In recent years the demand for mechanical harvesting in asparagus has increased. The cause of this is the increasing costs with unchanging sales prices. The margins of the asparagus growers are being pressured by this. This is causing increasing amount of growers to discover the advantages of harvest mechanisation.
Most of the costing price of asparagus is the harvest costs. To save on this various harvest machines have been marketed in the past, including Chrisje.
Chrisje is currently being used to full satisfaction by asparagus growers in the Netherlands, Germany and France. And has already realised a saving in costs for them. It's doing its work well.
By using the harvest machines it has already been proven that there is quality improvement. The better dam hygiene means that the stalks are straighter and have less rust stains.
Not every company is the same. To give customers more choice in possibilities for non selective mechanical harvest, Chris can now also be used as well as Chrisje. This means harvest can be done faster even under bad conditions. Chris is equipped with a track system to ensure it can be used in all weathers. It has also been made stronger so that it can be used more easily on different soils. Because it works even faster, the asparagus has to be pre sorted on the machine by four people.
Chris has kept Chrisje's best characteristics. Because Chrisje has proven to work very well, the basis of the machine has remained the same. It is also a self propelled machine, which means the driver can also work on the belt. The Hatz diesel motor has grown slightly to 55KW. And it remains manoeuvrable and compact. It is also important that Chris lowers the costs of the asparagus harvest.
Chris is used in Germany on a number of plots under heavy conditions. But like Chrisje it doesn't matter in the double row system either. It does what it has to, even if it's 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. The law on working time, minimum wage, overtime and housing are unimportant to the machine. With the lighting and the roof the bad weather is also no problem for the harvest workers. The working conditions are better and they are dry.
Chris would like to show how it can help lower costs for asparagus growers and raise the margins. If you want to see it working in the south of Germany, you can do so on Tuesday, June 21. For more information or to register you can contact Christiaens at +31 475594869 or info@christiaensagro.com.