Sprayers Cover More Ground

Mar 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Sherry Collins

Great Plains

Great Plains Manufacturing expects that its TSF-1290 trailer sprayer's 90-ft. front-fold boom will help growers cover acres quickly. The 1,230-gal. sprayer has an 80- or 90-ft. boom that can convert to 60 ft. The 80- to 120-in. adjustable axle allows tires to be spaced to match any row width yet maintain stability.

“Great Plains utilizes a spring-cushioned hydraulic elevator to raise and lower our spray boom,” says Greg Brenneman, marketing manager for Great Plains. “This type of lift mechanism minimizes the distance between the sprayer tires and the boom. This feature greatly improves boom stability, boom life and accuracy of product to the target.”

Suggested list prices of TSF sprayers range from $27,888 to $43,995. Contact Great Plains Mfg. Inc., Dept. FIN, 1525 E. North St., Salina, KS 67401, 785/823-3276, visit www.greatplainsmfg.com or www.freeproductinfo.net/fin, or circle 109.

Fast Distributing

Fast Distributing's new model 9500 series sprayer comes with booms up to 132 ft. and tanks as large as 2,400 gal. Its new patent-pending tank design has a low center of gravity, long sloping troughed sump and easy access fill-well. The trailer sprayer is short-coupled — only 176 in. from drawbar to axle — and features spray heights from 20 to 72 in.

“The demand for larger booms has been strong this year,” says Mark Aslesen, sales and marketing manager for Fast.

Aslesen says the refinement of automatic boom height controllers also has added to the call for longer booms. “Farmers see the economics of these longer booms,” he says. “Less passes mean less compaction, less crop damage, more acres covered per hour and increased fuel economy.”

A Fast model 9500 with a 1,800-gal. tank and 90-ft. boom retails for about $35,000. Contact Fast Distributing, Dept. FIN, 54859 County Rd. 44, Mt. Lake, MN 56159, 800/772-9279, visit www.fastdist.com or www.freeproductinfo.net/fin, or circle 110.

Hiniker

Hiniker covers ground with a combination of either its 1,000- or 1,300-gal. trailer sprayer with the Hiniker 8605 automatic rate controller. The rear-fold boom sprayers feature an over-the-top gooseneck-style hitch, allowing the entire 80- or 90-ft. full hydraulic fold boom to be mid-mounted.

“With the boom mounted in front of the tank on the trailer rather than at the rear, it rides more smoothly,” says Mark Miller, marketing coordinator for Hiniker.

The automatic rate controller is designed to control chemical application rates using inputs from a speed sensor and flow meter. It compares those inputs to a target rate and then uses a servo valve to adjust those rates on the fly in the field, Miller explains.

Suggested retail prices of the sprayers range from $35,120 to $36,300. The rate controller retails for $2,605. Contact Hiniker Co., Dept. FIN, Box 3407, Mankato, MN 56001, 507/625-6621, visit www.hiniker.com or www.freeproductinfo.net/fin, or circle 111.

John Deere

John Deere's new 4930 sprayer features a 325-hp John Deere PowerTech Plus engine, 1,200-gal. spray tank and 120-ft. boom. The 4930 sprayer also is able to put out dry product with a dry spreader attachment and integrates Ag Management Solutions (AMS) precision guidance components for auto guidance, prescription variable-rate applications, and field mapping and documentation. These integrated AMS features carry over to Deere's existing line of sprayers.

“Whether it's the individual farmer or the commercial sprayer, they can gain more efficiencies in passes through the field and in input savings,” says Craig Weynand, sprayer product marketing manager, John Deere Des Moines Works. “With GreenStar GPS and using the AutoTrac guidance system to actually steer your sprayer, you can run a 120-ft. boom and get overlap down to a minimum. Plus the operator is able to go around the clock, so visibility isn't as big an issue.”

The GreenStar 2 Rate Controller with Swath Control Pro is available on John Deere 4710, 4720, 4920 and 4930 self-propelled sprayers and for pull-type sprayers. John Deere says that using AutoTrac and Swath Control Pro reduces input costs at least 5%.

Suggested retail prices of the 4930 sprayers range from $270,203 to $291,415, depending on boom length. Contact John Deere, Dept. FIN, 11145 Thompson Ave., Lenexa, KS 66219, 866/993-3373, visit www.johndeereag.com or www.freeproductinfo.net/fin, or circle 112.

Case IH

Case IH introduced the Patriot SPX3320 sprayer late last summer. The 1,000-gal. model is the smaller sibling of the SPX4420, Case IH's 1,200-gal. model. The company says the Patriot's quiet cab and operator comfort allow farmers to cover more acres because they can remain productive longer in a comfortable environment.

“We offer an option to conventional spray technology, AIM Command, which is pulse width modulation technology — pressure control that is independent of rate and ground speed,” says Mark Burns product specialist for Patriot sprayers. “It helps farmers keep the optimum chemical droplet size for efficient use of chemical and aids in drift reduction.”

Suggested list prices are $186,636 for the SPX3320 and $215,155 for the SPX4420. Contact Case IH, Dept. FIN, 700 State St., Racine, WI 53404, 262/636-6011, visit www.caseih.com or www.freeproductinfo.net/fin, or circle 113.

A sprayer for every farm

These sprayers offer an array of features that should make it easy for farmers to find a model that best fits their needs. Although pull-type sprayers still tend to be more economical, self-propelled sprayers are growing in popularity. If farmers continue to increase their number of corn acres, they may rethink their sprayer choices.

“The market for self-propelled sprayers is growing as average farm size increases,” says Redball's Claussen. “Although trailer sprayers are the most economical for mid-sized and even larger farmers, farm size is driving a gradual shift toward self-propelled sprayers. We think trailer sprayer sales will be up slightly in 2007, but we think this market will flatten out after that as self-propelled sales increase.”