While chatting to Vogelsang UK for our practical test of the UniSpread trailing shoe on page 22, the firm mentioned that Cheshire contractor N D Harper is operating both shoe and dribble bar versions. So, we sat down with Harper’s contracting manager, Jamie Taylor, to get his opinion on where the two systems work best.
Cheshire-based N D Harper operates both a 10.5m UniSpread dribble bar on an umbilical system and a 10.5m trailing shoe version on a HiSpec 4000 (18m³) tanker, while its slightly older tanker counterpart hasa12m SwingUp shoe applicator. It’s fair to say the contracting and farming business has something of a penchant for Vogelsang applicators, so its contracting manager, Jamie Taylor, is well placed to speak about the merits of the various systems. The UniSpread dribble bar on the umbilical system replaced an older Spread Wise unit, which had done its time when the decision was taken to replace it with Vogelsang’s latest offering. The dribble bar is supplied with slurry from a Doda HD 35 pump, working through 5in and 4in hose directly from slurry lagoons and stores.
“We can hire in a nurse tank, but I feel that if we’re bringing the slurry that far in a tanker, we may as well bring it into the field, too,” says Jamie. “These tankers float well on the big tyres (750/60 R30.5), despite their size, and both tankers have a trailing shoe, so it’s just more efficient to do it that way.”
The dribble bar is now in its second season, and Jamie has been particularly impressed with the ECQ macerator. Most of the stock in the firm’s patch are fed with precision chop silage rather than bales, although there are a few forage wagons in the area as well. Jamie points out that most of the slurry will have been blown into a lagoon, and there is a chopper on the umbilical pump.
For more up-to-date farming news and reviews click here and subscribe now to profi for just £3.99 an issue.
