Spreading Fert 36m

[Henry B]

Changing my sprayer this year, I want to go to min 30m but really 36m. I am using a mixture of liquid fert, gran urea, AN, TSP and Mop. Is anyone managing to spread to 36m ok or is it just too far ?

 

[warksfarmer]

Changing my sprayer this year, I want to go to min 30m but really 36m. I am using a mixture of liquid fert, gran urea, AN, TSP and Mop. Is anyone managing to spread to 36m ok or is it just too far ?

With urea we struggled to get to 24m to be honest. @Clive spread some tsp/mop on potato land here which had to be done at 18m because the weather conditions would not allow 36m on that day but he did spread the rest at 36m over a considerable area. This was with a bredal but not sure if he had to change the discs.

To be honest though running through a couple of times at 18m early on does not show up by harvest!

 

[Clive]

I wouldn't want to apply solid N at 36m but as above we have done plenty of MOP / TSP at that width without issue and tray tested well

I've really noticed a few neighbours farms this year that have gone 36m and still use solid N - striping was quite clear and they wont have been using cheap product i'm sure

 

[Feldspar]

I have seen very noticeable striping over hundreds of acres at 36m this year. The cost of that effect is going to be very considerable I would estimate. Simply not worth it IMO.

 

[Brisel]

Solid N at 36m means branded UK product - Yara or Growhow only. I don't know how TSP & MOP is at 36m but I'm at 30m. MOP & Kieserite tray tested ok through our Amazone.

 

[bert]

I wouldn't want to apply solid N at 36m but as above we have done plenty of MOP / TSP at that width without issue and tray tested well

I've really noticed a few neighbours farms this year that have gone 36m and still use solid N - striping was quite clear and they wont have been using cheap product i'm sure

Why does MOP/TSP spread better? look similar granular size and weight?

 

[Henry B]

Why does MOP/TSP spread better? look similar granular size and weight?

Ti Bert are

Solid N at 36m means branded UK product - Yara or Growhow only. I don't know how TSP & MOP is at 36m but I'm at 30m. MOP & Kieserite tray tested ok through our Amazone.

Hi Brisel are you spreading An and Urea at 30m ?

 

[Clive]

Why does MOP/TSP spread better? look similar granular size and weight?

It doesn't break up so easy

 

[cotswoldcs]

If you are putting on TSP or MOP wouldn't you be doing that early on before the crop gets up? Couldn't you spread at 18m more accurately and make a pass between the tramlines using GPS? I can see why liquid is so much more appealing when you get over 24m but there's always a need for a spreader for the other stuff.

 

[Brisel]

Hi Brisel are you spreading An and Urea at 30m ?

Not urea, although Alzon is supposed to go to 32m. If I were to use urea I'd have to stop spreading in any breeze. AN is fine as long as it is a reasonable prill quality. I normally buy branded material. A couple of quid extra per tonne on a better product & no striping stacks up financially for me!

If you are putting on TSP or MOP wouldn't you be doing that early on before the crop gets up? Couldn't you spread at 18m more accurately and make a pass between the tramlines using GPS? I can see why liquid is so much more appealing when you get over 24m but there's always a need for a spreader for the other stuff.

Most of my P & K goes on as sewage, compost or variable rate Fibrophos all spread onto stubbles.

 

[Robigus]

Why does MOP/TSP spread better? look similar granular size and weight?

Because it is not so easy to see when it doesn't spread properly!

 

[mo!]

Pneumatic...?

 

[Brisel]

The only pneumatic spreader I have seen with 36m booms costs £150,000. There's going to have to be a lot of crappy cheap urea going through that to get your money back vs a twin disc machine at £14,000 spreading branded AN.

 

[Robigus]

Pneumatic...?

There is only one the trailer Kuhn - £110,000+ on the farm?
Seems a lot for a trailer and some pipes.

 

[Robigus]

I'm a big fan of pneumatics and am disillusioned by the failings of spinning discs, this is why we bit the bullet and bought a better sprayer for liquid fert.
MOP and/or MAP/DAP down the spout with the drill, N+S sprayed.
I really can not believe that there is not a market for an affordable pneumatic.

 

[Brisel]

There is only one the trailer Kuhn - £110,000+ on the farm?
Seems a lot for a trailer and some pipes.

We must have been typing at the same time...

They died out for some reason, probably when disc machines got better. A lot of frame & boom to corrode out plus I have yet to see one that has a decent break back or boom suspension like a sprayer has. I see the odd Wingjet about but not many Aeros. The Wingjet isn't immune to wind either as the spreader plates deflect the fert upwards.

 

[Funnywaytmekalivin]

Don't some spreaders have settings for big widths where they put it out at full rate apart from a narrow overlap zone in the middle? I suppose the narrower overlap zone would be a lot more sensitive to wind, driving etc than full overlap, but it does save having to chuck the stuff the full width.

 

[Robigus]

What is there in it that could cost £110,000.
Apparently the dealer only gets an 'introduction' fee not commission so the one I spoke to was not too enthusiastic about them.

 

[dazza b]

To much cheap urea about us struggling at 15m!!!

 

[Brisel]

View attachment 44640

What is there in it that could cost £110,000.
Apparently the dealer only gets an 'introduction' fee not commission so the one I spoke to was not too enthusiastic about them.

For that kind of money you could buy a top spec trailed sprayer just for liquid fert, then have enough money left over to buy a few tanks & it would still be years before you were worse off than buying that monster. Perhaps some of that price is the complicated GPS switch that primes up the outer sections so you don't get overdosing in the centre on startup & overlapping on the wings when stopping.

What is the price difference between cheapo urea and Nitram anyway?

Edit: Just read Fert Tracker thread. £285/t for AN vs £246/t for new season urea. Sounds implausible & not sure that it's comparing like for like but here goes: £285/t AN = 83p/kg N. £246/t urea = 53p/kg or 30 p/kg cheaper. Take off 10% for volatilisation losses. How many kg of N are you applying each year? Assuming 1000ha at 220 kg/ha N would save £59,400 per year. Hmm. Is that really always the price difference?????