Combine Tracks Essex

1. OUTLANDGROUP LTD www.outlandtracks.com

2. RESULTS JUSTIFY CONTINUING INVESTMENT IN TRACKS The farm operation includes 3 main sites and 8 growing areas, up to 25 miles apart, with highly productive soils ranging from black sand to fen, and heavier skirt fen with silt and clay including at least 10 per cent organic matter. The rotation includes 1,000ha of combinable cereals, 1,000ha of maize grown for an AD plant, 400ha of potatoes, 600ha of onions and more than 1,500ha of salads produced and marketed through G’s Growers of which the farm is a member. Salad crops include 600ha of bulb onions, 1,150ha of Little Gem and Iceberg lettuce and 350ha celery and there are also 400ha potatoes. Part of the production is organic including lettuces, celery, bulb onions and beetroot.

3. EARLY ADOPTERS The farm’s first rubber-tracked tractor was bought over 20 years ago when the farm imported a John Deere twin- track crawler. The tracks’ performance encouraged the company to look at options for other tractors and a set of Soucy tracks was purchased from the importer at that time, a local dealer, for a Case IH MX170 tractor. “We were trying to plough-in sugar beet crops in wet November conditions using a 7f reversible plough on a twin-track crawler,” explained leafy salads manager Rob Parker. “It couldn’t achieve sufficient traction but a demonstration Case IH tractor with Soucy track units had no problem at all, and we placed an order.” The fenland is ‘bottom-less’ and Rob said it takes only a small amount of wheel-slip before problems occur and machinery becomes bogged down. The farm tries hard to prevent compaction although wet soils more commonly result from water build-up over the clay layer below, so rotational sub-soiling is used to ensure free drainage. “We irrigate extensively but need soils clean and dry for field operations. Tracks and sub-soiling are key to this while cover crops increasingly play their part,” he said.

4. TYRES ARE LIMITING FACTOR Two salad planters work six days per week between February and August; a 6m and an 8m, both bespoke designs for the farm. They are carried between the rear linkage and a pair of flotation tyres at the rear, running at 80in track widths the same as the tractor’s narrow rubber tracks. “The planters take a lot of pulling and lifting,” said Rob, “and if the tractor was on tyres it would sink immediately but on tracks, there is no problem despite it being relatively light. The large contact area means there is only a very shallow rut created by the tracks, whereas the planter’s tyres sink in considerably more.” www.outlandtracks.com

5. TRACKS ESSENTIAL “We get on very well with tracks and couldn’t farm as we do on our land without them,” said Rob. “Going back to wheels would mean smaller planters, higher production costs and more labour needed as well as reduced plant populations as our outside rows would have to be further from the wheelings. Our soils would suffer and we would have to subsoil more, to alleviate compaction caused by ploughing in the furrow, as there is no way we could achieve traction or steering control to plough on top with wheels. www.outlandtracks.com

6. SOUCY FRANCHISE Outland Group is a long-established supplier of agricultural wheels and tyres and became the Soucy importer early in 2017. “We also represent Soucy in countries where there is no current official importer,” explained Percy Brock, who was at the farm. “We have looked at other makes of track system over the years and still offer an alternative where Soucy has gaps in its range,” he explained. “Soucy offers very good back-up which was an attraction for us from the start. We have committed to a large parts stock and since taking on the agency have been busy with enquiries and orders. www.outlandtracks.com

7. CONTACT US Outland Group is a leading agriculture track & undercarriages distributor. +44 1223640780 sales@outlandgroupltd.com www.outlandtracks.com Woodhams Farm, Cutlers Green, Thaxted, Dunmow, Essex CM6 2RH, UK