Our Tracked Tractor
This unique tractor works in wet and/or sensitive conditions. It has much lower ground pressure and better traction: it can reach the parts that other tractors just cannot reach, or even get close to reaching – without getting stuck or damaging habitat.
It has the same work rate as a conventional tractor and can carry out any tractor-based operation using standard implements on a three-point linkage, rear or front power take-off (PTO) system. Slightly wider than a conventional tractor, it can still fit through standard farm gates.
It is often used for topping the wet grassland in Somerset. This area of the country is important for breeding waders – snipe, redshank and lapwing – as well as their floristic diversity. Topping is an essential part of the habitat management for breeding waders. It ensures that the sward height is not too long in the spring. During recent wet summers, it has proved impossible to get ordinary tractors on to some areas of these sites to top the grass in the summer or autumn. Some areas are too wet, even in a dryer year, to get on to without causing unacceptable levels of rutting and compaction. However, with this piece of kit, all these types of problems are resolved!
What benefits does this track system give you?
- Phenomenal traction: it has 330% more traction than a tractor with conventional tyres.
- Less compacting: it reduces soil compaction by 3.5 times. It has a ground pressure of less than 2.3 psi – less than when you walk.
- Doing more with less: the track system allows the tractor to do more work using less power; the tractor, therefore, uses less fuel.
- Turn as if on wheels: With the track system, the turning radius of the tracks is identical to wheels without surface damage.
We also own a Rotary Ditcher, which is a specialist machine used widely for the creation and restoration of wetland habitats.
The Rotary Ditcher:
- Can create foot drains 3m wide at a rate of around 200m per hour* – ten times faster and half the cost of an excavator.
- Is laser-levelled to give an accurate depth of excavation, with adjustable cutting blades to create variable ditch edge profiles.
- Creates ditches up to 6m across by up to 1.5m deep with more passes*.
- Throws spoil up to 30m away*. Spoil breaks down easily into the sward and gives a good tilth for reseeding if required or it can be left to allow grass to grow through.
- Creates pools 10m wide and up to 30m long, with a maximum depth of 30cm, in less than an hour*.
- Shifts up to 10 tonnes of spoil per minute*.
- Can be used to lower bed levels, the material can be loaded into dumpers for removal or throw to targeted areas.
*Depends on soil type, topography, vegetation cover and complexity of features being created.
The RSPB can provide free advice and support on the deployment and use of the ditcher, including undertaking specific site visits. The machine and its operation are complex, and such support is often a vital element of project success. Sites interested in booking the Rotary Ditcher should be aware that to obtain the maximum value for money advance booking is essential
The ditcher is primarily based in Oxfordshire. It has to be transported on a low loader between sites that are more than 30 miles apart. This can make up a significant amount of the cost, but all attempts are made to keep this as low as possible.
To do this, the annual work programme is designed where possible to group sites together to share haulage costs.
For up to date information on hire costs, contact us today.