Published by Farmers Guide, August 2008

RAC Contractors' Multidrive 6185 and New Leader fertiliser spreader offers major savings to growers making the most of GPS-controlled variable-rate application of up to three products. (Photo supplied by RAC Contractors).

Versatile spreader will save farmers thousands

LEICESTERSHIRE-based RAC Contractors Ltd has high hopes for the new self-propelled fertiliser spreader it has just put into service. The company's Richard Chandler feels that the benefits of the machine, which is currently the only one of its type in the country, are so compelling that he will be able to keep it running for at least 10 months of the year.

Richard, who runs the business with wife Julie and eldest son James, has been an agricultural contractor for 28 years, and fertiliser spreading has always been an important part of the firm's offering, but the new spreader - a New Leader L3030G4 multiple-product spreader mounted on a 185hp Multidrive 6185 chassis - takes the operation to a whole new level.

"What we can offer is the ability to spread both Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) and Muriate of potash (MOP) in a single pass, using field mapping and GPS-controlled variable rate application to apply exactly the right amount of product to the right parts of the field at the right time," Mr Chandler told Farmers Guide. "If required, the spreader has a third hopper that can be used to apply micronutrients, or even slug pellets, as well."

The New Leader spreader is certainly a flexible bit of kit. It's two main hoppers (the smaller of which can be removed in about two hours) hold 7,000kg of fertiliser in a 60:40 split, while the smaller third hopper holds up to 350kg.

All the hoppers feed into a pair of hydraulically driven spinner disks at the rear of the machine, with the two larger hoppers utilising conveyors to get the product to the discs.

The spreading pattern is changed by moving the disks back or forward to change where the product falls onto them, and the left-hand disk can be slowed for working at headlands.

Interestingly, the mechanics involved in getting the fertilisers to the discs means that each hopper produces a slightly different spread profile. Far from being a drawback, however, this is a major benefit.

"Different fertilisers have different spread characteristics, so we can actually use the difference between the two hoppers to counteract this and produce an even spread pattern in the field," Richard said. "Applying MOP and TSP together, we can already achieve a co-efficient of variation of 10% or less spreading at up to 30m."

The new spreader takes precision farming to a whole new level and the firm has already been able to demonstrate the savings that are possible by making the most of soil sampling and variable-rate applications.

"One of the first jobs we did was on a 400ha farm in Nottinghamshire where we were spreading TSP," Richard said. "By only putting the product where it was needed, the farm manager estimated he had saved £12,500 compared to using a flat rate application across the whole farm.

"If you factor in the price rises we have seen in recent months, the savings would now be worth nearly £16,900."

Richard and James first saw the spreader in an Ag Leader brochure four years ago, but it wasn't until they had an enquiry last autumn for a large acreage of variable-rate spreading that they we looked into it further - resulting in an order being placed with Kelland's Agricultural Ltd, of Birdlip, Gloucestershire, which now builds the Multidrive and also imports New Leader machinery from the United States.

As well as bringing the spreader in from North America - a four-compartment chaser trailer for filling the spreader is also on its way - the Chandler family has chosen to adopt the nomadic lifestyle of many American contractors.

"To make the most out of our investment, we've also bought a six-berth motorhome and Julie, James and I plan to travel around the country, spreading as we go," Richard said. "My other son Tom will be looking after the farm.

"We've thought it through carefully and using the motorhome will not only save money on bed & breakfast, it should give us at least an extra three hours of working time each day."

Efficiency is the name of the game and Richard doesn't want to be criss-crossing the country to get to jobs. He'd rather plan the work so that it takes a structured route with as few wasted miles as possible.

"Working with TSP and MOP, which we plan to concentrate on, I feel it's more important that applications are carried out at about the same time each year - the actual month you spread in is less important."

And the service won't just be offered to the largest farms. Richard has signed up units with as little as 200 acres, although admittedly they have been part of groups that band together for soil sampling and purchase.

"We hope to work closely with the soil sampling companies as we can help make the most of the results they produce for farmers," he said.

RAC Contractors is charging the same rate/acre to all its customers and is working on the basis that diesel is supplied by the farm so that the rate doesn't fluctuate. The company can also arrange supply of fertiliser if required.