Mocha wagtail slurry spreader

[ollie989898]

I think the Mocha is a no-brainer if only because it empties a tank faster which surely pays for itself in time and diesel saved. I can see how the better spread pattern and width would save a lot of grief as well, as less travelling.

 

[daijd]

Yes , prone to high wind , but big droplets mean most off the ammonia is contained within the droplet due to low % surface area , unlike high pressure splash plate which makes a fine mist of slurry . Also splash plate drives the grass over making a canopy that the slurry can't penetrate , where as with the moscha the slurry drops nearly vertically meaning most slurry will get straight to the soil and be protected by the still vertical canopy of grass in most swards . Thanks to the coverage over the whole of the field and not just the 20% which dribble bars achieve or injectors the actual concentration of slurry is only 1/5th of that of the latter and thus will absorb much quicker . If you calculate spot rate ammonia emmisions the trailing shoe will win but keep measuring for a week and the difference equals out , then when you add in the much smaller emissions from the tractor and the moscha wins , after all the reason we don't want ammonia emissions is due to the small particles just like with diesel .
The biggest difference in ammonia emissions from slurry spreading is the conditions when spreading , this has more of an effect than even the method of application , given the cost of injectors etc the job increasingly ends up with contractors meaning timing and conditions will be down to when the contractors can get there , the moscha on the other hand is so cheap it means farmers can carry on spreading with their small tractors as and when they want to suit conditions with a tractor sub 5 tons

Great bit of info from all thanks. Priced some trailing shoes as they seem to do the job but it’s a lot of money to justify. I understand the saving in N.
With relatively low investment required for the moscha and apparent saving in N does sound tempting. Just hope more proven results come in from it.

Based from experience. Would you say the wind has more of an effect on spread with splash plate than swivel?

I’d be interested to know what would you consider to be ‘good conditions’ for splash plate spreading?

 

[Chips]

Great bit of info from all thanks. Priced some trailing shoes as they seem to do the job but it’s a lot of money to justify. I understand the saving in N.
With relatively low investment required for the moscha and apparent saving in N does sound tempting. Just hope more proven results come in from it.

Based from experience. Would you say the wind has more of an effect on spread with splash plate than swivel?

I’d be interested to know what would you consider to be ‘good conditions’ for splash plate spreading?

The Moscha would be more prone to high wind than a downward spread splash plate .
Ideal conditions would be when the ground isn't water logged , or weather set to stay screaming hot for days on end , best timing would be a grey damp day in spring or when light rain is forecast not down pours . All the savings claimed in nitrogen with dribble bars etc is only on hot days in summer , in damper conditions the difference gets smaller and smaller

 

[Speedstar]

The Moscha would be more prone to high wind than a downward spread splash plate .
Ideal conditions would be when the ground isn't water logged , or weather set to stay screaming hot for days on end , best timing would be a grey damp day in spring or when light rain is forecast not down pours . All the savings claimed in nitrogen with dribble bars etc is only on hot days in summer , in damper conditions the difference gets smaller and smaller

Over thousands of acres of grass the saving are massive with a trailing shoe , we have no customers that say just bring your splash plate & throw some slurry on, but every one to there own, we have farms that used to spread all there own slurry with tankers & now get it put on with the umbilical cord & trailing shoe & there silage pits have never had as much grass in them & there fert bill is down a long way

 

[dazza b]

None of our customers want the injector anymore we find in dry conditions it was leaving an open slot which then encouraged weeds to grow the same can be said for dribble bar and trailing shoe on fibrous slurry in hot weather the lines of slurry are still there when you mow next time so the grass underneath is dead giving chickweed and such the chance to thrive. So be it as you will but we had customers using the splash plate this summer immediately after picking up rather than the dribblebar or injector

 

[Chips]

I think they have sold a lot of these Moscha spreaders to people who already had dribble bars and zero grazed, because with the slurry in very concentrated lines if it didn't have much rain the lines would crust and then get pushed up by the grass to be collected with the grass as they would be cutting every 3-4 weeks .

 

[mtx.jag]

None of our customers want the injector anymore we find in dry conditions it was leaving an open slot which then encouraged weeds to grow the same can be said for dribble bar and trailing shoe on fibrous slurry in hot weather the lines of slurry are still there when you mow next time so the grass underneath is dead giving chickweed and such the chance to thrive. So be it as you will but we had customers using the splash plate this summer immediately after picking up rather than the dribblebar or injector

It’s all swings and roundabouts,have customers that will only have Injector and dribble bar,never want to see a splash plate,but then our rain fall is fairly high

 

[Speedstar]

I think they have sold a lot of these Moscha spreaders to people who already had dribble bars and zero grazed, because with the slurry in very concentrated lines if it didn't have much rain the lines would crust and then get pushed up by the grass to be collected with the grass as they would be cutting every 3-4 weeks .

Not if the trailing shoe puts it in the ground by as little as 10mm, this summer with it being so dry has has seen in our area the trailing shoe was the best way to put slurry on as splash plated slurry & dribble bar the slurry dried out and can back in in the next crop of silage were the trailing shoe put it under the grass cover & the little moisture there was it soon grow way fast & the slurry was gone, this is what we found but our new trailing shoe is a bit different to others as it has hyd pressure to the arms on it not springs

 

[ollie989898]

None of our customers want the injector anymore we find in dry conditions it was leaving an open slot which then encouraged weeds to grow the same can be said for dribble bar and trailing shoe on fibrous slurry in hot weather the lines of slurry are still there when you mow next time so the grass underneath is dead giving chickweed and such the chance to thrive. So be it as you will but we had customers using the splash plate this summer immediately after picking up rather than the dribblebar or injector

Injectors can kill grass leys, as you say it damages the roots.

 

[mtx.jag]

Injectors can kill grass leys, as you say it damages the roots.

Because it was used in dry conditions?

 

[ollie989898]

Because it was used in dry conditions?

To be fair I don't know, I think doing it in a dry spell or too often in a year does not help matters. You need to be careful. I am in no doubt of as to the benefits of injection but you do need to be very careful.

 

[Chips]

Not if the trailing shoe puts it in the ground by as little as 10mm, this summer with it being so dry has has seen in our area the trailing shoe was the best way to put slurry on as splash plated slurry & dribble bar the slurry dried out and can back in in the next crop of silage were the trailing shoe put it under the grass cover & the little moisture there was it soon grow way fast & the slurry was gone, this is what we found but our new trailing shoe is a bit different to others as it has hyd pressure to the arms on it not springs

Yes but due to large droplets falling vertically the moscha achieves the same result of getting it under the canopy to the soil but at 1/5 th the concentration scattered over the whole area not in a solid line thus far less likey to crust.
If you have a thick heavy canopy a trailing shoe would be better but most zero grazers want the slurry on straight away before you get a heavy canopy

 

[mtx.jag]

To be fair I don't know, I think doing it in a dry spell or too often in a year does not help matters. You need to be careful. I am in no doubt of as to the benefits of injection but you do need to be very careful.

View attachment 740030

Been using Injector since early 2000’s here,never seen anything like that

 

[ollie989898]

Been using Injector since early 2000’s here,never seen anything like that

I know, I have rarely seen as much damage, that was an IRG ley on heavy dirt farmed as part of an arable rotation, you can see the dead and dying plants all amongst it there. If you are not careful with an injector you can do serious harm.

 

[mtx.jag]

We were still injecting up to two weeks ago

I know, I have rarely seen as much damage, that was an IRG ley on heavy dirt farmed as part of an arable rotation, you can see the dead and dying plants all amongst it there. If you are not careful with an injector you can do serious harm.

 

[Speedstar]

I know, I have rarely seen as much damage, that was an IRG ley on heavy dirt farmed as part of an arable rotation, you can see the dead and dying plants all amongst it there. If you are not careful with an injector you can do serious harm.

How deep was it put in the ground ? and at what spacing

 

[matttargett4]

The difference is the clay content of the soil and the conditions when you inject.

I would say the picture the Ollie has posted shows minor damage compared to what we have often seen with a veenhuis shallow disc injector, have also seen the same thing from a joskin trailing shoe, in wet conditions you score the soil even only 10mm deep and when it dries and contracts that's where it cracks and exposes the roots.

Maybe don't use it when it's wet, some years that means not at all.

I've also seen the lines of dead grass behind a dribble bar, the fibre simply stops the grass photosynthesising and it dies.

I'm increasingly convinced that we need to separate our slurry to reduce solids to a minimum when spreading on grass, a splash plate is better because it spreads the solids evenly over the whole area, however this does sometimes produce a Matt and seal the ground.

 

[bez]

The difference is the clay content of the soil and the conditions when you inject.

I would say the picture the Ollie has posted shows minor damage compared to what we have often seen with a veenhuis shallow disc injector, have also seen the same thing from a joskin trailing shoe, in wet conditions you score the soil even only 10mm deep and when it dries and contracts that's where it cracks and exposes the roots.

Maybe don't use it when it's wet, some years that means not at all.

I've also seen the lines of dead grass behind a dribble bar, the fibre simply stops the grass photosynthesising and it dies.

I'm increasingly convinced that we need to separate our slurry to reduce solids to a minimum when spreading on grass, a splash plate is better because it spreads the solids evenly over the whole area, however this does sometimes produce a Matt and seal the ground.

I totally agree with you on the separation idea. The added benefit of separating is you also increase the liquid storage.

 

[Tullyvernon]

this is not the case in the trails we have done over the last few year the extra in grass yield soon pays for the cost of the trailing shoe

I'd be interested to see the figures, looking into DB or TS atm, struggling to find any actual figures. I need a £ saving per 1,000 gallon or similar to justify the cost to myself

 

[YELROM]

How are you getting on with this now @Chips