Grimme has updated its biggest belt planter for the UK market so it can better handle undulating ground found in parts of the domestic potato-growing area.

The high-output GB430 belt planter’s natural habitat is the large, flat fields of the Benelux region, where its previously rigid frame has no steep ground to negotiate during operation.

The company’s UK customer feedback suggested this had put off some UK buyers, particularly in the West, where sloping ground and narrow roads and field access require a nimbler machine.

To try to overcome any issues with undulating terrain, Grimme’s engineers have essentially split the machine into two twin-row planters, both fixed to its main frame.

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This allows the opening and planting mechanisms and hoods of each two-row section to float independently, helping maintain more accurate planting depths across the working width when moving across slopes.

Everything else on the updated GB430 is the same as the previous incarnation, with the planter drawing on a 3t hopper and capable of forward speeds of up to 10kph.

Independent row shut-off is also an option for seed and any additional products being applied in-furrow, such as fertiliser, helping to minimise waste of increasingly expensive inputs.

A hydraulic rear steering axle also aids manoeuvrability, and GPS implement control can be added with the installation of a receiver on the planter itself.

The firm’s marketing manager, Adam Johnston, says Grimme has sold 16 of the existing rigid GB430 and it is hoped the new configuration will have a broader appeal.

Order books for the updated GB430 are open now, with prices starting at £90,000.