This complicated looking bit of kit is the latest beetroot drill from Italian maker Agricola Italiana. It’s been custom-built for a large vegetable grower and can plant three 14-row beds in one pass.

Because supermarkets are so fussy about the way their veg looks, seeds have to be planted at exactly the same depth and distance apart. To get round this problem, the drill has been fitted with 42 ultra-precise seeding units.

These are plumbed into a hydraulically powered vacuum pump that sucks seeds on to a placement disc that makes sure they’re put in the right place.

There’s also an in-built compressor that blasts air on to the disc to keep it clean.

Power requirement isn’t that high, but because it weighs about 3.5t it needs a fairly meaty tractor to handle it.

The drills are built to order and imported by Edwards Farm Machinery. Smaller machines cost about £10,000, but this one is considerably more