OPICO is thrilled for FarmDroid to have won both the Arable Innovation Award and the Future Farming Innovation Award at 2023 LAMMA Show.

The new control system offers 'operators greater connectivity and remote control of their' dryers operations, connecting to a smartphone, tablet or PC for real time monitoring. 

The new plastic 'Flex-Load' tines can be changed in under a minute, and flex to adapt to ground contours, which means less contamination of fodder and less wear on the tines themselves. 

"Some growers are looking at dispensing with tractors altogether, in favour of robots", says OPICO MD James Woolway. 

'The forage wagon.... allows them to make better quality silage, at the right time and grab grass when weather allows, without being in the hands (or queue) of a contractor'. 

"We have been establishing cover crops between the cash crops and with the EasyDrill we've been able to sow directly into these, some of which are up to four feet tall", said Farm Manager David Bell. 

'The OPICO 4810 unit is a conventional diesel-fired model operated in combination with a heat exchanger fuelled with hot water from the main biomass plant.'

"Helping us achieve our objectives is the FarmDroid. It operates completely from solar power and is therefore the most eco-friendly form of sowing and weed control available", said Farm Manager, Oliver Scott. 

Avadex is "a precision formulation which requires precision placement" says OPICO Technical Specialist, Glenn Bootman. 

OPICO Grain Dryers 'load, dry, cool and unload automatically, giving unattended drying hour after hour....and require minimal labour'. 

OPICO MD James Woolway said "the potential savings in herbicides, fuel, labour and machinery costs, including depreciation, maintenance, tyres.... are what make me believe this technology is here to stay". 

"The pick-up with its plastic tines impressed with its smooth running and low maintenance...", and the Forage Wagon was "easy to control using a compatible ISObus screen", Profi International commented. 

"OPICO has the distribution network, parts and technical teams to support FarmDroid throughout Wales and the whole of the UK and this award endorses the ground breaking product we have committed to", said James Woolway, OPICO MD. 

Danish robotics company FarmDroid, reach a major milestone by selling their 250th robot - a remarkable achievement for a company that was only founded in 2018. 

Powered by the sun, Shropshire Petals' FarmDroid FD20 flower robot will spend its time seeding and then weeding Delphiniums, removing the requirement for the hours of manual weeding usually required. 

FarmDroid has been awarded a Silver Award for Innovation by The Royal Highland and Agricultural of Scotland (RHASS) ahead of its annual show.

The latest robotic technology was being demoed at Cereals, attracting a lot of interest, including the FarmDroid FD20 on the OPICO demo plot. 

"Solar panels need daylight not sunlight, so the FD20 will keep working on cloudy days"

"It cuts down weeding time by 80-94% and....farmers have found yields have improved by up to 40% compared with tractor-hoed crops". 

Following the pandemic which halted manufacturing, and the current situation in Ukraine, HE-VA have decided to increase capacity for storage, which should secure better delivery times for customers. 

"I did not expect to get involved in robotics so quickly, but we believe they will be the backbone of the next major step in agricultural technology", said James Woolway, OPICO Managing Director. 

“Instead of using cameras and complex vision recognition software to locate crop rows and weeds, the FarmDroid knows exactly where it has placed the seed and can hoe around the seedlings with remarkable precision", said James Woolway, OPICO's managing director.

"Simplicity is just one feature that sets the FarmDroid apart from anything else on the market, and because the machine is also solar-powered, there is no fuel bill", said James Woolway, managing director of OPICO. 

“We are also grateful to Nick Rider from OPICO who nominated us for the award. An OPICO air seeder was one of the methods of surface treatment establishment in the project.”

“We believe robotics will form the backbone of the next major step in technological development for agriculture,” explains OPICO managing director James Woolway.

Mr Davies explains that the Grass Master "does a tidy job and we get good results. Some of the land is very sloping but the floating sections mean the tines follow the ground contours well". 

Farmer and contractor Gareth Watkins said "the investment in a mechanical weeding solution is helping them to continue growing sugar beet amid a time of challenges". 

Explaining one of the key benefits of the FarmDroid, Mr Brettell says that "because the robot knows where the plants are from the outset, we can hoe straightaway. This avoids the weeds getting ahead of the beet". 

Dr Fountas said "Weeding robots address future needs such as reducing manual labour requirement by up to 40%, along with the high environmental impact of herbicides and potential yield losses of up to 60% from failing to control weeds". 

Mr Brettell said "I loved the fact that being solar-powered means it is completely energy self sufficient and that the simple approach to of recording where seeds are planted allows it to accurately weed between the crop planted in the row". 

OPICO Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Garwood Agricultural Engineers Ltd to their HE-VA dealer network.

Ross Holloway, dealer principal for Charlies Groundcare said, “We’re fired up and ready go with both service and sales training, so that we can get stuck in to demonstrating, selling and supporting the range.”

Strautmann have completely redesigned the driver's cabin on the Self-Propelled models. The existing series will be immediately fitted with the new driver's cabins. The first machines equipped with a redesigned cabin will be delivered to the future owners in January 2022.

OPICO’s conventional 4810 Magna dryer is a conventional diesel-fired model operated in combination with a heat exchanger fuelled with hot water from the main biomass plant.

When Sward Lifting, independent grassland advisor Mr Morgan explains that "weather and soil type should be considered" when using machinery that works below the surface, such as Sward Lifters.