Tillage farmer and contractor Gareth Culligan is based in Castlebellingham, Co Louth. Contract fertiliser and lime spreading accounts for 80% of Gareth’s business, covering Louth, Meath and surrounding areas.
He spreads roughly 2,000t a year, a large quantity of which is on behalf of a local merchant, meaning Gareth is employed by the merchant to spread for a particular customer.
Gareth runs a Bredal K85, which he recently purchased having previously owned an older model K85. His main reason for upgrading was the need for a spreader with weight cells.
Gareth spreads over 2,000t of fertiliser annually.
The spreader’s discs are PTO-driven, driving the V-belt combination located underneath the discs. This belt combination is how the headland management feature operates, slowing down the disc accordingly while spreading on the headland. The floor is hydraulically driven, directly proportional to the tractor’s speed.
Gareth noted his fondness for returning to Bredal as his previous spreader did exactly what was asked from it, giving little to no bother. Daily maintenance includes greasing rollers and shafts. The spreader is fitted with 650/65 R42 tyres.
Since buying the new spreader, he has fitted cameras above the spreader’s discs to monitor operation from the cab.
The 10t-capacity spreader is capable of spreading fertiliser up to 30m, which he achieves using a six-vane kit and four-vane kit for all lime spreading.
Gareth runs two tractors, a Fendt 724 and a Fendt Xylon 524. The 724 is the main spreading tractor as it is set up with GPS and auto steer.
Fendt 724 and K85 Bredal.
Occasionally the 145hp four-cylinder Xylon is pulled out of the shed and steps up to the position of spreader tractor. His sheds also see home to a Claas lexion combine, Cross chaser bin, Amazone trailed sprayer and a Horsch drill which he uses for direct drilling the majority of his crops.
Gareth spreads on contract over 80% of the time for merchants, where he collects the bulk fertiliser from the merchant’s yard, travels to the customer and spreads the required amount. He spreads on grassland, cereals and potato crops mainly.
Work starts mid-February generally, and then he is kept busy throughout the whole summer. Spreading a range of fertiliser types means regular adjusting of the spreader to suit application rates, which is easily done.
Different size fertiliser granules and spreading widths require different drop locations on the discs, etc. Gareth also spreads chicken manure in pellet form using the spreader for certain customers.
Gareth's 2016 K85 Bredal spreader.
All spreading is carried out using GPS and auto steer on his Fendt 724. From the Bredal control box, the following variables are set: kg/ha, spread width, weight per litre and flow factor.
Record keeping
Gareth explained how all fertiliser spread is accounted for in his records. He carries a tablet on board the tractor.
Having made a fertiliser record sheet, each job is filled in on this sheet on the go.
Gareth records all jobs and their details on a spreadsheet while on the go.
This helps him keep track of invoice numbers, acres spread, tonnage spread, product type, application rate and spreading width, etc.
This means once the job is done a copy of the job details can be forwarded to the merchant/ farmer.
Gareth noted: “Setting up this spreadsheet has made invoicing/record keeping much more convenient, making it easier to check back on records from months ago to see what may have been applied for a customer in a particular field”.
Tillage farmer and contractor Gareth Culligan is based in Castlebellingham, Co Louth. Contract fertiliser and lime spreading accounts for 80% of Gareth’s business, covering Louth, Meath and surrounding areas.
He spreads roughly 2,000t a year, a large quantity of which is on behalf of a local merchant, meaning Gareth is employed by the merchant to spread for a particular customer.
Gareth runs a Bredal K85, which he recently purchased having previously owned an older model K85. His main reason for upgrading was the need for a spreader with weight cells.
Gareth spreads over 2,000t of fertiliser annually.
The spreader’s discs are PTO-driven, driving the V-belt combination located underneath the discs. This belt combination is how the headland management feature operates, slowing down the disc accordingly while spreading on the headland. The floor is hydraulically driven, directly proportional to the tractor’s speed.
Gareth noted his fondness for returning to Bredal as his previous spreader did exactly what was asked from it, giving little to no bother. Daily maintenance includes greasing rollers and shafts. The spreader is fitted with 650/65 R42 tyres.
Since buying the new spreader, he has fitted cameras above the spreader’s discs to monitor operation from the cab.
The 10t-capacity spreader is capable of spreading fertiliser up to 30m, which he achieves using a six-vane kit and four-vane kit for all lime spreading.
Gareth runs two tractors, a Fendt 724 and a Fendt Xylon 524. The 724 is the main spreading tractor as it is set up with GPS and auto steer.
Fendt 724 and K85 Bredal.
Occasionally the 145hp four-cylinder Xylon is pulled out of the shed and steps up to the position of spreader tractor. His sheds also see home to a Claas lexion combine, Cross chaser bin, Amazone trailed sprayer and a Horsch drill which he uses for direct drilling the majority of his crops.
Gareth spreads on contract over 80% of the time for merchants, where he collects the bulk fertiliser from the merchant’s yard, travels to the customer and spreads the required amount. He spreads on grassland, cereals and potato crops mainly.
Work starts mid-February generally, and then he is kept busy throughout the whole summer. Spreading a range of fertiliser types means regular adjusting of the spreader to suit application rates, which is easily done.
Different size fertiliser granules and spreading widths require different drop locations on the discs, etc. Gareth also spreads chicken manure in pellet form using the spreader for certain customers.
Gareth's 2016 K85 Bredal spreader.
All spreading is carried out using GPS and auto steer on his Fendt 724. From the Bredal control box, the following variables are set: kg/ha, spread width, weight per litre and flow factor.
Record keeping
Gareth explained how all fertiliser spread is accounted for in his records. He carries a tablet on board the tractor.
Having made a fertiliser record sheet, each job is filled in on this sheet on the go.
Gareth records all jobs and their details on a spreadsheet while on the go.
This helps him keep track of invoice numbers, acres spread, tonnage spread, product type, application rate and spreading width, etc.
This means once the job is done a copy of the job details can be forwarded to the merchant/ farmer.
Gareth noted: “Setting up this spreadsheet has made invoicing/record keeping much more convenient, making it easier to check back on records from months ago to see what may have been applied for a customer in a particular field”.
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