Direct Driller lime article

jh.

Member
Location
fife
Trying to get my head around this . Surface area "Per metric ton" , so what rate of prilled would be needed to match a ground rate of 5ton a hec. Never used prilled so no idea on how much a ton even costs compared to a bulk wagon tipped for a lime spreader but surely the cost of a prilled product is going to be silly pounds £££££ .
 

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Dockers

Member
Location
Hampshire
We paid £118/tonne for calcifert lime. WE use variable rate spreading and can do the job ourselves . It is more expensive but we can use our tramlines and do it when we want. Have applied up to 1tonne/Ha, in patches. Good product. Hope that helps !
 

solo

Member
Location
worcestershire
Limex £17.50/t versus £160ish/t for calcifert. Spreading costs excluded. Both will do a job but one will suit some people depending on their system. I prefer the limex but for a short term fbt. the prilled might work out cheaper. Ground lime would have a greater coverage of the soil surface compared to prilled.
 

jh.

Member
Location
fife
How can prilled lime (Calcifert) have a greater surface area than ground lime or chalk?

I think what they are getting at is the course stuff in bulk is a waste of time as takes so long to break down .

I'm probably reading it wrong but if with ground only 40% is below 0.15mm and useful . Does that mean a blanket 5 ton a hec is really only 2 ton a hec of decent stuff and you would need 2 ton of prilled to match it
 

Wisconsonian

Member
Trade
How can prilled lime (Calcifert) have a greater surface area than ground lime or chalk? A prill versus basically a dust?
The prilled lime breaks down to powder, doesn't it? That is fairly coarse ground lime if only 40% passes the .15 screen, while 70% of the screened limestone passes the same screen. Not a likely comparison, my guess.
 

jh.

Member
Location
fife
The prilled lime breaks down to powder, doesn't it? That is fairly coarse ground lime if only 40% passes the .15 screen, while 70% of the screened limestone passes the same screen. Not a likely comparison, my guess.
That's what I'm trying to get my head around with this article .

Is ground 5% first sieve
60% 2nd and balance through so 55% fine

Screened 5% first sieve
30% second so fine balance just 25%
 

PSQ

Member
Arable Farmer
'Ground' works out at half the surface area of prilled, but for an 8th of the price.
So for the same money (plus spreading cost) you'll get near enough 4 times the immediate effect with ground, but you'll also have a far longer 'tail' effect as the larger particles dissolve over time.
I've never understood why people bugger about with prilled lime, the only person who sees the economic benefit is the salesman.
 

Wisconsonian

Member
Trade
That's what I'm trying to get my head around with this article .

Is ground 5% first sieve
60% 2nd and balance through so 55% fine

Screened 5% first sieve
30% second so fine balance just 25%
The number is the percentage that passes that screen, so only 40% of ground limestone, but 70% of screened passes the finest screen, in THEIR sample.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
Prilled lime has a place post drilling in tramlines wider than 12m when you don’t want the wheelings of a lime spreader in the crop. It’s too short term an effect and too expensive for other uses unless for specialist applications e.g. No till in high residues where temporary acidity could be a serious problem.
 
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jh.

Member
Location
fife
The number is the percentage that passes that screen, so only 40% of ground limestone, but 70% of screened passes the finest screen, in THEIR sample.
Ah so you reckon that was their sample . Not got article to hand at moment but I had thought the figures in table might be a fertiliser regulation spec from the 1990s .

Hopefully there is a link to online article in coming weeks . It did stink of a salesman selling prilled as it said 100% of on farm samples had failed to meet the spec .

Only asking as a few years ago I was drilling at a farm . Lime spreader had been in day before , at time , like always we couldn't see him for dust . Agronomist came in and picked up a few chunks and said they are a waste of time as won't break down in our lifetime and asked to see the spec of what had been delivered .
 
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I couldn’t have put it any better than @PSQ

It’s good that somebody other than me says it occasionally.

The main thing to consider is that you get economic value from whatever you use. Prilled lime could have its place, as could coarse screened lime on occasion. However, it is very unlikely that a premium quality GROUND lime will be outperformed on either pH correction efficiency or cost.

So, always buy the best GROUND lime you can afford.

I have no doubt whatsoever that pretty soon somebody will be along to say that in many years of trying they have never found a good source of aglime and that you should use prilled. There are some very good samples of aglime sold, but unfortunately there are some poor samples sold too.

Do your homework.
 

Luke Cropwalker

Member
Arable Farmer
What is prilled lime made from to give it such a theoretically large surface area? I think the whole thing is a massive red herring, either way, none of it will work when dry and as soon as any product is wet then the figures will alter dramatically.
 

jh.

Member
Location
fife
The article is from a company called soil first farming .

Will this be the spec for the lime regulations they mention ? I suppose 100% not meeting the spec could just mean they have only tested one ground and one screened
 

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I said they would be along soon.

I have been challenged here on TFF by one of their staff to provide them with a sample that can meet the regs. That would be easy to do.

However, I have refused to do that for one reason. When the sample I send surpasses the regs I will no doubt be told it was tampered with.

Therefore, I have asked them to call me any time and meet me on one of my spreading jobs. They can then take their own sample away and test it and I will do the same.

So far, they have not called me.

It’s a bit daft, because one of the best samples of lime in the whole country can be found literally a stones throw from where one of their staff lives.

Rest assured, there are some excellent samples of bulk aglime available in the uk. As I said, just do your homework.

Plus, as I’ve said many times before, even complete crap could do a job, as long as it’s virtually free. The trouble comes when dishonest salesmen supply poor quality samples and charge a high price.

And those salesmen can be found in any walk of life.
 
I thought I would read the part of the article posted above, and was extremely vexed to read this quote:

There appears to be nobody in the supply chain fighting your (I presume they mean farmers) corner to ensure the quality of the lime you buy meets the legal requirements laid down in The Fertiliser Regulations 1991.

(They should have said The Fertiliser Regulations Act 1991, but let’s skip over that and hope they’ve got the rest of their story straight)

I’m terribly disappointed they didn’t go on to say “except of course for Cab-over Pete from TFF who bores everyone regularly with his insistence that you all buy premium quality ground lime”

I mean, Christ, how many times do I have to say it??!! 🤣🤣
 

Hindsight

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
I thought I would read the part of the article posted above, and was extremely vexed to read this quote:

There appears to be nobody in the supply chain fighting your (I presume they mean farmers) corner to ensure the quality of the lime you buy meets the legal requirements laid down in The Fertiliser Regulations 1991.

(They should have said The Fertiliser Regulations Act 1991, but let’s skip over that and hope they’ve got the rest of their story straight)

I’m terribly disappointed they didn’t go on to say “except of course for Cab-over Pete from TFF who bores everyone regularly with his insistence that you all buy premium quality ground lime”

I mean, Christ, how many times do I have to say it??!! 🤣🤣
Draw breath and get ready to continue in 2022😀
 

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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