Deeping-based farm machinery manufacturer Garford Farm Machinery has been awarded an unprecedented four major trophies at the recent Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association (LAMMA) 08 exhibition.
Held at the Newark and Notts showground on January 16-17, LAMMA is one of the major farm machinery shows in the UK.
Garford Farm Machinery won the LAMMA trophy for best new product or innovation in the fields of electronics or information and communications technology; the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IagrE) sponsored IVEL award for the best product or innovation, which has the most positive impact on the environment; best new product or innovation from a company based in Lincolnshire or Nottinghamshire, and the HSBC Cup for the Best Manufacturers’ Stand.
The first three trophies were awarded for the Garford Robocrop InRow Weeder. Philip Garford, managing partner of Garford Farm Machinery, said: “We are proud to be acknowledged for our important contribution towards the needs of today’s vegetable growers, who face a more environmentally focused future.”
The Robocrop InRow is a further development of the Robocrop precision guidance system, now widely used for hoe guidance in many areas of crop production. However, the new development not only identifies the crop row line, but also identifies the individual plants in the row. This information is then used to synchronise the InRow rotors to loop around the crop plants and hoe out any weed growing between the plants.
When awarding the IVEL award, Bill Basford of the IagrE said: “This machine uses a fantastic combination of engineering concepts for weeding plants, eliminating the use of herbicides. It shows that we, as an industry, do care about our environment.”
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