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Build-It-Yourself Cart Lets "Pickers" Sit Down
Small-scale vegetable and berry producers usually stoop, kneel, or crawl on their knees to harvest and tend their crops. They lean and stretch to reach the middle of the bed so that their body weight does not compact the soil.
As part of a project called Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits, University of
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Build-It-Yourself Cart Lets "Pickers" Sit Down CROPS Miscellaneous 24-5-3 Small-scale vegetable and berry producers usually stoop, kneel, or crawl on their knees to harvest and tend their crops. They lean and stretch to reach the middle of the bed so that their body weight does not compact the soil.
As part of a project called Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits, University of Wisconsin researchers are working to find ways to ease that physical stress. Their research is funded by a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
One of the results of this work has been the development of a seated cart for use in vegetable and strawberry field work. New parts for this cart would cost about $150, but you could also use scrap materials.
The basic design is quite simple. The cart is 42 1/2 in. long, from front wheel to back, and should be constructed 6 to 12 in. wider than your crop beds so it will roll in the paths between them. The front "leg", on which is mounted a swivel caster, can also carry harvest baskets or bins so there's less leaning and stretching.
The chassis of the cart is made from 1-in. square steel tubing. Two 26-in. pneumatic tires and wheels mount on back. A 10-in. swivel caster attached to a 4 x 4-in. steel plate is used for the front wheel. For a seat, you can use what you have or pick up a small lawn tractor replacement seat. The team has experimented with various prototypes. An earlier one had all the frame pieces cut to length and welded together. More recently, they're suggesting using a Hossfeld bender to bend pipe at 90-degree angles and avoid some of the welding. This also cuts down on the number of sharp corners and edges.
Complete plans are available from the Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits group.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bob Meyer, c/o Biological Systems Engineering, 460 Henry Mall, Madison, Wis. 53706 (ph 608 265-9451; E-mail: rhmeyer1@facstaff. wisc.edu; Web site at http://bse.wisc.edu/hfhp/).
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