Hamish Watson has been highly commended.

There’s no need to tie up a telehandler during drilling season at Hamish Watson’s farm in Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, as his tractor has all it needs to self-load seed.

The heavy lifting is done by a 2m-reach Levsak mini crane, typically fitted to a Kuhn fertiliser spreader but instead mounted on the outer lower-link brackets and extended top-link pin of his Horsch Partner front hopper.

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This means he can lift two bags of seed from the ground – when conditions allow, they’re dotted along the headland to minimise downtime – or straight from a trailer.

To minimise the crane’s impact on forward visibility, it is positioned 300mm off centre, giving him sight of bout marks if the GPS system plays up.

The two spools for lift and extend functions are positioned on the opposite side of the hopper, keeping the operator safely clear of swinging bags, and are primed for work once the tractor’s hydraulics have been set to constant pumping.

Other features include anti-burst safety valves and a rope that pulls the hopper lid open as the boom is raised and closes it once lowered to its transport position.

Bargain buy

Hamish picked up the second-hand crane for a cut-price £900, with the other components taking his total spend to £2,000.

Like his previous version – which he built from scratch in 1989 to fit on an Accord front hopper – it has paid for itself several times over in saved time and running costs compared with using a telehandler.

The extra 200kg it adds to the front of the tractor also helps offset the significant weight of the 6m Amazone KG 6001-2 drill behind, especially when sowing oilseed rape.