Rob Gash’s chaff deflector is the winner in the simple category of Farmers Weekly’s annual Inventions Competition.

Nottinghamshire farmer Rob Gash has conjured up a neat add-on that has transformed the ability of his Case IH 9240 to spread chaff evenly when leaving straw in the swath.

See also: How combine add-ons can help slash weed seed spread

The angled deflector plate, made from metal plate flanked by rubber flaps, is automatically swung in and out of position via an electric actuator wired into the same switch as the chopper hood.

In work, it directs the chaff to the outer veins of the spreader, ensuring it is fired across the full 12m width of the header.

This has eliminated subsequent problems of having excess chaff under the straw swaths when min-till and direct-drilling.

According to Rob, there are no such issues when running the factory-fitted Redekop chopper, which he says destroys the straw and reliably blasts all material full-width.