There are many enjoyable tasks in farming, but wrestling with heavy, stiff pto shafts and soiling clean hands with oily hydraulic pipes that refuse to locate in their sockets definitely aren’t them.

So, what a boon it would be to have a quick hitch system that automatically connects those essential means of power transfer between tractor and implement without having to leave the cab.

The 2012-launched Siwi Combi-Hitch, designed by Danish engineer Rasmus Helms and sold through Yorkshire-based KRM, does exactly that – albeit at a cost.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2024: Contractor of the Year

With prices for a complete kit coming in at about £25,000, the benefits need to extend well beyond sheer bone idleness.

And they certainly have for several UK spreading contractors which, in return for that hefty initial outlay, have been rewarded with some serious efficiency gains.

The most obvious is the increased daily output of a self-loading tractor-and-spreader outfit by reducing the amount of time wasted unhitching and then recoupling the implement during fill-ups.

Lincolnshire-based JSE Systems, Farmers Weekly’s 2024 Contractor of the Year, has gone further, cutting two telehandlers and low-loader trailers from its fleet following its investment in a pair of Siwi hitches in 2023.

How does it work?

The Combi-Hitch comes as two parts. One mounts on the tractor’s three-point linkage, where it is coupled to the pto, spools and assorted electrics.

A second does likewise on the implement side, to which it is joined by a K80 ball.

© Matt Tilt

In JSE’s case, it’s fitted on a 10.5t-capacity Bredal K105 trailed spreader, used for mineral fertilisers, Fibrophos, lime and gypsum.

The magic happens once the tractor has backed into position, with a tapered pin centralising the rear module ready for it to be lifted on a pair of heavy-duty hooks.

Once married, the two are locked via an in-cab control box, and a series of hydraulically powered actuators push together the pto, oil lines, pneumatic brakes and electrics.

There is capacity for up to four double-acting hydraulic couplings, or three if air brakes are required, and a seven-pin plug for trailer lights, plus a ruck of other sockets for cameras, control boxes and isobus.

The system can be used for tractor-towed lime- and muckspreaders, trailers and drills, and versions are also available for forage harvesters.

© Matt Tilt

Reduced costs

Until 2023, JSE ran an identical fleet of five spreading outfits, comprising a JCB Fastrac, 12m Bredal K105 spreader, and a Loadall carried on a bespoke Chieftain low-loader.

On average, each of these cost £359,729 to assemble, equating to £113.55/hour based on a peak summer workload of 14 hours/day for 79 days and accounting for staff wages of £14,000 over that period.

But two of these have now been swapped for a Siwi hitch (£24,930) and Quicke Q6 loader for the tractor (£18,500), making for a more streamlined setup that goes without telehandler and trailer.

This drops the cost-to-buy total to £317,229 and the hourly figure to £99.32, a saving of about £40,000 or just over £14/hour.

“It’s not a cheap bit of kit – it’s a niche product that took a lot of money to develop, unlike something like a trailer, where 90% of the value is in the steel, tyres and welding,” says Nik Johnson, managing director at JSE Systems.

“But the numbers stack up, and there’s still plenty of value in it for us.”

What’s not to like?

Though the cost savings appear stark, the benefits of opting for the Siwi are more nuanced – hence the reason for JSE not switching its entire fleet.

© Joe Hampsey

“It’s the right tool when it’s used on the right job, but often a telehandler remains more efficient,” says Nik.

“Where we see the advantage is on smaller stockpiles of different products that require the machine to move between several different sites in a day, usually in the summer when we’re under serious time pressure.”

This is becoming more common, he says, with an increasing number of 100t patch-up or variable-rate jobs as opposed to big operations from a single 300t heap.

“The Siwi comes into its own for these smaller heaps of lime and fertiliser,” he says.

“As soon as the last kilogramme has been spread at one site, the machine can be out the gate and off to the next one without faffing around with a telehandler and trailer.

“It takes 10 seconds to drop the spreader off and put it back on again, and the staff hardly need leave the cab – they could practically come to work in a dinner suit.”

However, it pays to run a telehandler and low-loader on big tonnage jobs, especially where other spreaders can be roped in at the end of the day to help get finished.

And, while getting rid of the trailer makes for a far more manoeuvrable road train, the Siwi still adds an extra metre in length and about 2.5t of weight, making it somewhat impractical for winter salt mix applications on sodden ground.

“Though we won’t switch the whole fleet to Siwi, it’s been a useful addition,” concludes Nik.

“It’s reliable, has improved our efficiency and made life easier and safer for staff.”

Mandatory drug testing

JSE has introduced a drug testing policy for its 11 full-time and up to 42 seasonal staff to ensure they are in suitable condition for driving its fleet of tractors, telehandlers and self-propelled spreaders across a vast eastern England territory.

Operations manager Joe Hampsey takes a zero-tolerance approach to failed tests, which he conducts randomly on a fortnightly basis through the peak summer season.

It is an expensive undertaking, with the quick analysis kits, which indicate the presence of any drugs in a urine sample, costing £6.25 each.

© MAG/Oliver Mark

“In my view, it should be an industry standard,” says Joe, who also sits on the board of the National Association of Agricultural Contractors.

“Building sites conduct these tests every day and, given the size and speed of agricultural machinery, contractors should be doing the same.”

“Several big farming estates have followed our lead in having a robust drink and drugs policy, and I’d like to see it rolled out more broadly in the UK.”