NP Seymour joins WineGB Midlands and North ‘Waffle N Walk’ at Rowton Vineyard.
NP Seymour, a specialist Fendt and fruit and vine machinery dealership and long-standing WineGB patron, was delighted to be invited to the latest WineGB Midlands and North “Waffle N Walk” event at Rowton Vineyard, just outside Ford in Shropshire, on Friday 6 June 2025.
The gathering provided vineyards from across the Midlands and North of England with an opportunity to meet, catch up, see essential pieces of viticulture equipment, and discuss their vineyard requirements with NP Seymour’s team.
“It was brilliant to travel up to Shropshire to meet with WineGB members who can’t always make it down to our Kent and Sussex demos,” said Claire Seymour, director at NP Seymour.
“It was a valuable day for all and the perfect opportunity to catch up with familiar faces and meet newcomers to the industry in a relaxed setting. Face-to-face demos allow us to provide growers with a more rounded understanding of the machinery options, models, and manufacturers that will best suit their individual needs, far beyond what they have read in a magazine, seen on social media, or looked at in a catalogue.”
Hosted at Rowton Vineyard and making use of the newly constructed barn, the event began with tea, coffee and biscuits at 10 am, where attendees were able to chat, take a look around the fully equipped Fendt tractor, and inspect a range of Felco manual and battery-powered secateurs.
Ian Sargent, chair of WineGB Midlands & North, welcomed guests and introduced Zoe Evans of Rowton Vineyard, before handing over to NP Seymour’s specialist salesperson, Tim Sillence.
Tim provided an overview of the key machines the team had brought up from Kent, which had been carefully chosen as they are ideally suited for vineyards of a comparable size to Rowton, with around five to ten acres.
Suitable for all growers, Fendt’s 200 V/F/P series is specifically designed for fruit and vine growers. As Tim explained, the range offers many more specification options, which are essential for those with long-term plans to expand their area under vine.
“There is nothing worse than seeing a grower struggle because their tractor does not have enough spool valves or hydraulic capability to run the machines they need to manage their orchard or vineyard efficiently and cost-effectively,” said Tim.
On show at the demo was a 100hp Gen3 210V model with front linkage and pto, suspension, four spool valves, a 3L joystick and an additional 12’’ monitor, that gave event attendees the chance to see a wide range of optional features.
While Fendt may be considered a premium vineyard tractor option, the 200 V/F/P range has proved in trials to be more fuel efficient than competitors, and that, combined with Fendt’s reputation for strong residual values, means that the overall lifetime cost is incredibly competitive.
Rear-mounted on the Fendt was an OCLL NPA air-assisted directional sprayer. The Carrarospray range from OCLL has always been popular with growers, with the economically priced sprayers being particularly sought after by small to medium sized vineyards.
“NP Seymour has stocked OCLL since the mid-1980s, and our customers have commented on how well-built they are and how many years of reliable service they provide,” said Tim.
The air-assisted NPA model is available with tank capacities of 400, 500, or 600 litres and offers effective and efficient coverage thanks to its eight adjustable sprayer hands.
Tim then moved on to discuss the single-sided Braun Rollhacke rotary star tiller.
A familiar machine to many, the Rollhacke is one of the most popular mechanical weeders on the market. Thanks to its straightforward, inertia-driven design, it has proven itself well-adapted to different soil types, is easy to adjust, and is low-maintenance.
“When the Rollhacke is mid-mounted on the tractor, to save time and fuel, operators can get their mechanical weeding done at the same time as other repetitive jobs like spraying and mowing,” said Tim. “Rollhackes can also be fitted to Braun’s other modular carrier frames with other mechanical weeding tools, like horizontal finger weeders, if a more comprehensive set-up is needed.”
Moving to the front of the Fendt, attention then shifted to the BMV E600A vine trimmer. Configurable with two to five side knives and optional top or bottom bars, this model is ideal for single-row, small-scale operations.
The front-mounted BMV E600A single-sided vineyard trimmer at the demo was the most popular set-up with four side knives and a top bar to give a 1.5m side and 0.5m top cutting or 2.0m side cutting height.
Finally, once in the vineyard, Tim also gave an overview of Rowton’s own Fischer mower. The robust and compact vari-width GL4 blade mower features swing-wing arms that are hydraulically controlled by sensors, allowing for accurate mowing right up to the base of the vine to control weeds without the use of herbicides or mechanical weeding tools.
Following Tim’s talk, event attendees moved to the vineyard to see some of the machinery operated by Sam Barnes, NP Seymour’s viticultural sales adviser and owner of the vineyard contracting firm, SJ Barnes Ltd, which freed Tim and Claire up to answer any questions the growers had.
After the demonstration, attendees gathered in the barn for updates from WineGB Midlands & North, provided by chair Ian Sargent from Laurel Vines. Ian then handed over to Zoë, who provided an insight into Rowton Vineyard, taking attendees on another walk around the vines to discuss some of the new practices being introduced, such as gentle pruning and the use of chicken manure pellets.
“We had a fab day,” said Zoë Evans, viticulturist at Rowton Vineyard.
“NP Seymour delivered great knowledge and a great selection of kit. It was much appreciated by all.”
“Friday was thoroughly enjoyable and we pass on our thanks to Claire, Tim, Sam and Victoria for making it possible,” said Ian Sargent, chair of WineGB Midlands and North. “It was a brilliant event and I am sure a lot, if not all, of the members who attended will have got a lot out of the day.”
Following the event, NP Seymour would like to invite WineGB regional committees interested in hosting similar demonstration events to get in touch.
Growers looking for further information on the featured machines, including Fendt’s specialist 200 V/F/P tractors, OCLL Carrarospray sprayers, Braun mechanical weeders, BMV trimmers, Fischer mowers and Felco secateurs, are encouraged to contact the NP Seymour sales team via email at sales@npseymour.co.uk or by calling the office on 01580 712200.
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