It seems even the humble yard scraper is becoming a sophisticated bit of kit these days. The “modern” box scraper revolutionised the slurry world 20 years ago, but things have moved on again with variable-width blades capable of clearing passageways of all sizes in just one pass.

One such machine was on display on the Tafe tractors stand at the Dairy UK show.

The principle of Harbrook Engineering’s scraper is pretty simple. Twin rams on a telescopic box-section toolbar extend and retract to vary how wide the rubber-bladed wing sections reach.

A locking valve prevents ‘self-steer’ when the tractor turns while relief valves help to avoid impact damage should the wings hit anything untoward.

See also: Mensch shows £150,000 self-propelled slurry vacuum

Suitable for mounting on a three-point linkage or telehandler headstock, the device employs a traditional roll-over design so that it can be used in both directions – handy to pull slurry away from walls or push out into a lagoon.

Capable of squeezing down to 2.3m or opening right out to 4.4m, the Harbrook scraper costs £3,500. A similar design is used for Stamford Agricultural Services’ fully-galvanized Extreme Scrape which extends from 2m to 4.5m and costs £3,400.