Just in time for the 2024 potato harvest, Grimme UK is set to launch a brand-new, German-made, three-bed folding haulm topper.

With two two-row toppers at the back and a second two-row topper at the front, the Toppa 600 is the first folding haulm topper ever manufactured in Germany. Together, these features cover six rows.

“Designed for the UK’s 90cm rows, the Toppa 600 offers hydraulic depth control, a floating frame so that the chassis follows the contours of the row, and a specially designed blade configuration which chops and blows the cut haulm into the bottom of the row placing it well out of the way from the lifting process,” according to a recent press release.

The Toppa 600 needs only a 140-horsepower tractor to operate, requiring no additional power for single-sided haulm topping or shipping. Its ability to raise the left or right arm greatly reduces soil compaction.

In order to prevent scalping, Grimme additionally offers an optional automated row-finding feeler arm that runs through the rows, senses their sides, and moves the cutting blades left and right to maintain their center.

At British Potato 2023, a pre-production model that was put through testing by J Haig Hamilton & Sons in East Lothian, Scotland, was on exhibit.

Ed Hodson, a potato specialist at Grimme UK, anticipates that 2024’s Toppa 600 stock will go quickly because it will be offered with 0% financing and a five-year warranty.

“Our UK range of haulm toppers have always been a popular choice and have performed exceptionally well, but by having our German factory oversee production, we are now better placed to take advantage of the incredible amount of research and development that is undertaken in Damme. We have several pre-production Toppa 600s for order, and as this particular model offers several unique features, we expect them to sell quickly as growers seek the ideal combination of features, performance, and price. Grimme has also taken into account the pressures currently faced by growers and is offering the Toppa 600 with interest-free payment options. The Toppa 600 took pride of place at the British Potato Show in November, and everyone who saw it was impressed with what it has to offer,” Hodson mentioned.

Later in the year, two further versions will be available to replace the Toppa 600: the eight-row Toppa 800 and the four-row Toppa 400.