Vervaet is now offering a rollerbed option on the UK’s most popular beet harvester – the Q-616 – following its initial launch on the six-wheel Beet Eater 625 ahead of last year’s beet season.

The first rollerbed-ready Q-616 has been sold by UK importer J Riley Beet Harvesters to Wroxham Home Farms, Norfolk, ahead of the coming campaign.

As with the big Beet Eater, speccing the setup on the 616 sees the rollerbed assembly replace the two front turbines.

In work, Vervaet’s rotating walking shares lift the beet on to the bed, which is made up of seven full-width, 100mm-diameter rollers that simultaneously clean and move the beet through the machine.

To maximise the cleaning effect, the beet is first taken outwards on the smooth spiral rollers before being gathered back to the centre of the table.

Roller speed is variable from the cab, with the seventh roller operated independently. This allows operators to spin it faster to apply a more aggressive final clean.

Rollerbed and turbine © Vervaet

Unlike all other rollerbed-type harvesters on the market, which use an elevator trace to transport the crop between the front wheels, the Vervaet design uses a central cleaning turbine.

The Dutch firm reckons this simpler approach eliminates the risk of it jamming in claggy clay soil and also helps maintain decent ground clearance.

In total, there are four central turbines that can be fitted with rail gates and slowed down for gentler beet handling where maximum cleaning isn’t required.

Bunker capacity is as before, at 18t, making it a tidy match for a 20t trailer, says Vervaet.