Motorized lay-down work cart designed for comfort, efficiency

By Marcia Miquelon, Outreach Specialist
UW Madison Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project

Motorized lay-down work carts can allow farmers and their workers to transplant weed, harvest and perform other fieldwork while lying face down, rather than stooping, kneeling or crawling to perform the same tasks. For several years the University of Wisconsin's Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project has leased a Swedish-made machine, called a Drängen, from its inventor and loaned it out to a dozen berry and vegetable farmers for field trials. Farmers collected data and qualitative research for tasks ranging from transplanting to harvesting, and for crops that included strawberries, beans, salad mix, potatoes, carrots and flowers. The project is funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The Swedish-made machine looks like a massage table mounted on snowmobile treads, powered by a small motor. One or more workers lie on padded supports that suspend them over the crop row. Both hands are free to pick, weed, or tend plants while the rest of the body rests comfortably. One person steers and adjusts speed with foot controls. Padded supports and framework can be adjusted to fit individual workers. The frame also adjusts so that both the worker and the tracks can be positioned where they are needed. Since the machine runs on tracks, rather than wheels, soil compaction is minimized. Trays for holding harvest containers, hydraulic weeding brushes, and a sunshade can be added and removed as needed.

Stan Kirschbaum, from Beaver Dam, WI, was pleased with its performance deblossoming strawberries in a particularly wet season. "The best thing was that it floated over the wetter areas without any compaction or slipping. Even a person on foot would have been slipping around."

A handful of US farmers have purchased Drängens of their own direct from Mats Andersson, the inventor in Sweden, "It's a very flexible machine to adapt to individual needs," claims David Perkins of Vermont Valley Community Farm, WI. David added an aluminum frame and roof to his Drängen for sun protection and cargo carrying capacity, and has used it to automate his salad mix harvest.

Benefits of using a motorized lay-down work cart:
Less fatigue and discomfort. Prolonged kneeling or stooping to harvest and weed puts vegetable and berry growers in one of the highest risk groups for occupational injuries. If they do these tasks while lying down, they eliminate knee and leg strain and reduce strain on the back and torso. Workers don't get tired as quickly and can comfortably work for a longer time. In a Finnish study, strawberry pickers' pulse rates were on average 10% lower when working on the lay-down cart than without it. Faster. Using a motorized lay-down cart can increase workers' speed, since they and the crop they've picked move together along the row.

Faster harvesting and quicker time to the cooler maintains high crop quality. In field trials, farmers using Drängen harvested up to 24% faster and weeded up to 23% faster compared to similar work by hand.

Improves profits. Cutting harvest or weeding time can save labor costs. Compared to using a tractor-pulled harvest platform, no extra person is needed to drive the tractor. Growers may also save on medical costs or miss less work due to injury.

Safer. A motorized lay-down tractor with foot controls and hydrostatic transmission is safer than a regular tractor because it cannot spring forward without an operator. There is no PTO (Power Take Off) in which to risk entanglement.

Some tips: Lay-down carts are most efficient when the task at hand is slow, steady and consistent, such as picking beans or de-blossoming strawberries. Workers will need to take time to adjust the machine to their body. A poor fit can cause aches and pains. In some situations, it may be faster to move the cart from field to field on a trailer, as it is designed to drive slowly.

Lay-down cart specifications:

* Aluminum frame adjusts 3' -8' wide and clearance adjusts from 12" up.
* Moves on snowmobile-like tracks.
* Worker lies on adjustable pads; steers and propels cart with foot pedals.
* 5.5-13.5 hp gas engine; speed is slow creep to walk.
* Configurations available for 1 to 6 workers.
* Optional weeding brushes, conveyor system, trailing wagon, and seated unit with toolbar for seeders and cultivators.
* Farmers have built canopies, a vacuum salad harvester, and a pressurized water dibble.
* Base price approx. $6,000, depending on options, exchange rate and shipping costs.

For more information, contact the Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project at (608)262-1054 or visit their website at http://bse.wisc.edu/hfhp/.

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