More than 2,700 European farmers and growers attended Grimme’s first Farm Days event, which featured six machines on display at the Grimme farm in Cappeln, Germany.

According to a recent press release, the company is concentrating its efforts on a new Varitron 470 self-propelled harvester, the Evo 280 All Crop two-row bunker harvester, the Select 200 two-row elevator harvester, the Prios 440 4-row cup planter, and two Rexor self-propelled beet harvesters. Grimme also announced that the Grimme Group’s 2021 turnover had increased by 9.43% to EUR557.1m.

The third generation of the Varitron 470 self-propelled harvester has a new modern design and is available in wheeled and Terra Trac versions.

“As well as adding a 460hp EU Stage V emission compliant engine to the Varitron 470, Grimme has simplified how the haulm topper is attached and removed. The new haulm topper benefits from the increased input power and external hydraulic cylinders, allowing even more accurate height adjustments,” the press release reveals.

The fine haulm elevator and the ring elevator can now be individually and conveniently reversed from inside the operator cab to both remove and prevent blockages.

With the third-generation machine, the direction of the extracting rollers can easily be reversed, giving the operator complete control of the separation process.

The Varitron 470 can be equipped with different intakes for harvesting potatoes, onions, and carrots and when used in a two-phase harvesting system, it can pick up previously windrowed onions and potatoes.

The 2023 wheeled version of the Varitron 470 can be equipped with a proven 64cm bunker extension to reach both high-sided transport trailers and boxes in the second row of a trailer. At a row width of 75 cm, the transport trailer can drive in the spraying tracks and can be loaded across four rows without damage or loss.

The new Varitron 470 is equipped with the 12.1-inch operator terminal CCI 1200 as standard. With an eye on precision farming, the Varitron 470 can be equipped with an integrated mass mapping system that produces a yield map showing areas of high and low yield. Combining this data with a Farm Management Information System, a site-specific application map for fertilizer, pesticides, or seeds can be produced.

The 2022 Evo 280 All Crop two-row bunker harvester retains the previous model’s compact footprint allowing it to be transported on public roads as it is less than 3m wide. However, Grimme has made a considerable increase in another area, increasing the capacity of the six-ton NonstopBunker to 7.5 tons.

A New Two-row Elevator Harvester

Grimme also introduced the Select 200 – a new two-row elevator harvester featuring the unique ActiveSteering system, a road transport width of less than 3m, and the patented VarioDrive, which combines the benefits of both mechanical and hydraulically driven main webs. The machine can be supplied with no less than four different separators allowing operators to adapt the harvester to suit the conditions.

The final new machine on the show was Grimme’s first four-row cup planter – the PRIOS 440.

With a transport width of fewer than 3m, the Prios 440 can be combined with any common soil cultivator (rotary harrow, rotary tiller) thanks to its gooseneck drawbar coupled to an intermediate frame and a separate lifting mechanism.

The Prios 440 features a new depth guidance concept, with the depth control of the fertilizer outlet discs, furrow openers, covering discs, and the ridge shaping unit all independent. Four feeler wheels at the front of the machine and two ultrasonic sensors in front of the ridge shaping unit detect the working depth and ensure optimum depth control and consistent emergence of the tubers.

With an eye on efficiencies and cost savings, the fertilizer box, barrel system, and planting elements can be switched on/off individually via Section Control. This can significantly reduce nutrient inputs into the environment, especially when creating spraying tracks or planting on wedge-shaped fields. Unnecessary pulverization of the fertilizer in the fertilizer box is prevented by the row-specific shut-off of the metering auger and the agitator shaft.

To build up ridges with a smooth surface, the plastic ridging bodies combine with closed ridge crown plates or, for a loose, crumbly surface, with cage rollers.

For the first time, ridge shaping can be achieved by combining ridge crown plates and cage rollers. The unique “hybrid-ridge shaping unit” creates a ridge with stable, smooth flanks and an open-pored crown. This combines the advantages of a shaping board with those of a cage roller. The hybrid-ridge shaping unit can be converted and adjusted in the field without using tools, allowing flexible adaptation of the ridge shaping process to soil conditions and customer requirements. To increase the soil’s water absorption and prevent soil erosion, the ridge shaping unit can be additionally equipped with the dyking system “TerraProtect”.

“It was fantastic to see so many people from across Europe attend the first-ever Grimme Farm Days. It was a fantastic four days and all of the new machines created a staggering amount of interest. We are very much looking forward to receiving our demonstration models and showing UK growers these new models, which offer a fantastic combination of innovative features, performance, comfort, and reliability,” Patrick Graf Grote, managing director of Grimme UK said.