dowdeswell ploughs, Gregoire Besson Discordon cultivator and 3 Kuhn power harrow drills for the tillage regime. Drilling takes the form of a Simba Horsch pronto drill and the Kuhn/Accord combination drill which is used to establish 223 hectares of crops.

Designed for increased wear resistance, the tungsten carbide tiles are braised to the parent material of the tine, for 10 times longer lifetime than that of standard replacement parts. Terry, who has worked on the farm for 60 years, opted for the Tungsten tipped tines for minimal in field maintenance and faster seed bed establishment.

“We had previously been using Durafaced tines which far outlasted standard power harrow tines, but the Spaldings tungsten tipped tines surpassed even Durafaced, they will easily last at least 3 times longer,” concludes Terry. “The longer tine leads to improved operational efficiency, reduced fuel consumption and shorter downtime. It makes economical sense to adopt tungsten tipped tines on a permanent basis.”

For details of these and other products supplied by Spaldings, contact 01522 507 600, email: agsales@spaldings.co.uk or view the catalogue at www.spaldings.co.uk

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Notes to Editor:

1.      For more information, contact Cat Webb on 01522 507 572,
cwebb@spaldings.co.uk

2.      Spaldings Limited, based in Lincoln, is the UK and Ireland’s leading direct distributor of agricultural and groundcare machinery parts, tools and equipment.