How big a machine would you need for this...

[leemsutton]

This question was posted on FWI but I feel the best responce would come from here as you guys are more knowledgable than the fwi users!! It for a big farm called Caldecote Farms. Post your responces and I will forward them onto Robert the manager via e-mail. Cheers Lee

"if you've got a 2700 block of land with a 4 course rotation of Wheat, Oil seed rape, Barley, Beans if roughly the same areas ie 2700 / 4 = 675 acres of each crop.

Then say that you would spray everything 4 times through the year with chemicals and 4 times with liquid fertiliser.

Therefore a sprayer would have to cover 21,600 acres in total.

What sprayer would you need, what size, would you need a bowser etc etc"

Lee

[Woodbeef]

Hey Lee,

Now I'll be the first to admit,that I know absolutely didly-squat about your question,when it comes to hands on experience. Now I could get out some books and wax eloquently about what the book says you should do,but that would do neither of us any good,eh!!

I have  a very good friend at the sprayer division of a certain here to be unnanmed green and yellow paint schemed company,that I'm sure could answer your questions. Just let me know if you want his email addy?

[[e-mail]]

Spraying in Europe is different then it is in North America. But if I were to use North American equipment, I would likely go with 2 Ag Chem 1254 Ro-Gators. You could get away with one, but it's hard to find the ideal time to spray a lot of times. I'd put a parrellel swathing bar on them, because foam markers aren't the best.

Get an 800 - 1200 gallon tank, get a 90-120ft boom. Maybe air assist, maybe AI tips, but one or the other.

I don't know - like I said, this is for North America, and no one here fertilizes 4 times, especially for those crops, and no one sprays 4 times. Here its one pass for fertilizer, and one or two more for spray.

[kenjar]

For what you describe I probably would choose Agchem as well. They are the most popular here.
Over here we use mostly floaters for fertilizer.Wheat we sometimes go twice.For spraying you will see drawn, mounted or selfpropelled rigs.Many different makes.

Oh Lee maybe they should go with multiple units.  

Might I suggest a couple of drawn Case-Ih sprayers, hmmm attach them to a pair of Terracota F140's; yes you could call them Winners! ;D

[Red_Painter]

I have to agree with Jon Bos that we don't spray that much.  Delta or California cotton and specialty crops and fruit may be different. We spray once for winter wheat (Canada thistle and broadleaf weeds) and twice for barley (pre and post emerge for weeds) and one preplant for peas and plane spray for bugs once. Many years ago we used to apply topical nitrogen but it isn't used any more as far as I know. I don't think hardly anyone uses tram lines (tracks) in grain for spraying in the U S. which is a good system when ground is covered so often. There was a guy from England who was teaching European wheat growing techniques in Kentucky at one time. I don't know how it worked out. Maybe someone could tell more about what is sprayed for in Europe using chemicals. I've heard that wheat yields can be very high there.

[leemsutton]

GOD,

We spray for everything over here. Generally there are four passes over the crop.

1 - before drilling although this really is only for min tillage users.

2 - weed control

3 - Disease control

4 - Disease and pest control

I could not even begin to list the actual weeds, diseases and pests as there is simply thousands. UK farmers tend to apply chemical in the hope of maximum yields.

The average yield around here for wheat is about 3.5 tonnes per acre but we have one field that yields 4.8 tonnes annually. Wish the whole farm did that.

However there is always somebody that yields more than you. We have the potential to yield upt o 10 tonnes per acre with the right varieties etc - although i think that is a few years down the line.

As far as sprayers for robert, i dont think he'll go with a rogator as they are over £100,000. Most self propelled sprayers are about £70,000 new.

Woodbeef whats your friends address? and i sen dit to robert.

Lee

[[e-mail]]

Hey Red Painter

You were talking about someone from England wanting to get high yielding wheat in Kentucky. Here is a website that goes along the same lines - promoting intensive wheat management - www.milesnmore.com/farmsupply/opticrop.html - while your there, fish around the whole website - they've got some interesting things going on

Wheat is not managed too intensively around here. It's grown more to take pressure off the combine in the fall, and for something to do in the summer, then its grown for profit - especially here in Ontario, where the Wheat Board is cheap. There was a push for split application of N a few years back, but the second pass is always at this time, when the corn planters are rolling. We are now doing a lot of Folicur spraying in early - mid June, for Fusarium Head Blight. Now whether it pays off, that remains to be seen.