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An implement bought to improve the grassland on John Madeley's 1,150 acre dairy farm at Glewstone near Hereford is equally impressive in a new role now that the cows have gone and the land is down to arable crops.

Two years ago Mr. Madeley invested in an OPICO Grass Harrow. At that time it was an entirely new concept in farm machinery and he bought it to replace his old chain harrows for scarifying pastures in spring and spreading dung pats on grazing land during the summer months. Today he is using the same tool to great effect on winter barley and potatoes.

"I think it's the best thing since sliced bread," says Mr. Madeley. "We tend to mount it on a 60 hp tractor and with our hydraulic folding model we can have it all packed up and ready for transport in about 30 seconds. It's extremely versatile and the number of different uses is almost unbelievable."

"On grassland it's much better than a chain harrow," says Mr. Madeley. "These thin, springy tines vibrate and pull out all the dead thatch from the bottom of the sward. When you put it over a recently-grazed paddock it breaks up the dung to such an extent that you can't find any trace of it three or four weeks later."

"Even though we now have very little grass left on the farm I am still using the harrow," says Mr Madeley. " I use it on a very gentle setting to cover up the grass seeds in autumn and on a more aggressive setting its excellent for taking out chickweed from the new seeds in spring. I shall also use the harrow on the barley and the sections are so flexible that I can even run it down the potato ridges if they get a bit weedy."