Boosting Crop Production by Spreading Effluent
Tararua district farmer Jamie Harris milks around 400 cows using a split calving system on his farm, Crossdale Dairies.
Spreading organic liquid fertiliser combines the benefits of reducing the use of inorganic fertilisers and timeliness with regards to crop needs and between efficiency and quick savings. Delivering organic waste to the soil will naturally speed up the growth of your crops thanks to its high nutrients content.
Located near Brest, France, Pichon SA is a company with more than 45 years experience in the design and manufacture of a comprehensive range of agricultural machinery and handling equipment. The company controls its complete manufacturing process in order to guarantee the quality on which its reputation is based.
After initially developing equipment for soil preparation, in 1976 the company turned to the manufacture of slurry tankers and muck spreaders. Pichon specialises in custom builds and every tanker is designed to strictly meet the user’s specifications.
Pichon slurry tankers range from 2,600 to 30,000-litres, in single axle, tandem or triaxle configurations. The unique TCI (Tanker with Chassis Integrated) range sees the tank welded directly with the chassis, offering the lowest centre of gravity on the market. Various thicknesses of tanker, from 5mm to 8mm according to the overall diameters, are brought together with end caps, before being welded inside and out, using a submerged arc process.
Recessed tankers enable users to fit axles with larger diameter wheels, with the total volume of the tanker preserved by adjusting the length or diameter to adjust the loss of volume created by the recess.
Spreading options include a fully galvanized dribble bar, mounted on a hydraulic rear linkage, with working widths from 9m to 24m and the option of single or twin vertical macerators to deal with thick slurry, straw or other solid particles. Using a drip-hose boom enables slurry to be place on the soil surface which increases nitrogen’s efficiency, while also helping to reduce odour.
Injectors are available in two versions, with the EL8 Trailing Shoe available in 7.5m and 8.8m widths, specially designed for grassland applications. The shoes part the grass and create a shallow furrow into which the slurry is injected. The EL61 option with Vibroflex tines works the soil to a depth of up to 20cm and offers 3m to 6m working widths.
Mixing the contents of a slurry store properly makes it easier to fill tankers and spread the liquid evenly and accurately. Pichon B-Mix slurry mixers use a spiral-shaped mixing screw that carries two sharp blades at its base and works in conjunction with an adjustable counter blade fitted to the frame to chop and mix material. Adjustment is via a single hydraulic ram, while all models from the B-Mix 65 are fitted with centralised greasing as standard.
The Pichon Muck Master range of spreaders provides the ability to spread semi-solid or solid manures with capacities ranging from 9 to 23 cubic metres.
Like the tankers, the machines are a fully galvanized heavy-duty construction, using a 6mm thick chassis with recessed heavy-duty square beam axles for improved stability. Oversized diameter beaters enable users to spread all kind of products with accurate spread pattern and high-volume outputs.
