Having revised its UK distribution model by replacing sole UK importer Opico with a direct-to-dealer approach, Strautmann is planning a fresh tilt at the muck-chucker market.

Its spreaders account for one-quarter of company sales in Europe yet have been an almost forgotten part of the range in Britain, where forage wagons and diet feeders dominate.

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To get the ball rolling, Cornthwaites, one of 15 dealers recruited since the policy change, was gauging the interest of passing punters in the firm’s high-spec VS 2005.

It was fitted with every conceivable option, from a rubber-damped drawbar to a set of six PTM weigh cells and isobus control.

Underneath, there’s a lift kit for the first of two axles to minimise tyre wear when empty, and a steering system on the second.

Conventional slats shift material rearwards to horizontal beaters – spun either by chains or shafts – that feed six-vane discs with drop-down shrouds for border spreading.

List price of the pictured model is £87,000, though Strautmann says buyers could easily shave £17,000 off that figure by trimming back the spec.

As well as the 20-tonner, there are 16t and 18t versions of the VS, the 14t and 16t TS, and the flagship PS range with 24t and 34t capacities.