With three Vredo self-propelled slurry applicators operating a combined 3,600 hours per year, A & R Cramphorn Ltd operator Craig Barnes explains why the business has invested in the flagship machines and what the benefits are to making the most of natural fertiliser.
Sitting alongside Mr Barnes in the cab of the Vredo 7138 it is immediately obvious that it is not an ordinary operator environment. No less than six screens dominate the right of the cabin, whilst Mr Barnes sits comfortably in the Grammer Maximo air suspended seat.
Demand for slurry application has grown
“I’ve been working with Rob Cramphorn and the family for 19 years. Technology has moved quickly, and we have been able to keep up as demand for slurry application has grown. We cover a radius of 60 or so miles from our base near Melton Mowbray, but we sometimes travel 100 miles to do a job,” he said.
The business offers a combination of forage harvesting and manure application, choosing to specialise and work with the AD plants and larger farms located in the east.
“We have 12-15 employees plus seasonal workers, 10 lorries with d-tec tankers, four Connor tractor tankers, each pulled by a JCB Fastrac, and three of these Vredo machines,” he explains.
Dribble bar and self-propelled machine combo.
36m booms used in a variety of ways
The Vogelsang 36 metre SwingMax booms, attached by a four-point linkage to the rear, feature section control and are linked to the Vredo’s control terminals. The applicators on the booms can be shut off in 1.5 metre sections to a minimum of 12 metres. The whole system is connected to John Deere’s HarvestLab system and SF3 GPS to control the flow and nutrient value of the slurry and digestate.
“Slurry is analysed onboard which enables me to not only apply a designated volume per acre, but also program how much N, P or K is applied. This means we can provide precision application maps for our customers, and with the Vogelsang booms I can use the section control to apply the correct nutrients to each part of the field. It is the closest method to applying liquid fertiliser in the same way as a self-propelled sprayer,” he said.
The six-wheeled Vredo can apply slurry in tramlines of 24, 30, 32 and 36 metres. It has a capacity of 32 cubic metres and is capable of applying 30 cubic metres per hectare at a speed of 5.2km/h.
The best boom for a self-propelled vehicle
“We started off with tractors and tankers, but for tramline work nothing beats a self-propelled machine. I can put over 1,200 cubic metres through the machine in a 12-hour shift, depending on lorry drivers and the availability of slurry to feed it. The most I have done in a shift was 1800 cubic metres,” he said.
Vogelsang booms are all about precision.
The Vogelsang SwingMax booms automatically fold to the tramline width and can be lifted to follow the contours of undulating land. Mr Barnes can also shut off the pipes immediately behind the Vredo to keep the tramlines dry.
“The Vogelsang booms are all about precision. Being able to make small adjustments like shutting off the pipes over the tramlines and lifting or folding the outer pipes to adjust for hills or bumps in fields, just makes the application more precise in almost all conditions,” he said.
Each job starts by plotting field boundaries with the GPS. An inner boundary is set which tells the section control when to shut off. “When I approach the headland where the boundary has been set, the booms begin to shut down and the terminal in the cab has traffic light colour display to show the areas that have been covered and what is left,” he said.
He suggests that each machine is applying 120,000 cubic metres per year and that the business has developed its fleet of lorries to keep them fed in an efficient way.
Vogelsang pump helps with slurry spreading
“The telescopic loading arm has five positions, which can also be fine-tuned manually with the joystick, enabling easy and quick filling in almost any situation. It loads 28 tonnes in under two minutes, using a Vogelsang 12,000 cube pump which works in conjunction with a turbo filler pump on the arm itself. We have also fitted a camera to the loading arm so we can see over hedges or other obstacles,” he said.
Small details have been considered in the application of the slurry too. Each of the self-propelled machines is fitted with IF tyres for greater load-carrying capacity and run with onboard CTIS to adjust the pressure for ground conditions.
“I tend to run at around 2 bar, but the machines can run at lower pressures. However, I find the machine has greater stability when carrying a liquid if the tyres are a little harder. It does not feel good if the liquid is sloshing around because the tyres are not keeping the machine stable,” he said.
SwingMax is easy to maintain
He also suggests that backing up more is much easier than with a tractor and trailer and that the self-propelled machine is carrying its own weight helps with overall precision and stability.
The SwingMax booms are easy to maintain, especially considering the efficiencies both offer. The Vogelsang booms have a cassette-like system enabling each of the distributors to be removed and cleaned.
“In the winter we flush the booms out with water. The distributors are opened up and covered in oil. We can get two years out of a set of plates and knives, but that is mostly because we are using digestate. If there was sand in the slurry, we would expect more wear and tear, but with digestate and pig slurry we don’t get that,” he said.
The attention to detail for each part of the system, from the type of slurry and digestate being chosen, to the onboard nutrient analysis and the section control of the booms, all comes together and works at an alarming pace.
“It’s the old saying of, do one thing well. We have honed the business model to provide an efficient natural fertiliser application service for larger farms that want to make best use of it. AD plants are on the increase, and we provide the service to see the product created used as effectively as possible,” he concluded.