GEOSPREAD boosts application accuracy with urea for one Aberdeenshire farmer, who says spreading has never been so good.
Hamish Watson has been making the most of spreader technology across the 1,000 acres of combinable crops he grows at Balring, Mintlaw in Aberdeenshire. And picking up the mantle from his previous 10-year old spreader is a Kubota DSX-W with GEOSPREAD supplied by HRN Tractors, and equipped with automatic section control and auto start/stop capability.
“GEOSPREAD is probably the best way to manage the application rate and spread pattern,” explained Hamish. “The accuracy is superb.”
He says that the farm only applies urea through the spreader, with crops getting their nitrogen requirements through poultry manure.
“It’s a system that works very well for us – and the less corrosive nature of urea compared to nitrogen, means we can easily get 10 years from our spreader,” said Hamish.
The low density of urea has led to Mr Watson making full use of available hopper extensions, to maximise the spreader’s volume, and boost carrying capacity.
“I’m old school with my approach, and can cover 60 acres with every fill, applying 50 units at 15kph,” he says. “And with all but 50 acres of ground in a ring fence, I can spread and refill easily without extra support.”
He says the spreader’s isobus capability makes the DSX-W a plug-and-play solution on his tractor, with the supplied shaker box and spreading charts app delivering convenience on a grand scale.
“I use the shaker box and spreading charts app along with tray testing, to make sure we get the most out of our urea,” he said.
“The accuracy has been brilliant at 24m, and having tested the spreader with high lift vanes, it gave us the confidence to spread on 36m tramlines this season.”
“I’m expecting that to bring even more efficiency gains, without compromising on the spread pattern,” he says. “The Rotaflow principle inside the spreader is really kind on fertiliser, so this doesn’t smash the product.”
“We’ve never had any poor applications using GEOSPREAD technology – these spreaders have always delivered a fantastic pattern and no striping.”
