CountyTrac has expanded its range of Hi-Crop conversion kits, which can now be fitted to the latest New Holland T7s and equivalent Case IH Pumas.

The bolt-on drop housings crank up the ground clearance by 350mm to leave almost a metre between terra firma and the tractor’s undercarriage for travelling over high-value or slow-growing crops, polytunnels or wirelines.

High Crop kit in use © CountyTrac

Track widths of 60in and 80in are available – the latter using extension couplings to provide the extra reach – and the combined front and rear assemblies weigh between 700kg and 800kg.

However, this apparently has no impact on handling, with the tractor’s drivetrain efficiency maintained, and the gearing can give snail-like creep speeds of just 90m/hour.

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The cast iron housings are made at the firm’s foundry in Kent, assembled on-site and primed in red oxide.

They are then supplied to customers ready to install – a job that can be done on-farm provided there’s suitable lifting equipment.

© CountyTrac

Prices vary depending on track width and model, but a complete kit starts at around £20,000.

And there’s a reason why the CountyTrac name sounds familiar – it’s a spin-off of the County brand famed for its Ford tractor conversions.

The company built its first Hi-Crop kits in the 1950s for sugar cane farmers in the West Indies, but is now reporting growing demand from Europe from brassica and asparagus growers, and from tree nurseries, where the added clearance has obvious benefits.

The business also builds all-wheel-drive kits for Ford Transit vans.