Cousins cultivator

Centre-stage on the Cousins stand was the company’s new prototype cultivator. Designed alongside agronomy specialist Hutchisons, the machine uses a combination of tines and rings for shallow work of 2-4in.

The company says that working at the top of the soil profile reduces fuel use and encourages grass weeds in the top layer to germinate, leaving deeper-lying weed seeds undisturbed. Power requirement is about 50hp/metre and the cultivator will undergo further trials over the course of the year.

BDC heat recovery dryer

Wet summer months can be a nightmare, not least because of the prodigiously large fuel bill that drops on the office desk come the end of the season. BDC Systems, the UK supplier of the Svegma grain dryer range, hopes to have solved at least part of the problem by launching its new heat recovery dryer at the Cereals event. The Swedish-made dryer uses a clever particle-separating fan to remove 95% of chaff and dust from the recycled air. That means there’s little chance of particles coming into contact with hot surfaces as the air is drawn into the bottom of the furnace.

The company says the system can offer energy savings of more than 15% because the cyclonic fan recycles about 15 degrees of heat (above ambient air temperature) and reduces the horsepower requirement of the exhaust dryer. The system is available on every dryer above 20t/hour.