Denmark is one of the leading grass seed producers in the world, which, among other things, is used for lawns. But like many other farmers, seed growers struggle with weeds that degrade the quality of their produce during harvest. Effective weed control is therefore essential, but it also has to be as gentle on the environment as possible as well as easy for the growers to use. The solution for many Danish seed growers is therefore Møller Andersen's MA Weed Wiper.
The smart machine
The MA Weed Wiper is a weed wiper that, as the name suggests, coats the weeds with herbicide. The wiper consists of three sections, each fitted with a roller moistened with herbicide. Each section is fitted with two LA33 actuators from LINAK®, which can raise and lower the rollers in parallel. When the seed grower fits the weed wiper to his tractor, he can adjust the height of the rollers from the cab, depending on how tall the weeds are. Typically, the weeds are only 2-3 cm taller than the crops, which means a precise adjustment is incredibly important. As Lars Møller Andersen says:
”With hydraulics, the machine could easily end up driving unevenly. The structure is simply not able to handle it. Therefore parallel operation is essential, and the actuators from LINAK and the associated steering control can handle this.”
Minimum herbicide
It is of course in everyone's interest that as little herbicide is used as possible, and in this case MA Weed Wiper is one of the leading solutions. Lars Møller Andersen explains:
”Thanks to the wiper concept, the MA Weed Wiper only wipes precisely where needed. It is incredibly effective at depositing material on the plants and is completely unique because it doesn't drip. This means it uses far less chemicals than a wide spray.”
Working with LINAK
Seed growing is now Lars Møller Andersen's main focus – but it has not always been. He was the fourth generation in a traditional machinery business, where he spent 25 years of his life. After he sold his business, the plan was to enjoy life, but good ideas kept coming to him:
”I just can't let it go – it's who I am. I was born into and grew up in the machine business, and it's what I am passionate about,” says Møller Andersen.
So he dusted off the MA Weed Wiper machine once again – and he could see some clear possibilities for improvement:
”I have further developed the first machine, so that now only the original principles remain. The most significant improvement is the addition of the LINAK actuators, which adjust the height of the rollers while you're driving. This is essential. If you had to adjust the height manually every time, you would never finish,” he says.
In answer to why he chose LINAK, Møller Andersen gives several reasons:
”First, I had worked with LINAK before, so I knew the company and knew that they stood for Danish quality. And I needed a quality solution that could withstand a harsh herbicide environment. I also needed guidance and advice from the start, as I had clear parameters that the height adjustment had to fit into. In this case, it was clearly preferable to have a Danish contact person who could come and visit me and help me find the right solution.”
Major potential
Lars Møller Andersen is delighted with the machine he has ended up with:
”The roller principle of the MA Weed Wiper is quite unique in Europe. In its current version, the machine is a bit of a niche product, and the Danish seed growing market is almost covered. But with some other working widths, I am sure the machine can also be sold to many other kinds of farmers. Product development is already underway and it will be exciting to see what the future holds,” he concludes.
Read more about the MA Weed Wiper on the Møller Andersen ApS website.
