Spudnik Equipment Company, located in Blackfoot, Idaho, recently entered the sugarbeet equipment industry.
The family-owned company established in 1958 was acquired in 2003 by the family-owned German company Grimme Group.
Grimme, founded in 1861, entered the sugarbeet industry in Europe about 10 years ago. Coupled with Spudnik’s longtime experience with North American potato equipment and Grimme’s experience with beet equipment, the new beet equipment line from Spudnik was born.
In 2013, the 12-row harvester was prototyped. In 2014, improvements were made based on what was learned in 2013 and tested with alternate cleaning devices. In addition a 6-row front mount and 12-row trailed defoliator were developed and tested. Based on the proven scalping technology from Grimme and experience with potato harvesters and windrowers, Spudnik determined it was time to enter the market.
Understanding that the amount of the beet removed when topping can drastically affect the harvest tonnage, Spudnik looked for a solution that would top the beet to the ideal “silver dollar” size. The precision topping system developed by Grimme was used in conjunction with proven manufacturing practices for tough durable machines to develop the defoliators.
The 6-row front mount defoliator’s purpose is to allow single pass harvesting, eliminating the cost of an additional tractor and operator. The machine, weighing in at around 5,000 pounds, is attached to a front mount 3-point hitch/PTO equipped tractor.
“The Spudnik front-mount defoliator improved the overall efficiency of my operation by eliminating one tractor and operator from the system,” said Todd Tibbetts of Terry, Mont. “This reduced my fuel and labor costs, and just made harvest simpler. I was also impressed by the quality job the defoliator did. It cleaned the beets well, but was gentle enough it didn’t damage the beets.”
Unique to both the 6- and 12-row defoliators is an integrated chute that funnels the leaves into the bottom of the row improving the lifting ability of the harvester. The 6-row machine uses two counter rotating drums with a combination of steel and rubber flails on the front drum and all rubber flails on the rear drum.
The 12-row defoliator utilizes three drums with the front drum equipped with steel flails and the rear two drums using rubber flails. The machine is designed in two halves allowing each 6-row deck to independently float, adjusting for grade fluctuations across the 12-row width. The independent decks provide more stability to the machine and a more uniformed topping across the entire machine. The defoliator is supported in the rear by a heavy-duty steerable axle with large tires. The stability of the machine and the tough rear axle allow the machine to efficiently operate at high speeds increasing operational efficiency. The machine folds to accommodate easier moving between fields and road transportation.
“To keep the temperatures of the beets low, it is nice to run the defoliator as close to the harvester as possible,” said Blake Mathews of Oakley, Idaho, about the 12-row defoliator. “The challenge with this is that most defoliators can’t run fast enough to stay just ahead of the harvester and still do a quality job. The Spudnik defoliator can. It was amazing how stable the whole machine was, even in fields with deep water dikes, while running at more than 4 mph. This combined with the consistent scalping job the machine does and the adjustability to dial in its performance, makes this an impressive defoliator.”
The 12-row harvester is unique in the industry with the large 8-ton holding tank. The fill elevator is controlled electronically to minimize the drop into the tank and to maximize the filling capacity. The 60-inch wide single elevator is designed for high capacity loading through the machine. Turbines are available for heavy soil conditions to better clean the product. A combination of outside gage wheels and automatic depth and leveling controls make the machine easier to operate.
Introduced in 2013, the 35-ton Crop Cart is an essential machine to any operation. Originally designed for the beet and potato industries, the cart has been used for many other crops including cucumbers and carrots.
Coming in 2015 a boom design will allow it to be used in small grains, corn and soy beans. With a capacity greater than 1,000 bushels and a fast belt/chain unloading system that doesn’t damage the product, the Crop Cart can be used in multiple seasons for most growers. Loading semi-trailers in under five minutes gets the beets out of the field and on the road to the plant or dump quickly. Currently the machine is offered with a single axle, but multiple axle configurations are currently in development.
Spudnik is planning on designing and prototyping in 2015 a 6-row Harvester and a 20-ton Crop Cart to meet the needs of smaller growers.