Given the emphasis on both environmentally-friendly practices and overall farm efficiency in recent years, many farmers are keen to apply slurry as cost-effectively as possible – using applicators on their existing tankers.
Many, however, are limited in that they have no suitable bracketry on these tankers.
Irish manufacturer Abbey Machinery showcased its solution to this challenge with its ‘Door Mounted Band Spreader‘ at last week’s National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co. Offaly.
Abbey’s so-called ‘Door Mounted Band Spreader’ solves this problem, the company claims, by having adaptable brackets to go onto the rear door of existing tankers.
In addition, there are brackets on the base – connected to the chassis for “even greater working life”, the Tipperary-based manufacturer says.
The applicator is fully galvanised; it’s mounted close to the tank for maximum weight transfer back onto the hitch of the tractor.
A Vogelsang ExaCut distributor prepares and sends slurry “evenly” to each pipe, while lay-flat hosing also features.
The spreader comes with “unrestricted” 40mm pipes, 7.5m vertically-folding booms and rear lights.
Benefits of the applicator, highlighted in particular by Abbey, include the deposition of slurry below the canopy of the crop. It is also said to reduce ammonia emissions and unpleasant odours.
Other claimed advantages include: less smearing of grass (giving a shorter rotation length); a longer spreading window; and a lower risk of disease transfer.
The ‘Door Mounted Band Spreader’ weighs 615kg (gross). Maximum transport width is 2.62m; maximum transport height (if mounted rigidly) is 3.35m. If the applicator is mast-mounted, it sits slightly higher – at 3.65m.
Minimum working height is 0.15m; at least 73hp is required to operate the rig. The applicator is priced at approximately €12,000 excluding VAT (not including the tanker, of course).
According to Michael O’Grady, Abbey Machinery Business Development Manager for International Sales, the challenge facing the company was to try to develop an applicator that could be fitted onto an existing tanker that could do a good quality job – and would not be too heavy.
O’Grady said that the team was very happy with the end product, noting that the rear door fitting – reinforced by the chassis supports – gave the applicator a robust framework, while still coming in around the 600kg mark.
With all the talk of possible future splash-plate bans – which could just be talk – this applicator would seem reasonable for lads who bought new tankers three or four years ago, O’Grady added. Most importantly, you can actually see the better results in the field, he concluded.
