Environment

When Harvest Ends, Planning Begins

Posted: 12/29/2010

Compact, self-propelled sprayers center on simplicity, which results in lower operating and maintenance costs and reduced fuel consumption.

(NAPSI) - When a combine claims the final row of a crop that is eventually loaded on a grain cart and hauled away, a casual observer might consider the farmer’s work done for the year. In reality, there really isn’t downtime on a farm. When tractors are parked and other machinery is idled for the year, they’re replaced by the sound of planning and it’s in full swing.

Just as a baseball team prepares for spring training, farmers are strategizing their game plans for spring planting, including an evaluation of budgets, strengths, weaknesses and needs. This means scrutinizing everything from seed selection to equipment requirements.

To overcome issues related to productivity, efficiency and cost control, farmers Mike and Sue Beukema decided to add a self-propelled sprayer to their equipment roster but they didn’t make their decision without first doing research.

“We had a preconceived notion about what we were going to buy but we decided to shop around,” says Mrs. Beukema. She and her husband visited farm shows to evaluate value, performance and service after the sale before settling on a SpraCoupe 7660, an AGCO brand. “We’re glad we did our homework or we would have missed finding this machine that we’re truly happy with.”

Arnie Sinclair, national accounts manager for AGCO Application Equipment, says more and more farmers are looking at self-propelled sprayers as a cost-per-acre advantage for their businesses.

“Self-propelled sprayers are becoming an affordable and practical solution for large-acre farmers looking to better manage when and how nutrients and protectants are applied to their fields,” explains Sinclair.

The following checklist can help farmers make sure they select a machine that meets their needs:

• The number of acres that will be covered per application, per year

• How the sprayer will be used—burn down, pre-emergence, early pre-emergence, or crop application—and whether it applies liquid fertilizer

• The type of crops that will be sprayed

• Fuel consumption

• Sprayer weight

• Plentiful power with practical and understandable technology for ease of operation

• Maneuverability

• Affordability

• Return on investment and resale value.

Sinclair says talking to equipment specialists and visiting www.spracoupe.com can also help in the decision-making process.

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