Jim George has won first place in our complex category.

Hedgetrimming needn’t be an unprofitable job loathed by farmers and contractors across the land, reckons Jim George, who has devised a machine that could turn cuttings into cash.

His prototype Hej Harvester does exactly as advertised, trimming and bagging woody stems for burning as biomass, producing biochar or selling as a hitherto untapped commodity.

See also: How a Wiltshire-based mechanic built his own hedgecutter

The project has taken eight years thus far, with most of his engineering effort devoted to the novel 130x50cm cutting head.

In contrast to a conventional power-hungry flail, which uses brute force to batter bushes, he’s opted for a series of rotors armed with comparatively refined cutting discs.

These slice like secateurs through stems up to 8-10mm in diameter, leaving a crisp finish more akin to a master barber than a heavy-handed butcher.

This grooming encourages quicker regrowth and more yield from the following “crop”.

Lower power demand

One of the head’s other benefits is its significantly lower power demand, he says, which means it can work slightly faster than a flail and, in theory, run on a small electric tractor.

Chop length is altered by adjusting the distance between the cutters.

During his trials he’s set it at about 50mm so that it compacts well in the collection bag and is easier to process there on.

And though the Hej Harvester is currently rigged up on a tractor front loader, plans are afoot to mount it on the power arm assembly of a regular hedgecutter to improve reach.

© Jim George

Vacuum system

Once sliced and diced, material is sucked by a Billy Goat vacuum system from the base of the head along an 8in tube, before being spat out from a spout at the back.

He’s using a little 5hp Honda engine to power this in the interim, with the intention of plumbing it into the tractor’s hydraulics in the long term.

Material ends up in a dumpy bag that can be dropped off quickly, in lieu of a dedicated tipping hopper – another item on the lengthy pre-production to-do list.