Called the Overload, and developed by Dutch contractor Hack, the unusual machine is based on a modified Ploeger MKC-8 spinach harvester. In operation, the machine’s 25-tonne bunker is filled directly by the contractor’s AR-4B four-row self-propelled Ploeger potato harvester. To unload the contents, two forceful hydraulic cylinders raise the complete front half of the articulated machine at the headland, after which the bunker’s moving floor conveys crop onto the cleaning unit located below the cab. Potatoes are then discharged into road-going vehicles, which during the Overload’s first outing were heading directly to a factory for processing. As well as eliminating in-field tractors and trailers (helping to keep roads clean), the technique ensures more soil remains in the field. The Overload can also be used in onions and sugar beet. More details in a future issue of Profi.