Sugar beet topper | Folding defoliator follows the contour of the field, giving knives better contact with each beet crown
FARGO, N.D. — Clean beets equals more money in the sugar beet business.
The key is to remove all that greenery with a defoliator before the harvester starts digging.
Alloway Standard of Fargo has been one of the dominant defoliators in the industry for the past 60 years. Company president Michael Lepine had his new folding defoliator on display at the Big Iron Show last month.
“The folding topper is unique. It’s the only folding defoliator on the market,” said Lepine.
The machine measures 13 feet wide in transport mode, while some rigid beet toppers run as wide as 24 feet, making them difficult to move from field to field.
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“Another advantage of a folding frame machine is that it follows the contour of the field better than a rigid frame machine. Each knife has better contact with the beet. Each beet crown gets more precise and uniform treatment,” Lepine said.
“We’re selling these folding defoliators to sugar beets areas all around North America now. In fact, we just sold one to Alberta a couple days ago. We have quite a number of them up there.”
Lepine said all defoliators are designed to do the same thing: remove the greenery. The difference is in the technology used to accomplish the task.
“The front cutting drum on Alloway toppers can be fitted with either a steel L knife or a steel cup knife, depending on harvest conditions,” said Lepine.
“Most other toppers use all rubber, but research tells us that steel on the front drum with rubber on the next two drums gives growers a better yield. So that’s how we build them now.”
All cross shafts are belt driven from both sides of the machine, with power coming from the tractor through the 1,000 r.p.m. power take-off. Alloway engineers designed the hitch on the new machine so the p.t.o. runs at a minimal angle.
Drive shafts in the flail tube are replaceable in the field without welding. The flail tubes have triple lip sealed bearings for long life.
“The middle drum and back drum are fitted with rubber paddles spinning at different speeds to chop the foliage,” he said.
“The last step is to scalp the tops of the beets so they have a clean top. We wait for the frost to kill the beet, then we move in with the harvesters.”
The Alloway can be fitted with either mechanical knife scalpers or ground-driven circular rotating scalpers.
The machine has an optional rear steer for turning in narrow headlands and on irrigated land. The hydraulically driven self-centring rear steer lets the machine automatically centre itself over rows without a sight glass.
Front stabilizer wheels prevent the defoliator from dipping too deeply into the beets or the soil. The four hinged PVC tops can have optional hydraulic openers. The lids let the operator quickly clean out mud and field debris.
Lepine said the folding defoliator needs a tractor in the 150 to 180 horsepower range. It’s available in 22 and 24 foot widths. Suggested working speed is four to five m.p.h.
The folding defoliator carries a price tag of $100,000.
Alloway also manufactures rigid defoliators and rigid and folding harvesters.
For more information, contact Lepine at 701-367-4480 or visit www.allowaystandard.com.
