As governments introduce more policies on making farms ‘greener’, some farmers are switching to liquid fertilisers in a bid to further comply with regulations.
Fertiliser application is one key area government policies are targeting in a bid to reduce associated emissions and pollution.
For some farmers, foliar application is a more efficient option of applying fertiliser, while reducing emissions and saving on costs.
Technology on how to apply liquid fertiliser is advancing and is already making its presence felt on UK farms.
Based in New Zealand, Metalform has developed a range of liquid fertiliser spreaders, under the brand Tow and Fert, that dissolve the granular fertiliser prior to spreading.
Metalform has been working with fertiliser applications since the 1970s, building fertiliser buckets for helicopters and fixed-wing hopper boxes.
During the late 2000s, the company noticed there was a trend happening across New Zealand farms regarding fine particle fertiliser application.
At this time, there were some companies that had built their own trucks to either grind the granular fertiliser or apply it, but there was nothing commercially available.
Metalform recognised the science around the efficiency of fine particulates in comparison to large granules and decided to develop something that was available to all farmers to own and use.
Today the company employs 110 people at its manufacturing plant in Dannevirke, New Zealand, and has machines operating locally as well as in Australia, Ireland, UK, Chile, Uruguay and South Africa.
Tim Henman, international sales manager at Metalform, said: “The advantage is around the fertiliser efficiency. We haven’t reinvented any science, but rather developed a tool that dissolves urea in cold water quickly.
“Foliar application of nitrogen has a much higher NRE (nitrogen response efficiency) in comparison to granular. Customers are experiencing a reduction of the nitrogen use by up to 50% without compromising dry matter growth.
“Our machines hold insoluble fine particle products in suspension and apply them without any blockages or issues like a normal boom sprayer can experience. We also can mix multiple products at the same time to cut down on application passes. These include N, P, K, S, humates, molasses, seeds, selective herbicides and whatever micronutrient you may need.”
The team at Metalform say their technology is also a big advantage to help crop farmers save money on fertiliser. Tim added: “Yes, it absolutely can. It seems that the cropping industry plant cab operate within a 36-metre tramline for machinery.
“We are currently working on a bigger machine and a 36-metre spread swathe, but have some interesting challenges to achieve this with only a few nozzles.
“Already in Australia we have vegetable growers using the Tow and Fert machines to apply gypsum prior to planting. Additional for crops, we also supply a horticulture version for applying fertiliser and nutrients to the soil under the trees on the root zone. So far, we have them operating in macadamias, almonds, limes, avocado orchards and vineyards here in New Zealand,” he said.
Machine range
There are currently five machines in the Tow and Fert range stemming from the Multi 500 designed for use with an ATV. It has a 500-litre capacity that can dissolve 200kgs of urea.
The largest model in the range is the Multi 4000 designed to be towed by a tractor of a minimum of 120hp. It uses the tractor PTO at 1,000rpm for mixing, agitation, and hydraulics to run the specifically designed 3” trash pump found on all other Tow and Fert models for spraying.
With the patented agitation technology in the tank, farmers can simply empty one-tonne bags of fine particle fertiliser directly into the water without any pre-mixing or messy work. Combined with the optional crane, five tonnes of fertiliser can be loaded into the 4,000-litre capacity Tow and Fert Multi 4000 in just 15 minutes.
With up to a 24m spread, the Multi 4000 can cover one hectare in just three minutes at 12km/hr (8 mph) and 40 hectares per load.
European importer
Based in the Republic of Ireland, FuturAg has been the Tow and Fert importer and distributor for Europe since 2016 and is run by Leslie Dwyer, who reported that interest in the machines is increasing and a number of farmers across the region are having excellent results.
He said: “We offer full back-up in terms of formulating fertiliser plans so we work very closely with customers to make sure they get full benefit from the machine they have purchased.”
Rob Davies, a dairy farmer in Carmarthenshire, Wales, milks 250 cows on 350 acres and uses the Multi 2800 machine. His return on the investment was less than 18 months. He said: “All our land gets the foliar spray whether it is silage or grassland. We can cover 38 to 40 acres with one load. It does what it says on the tin. I’m basically using 40% less fertiliser and hope to improve that again.”
The saving on fertiliser costs over two seasons paid for the machine.
“It really is a no brainer as using less fertiliser is good for the land,” he said.
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