While agricultural sprayers of all types, sizes and ages are battling with all sorts of pests in crops from weeds to fungi, there is no compulsory sprayer or sprayer operator testing in Ireland. This is set to change in the near future.

Operators will soon have to undergo training. Sprayers will be subject to an NCT/DOE-type test to ensure that they are up to specification and safe to use.

It is always in the owner’s best interests to ensure that sprayers are working properly, applying relevant and expensive chemicals as efficiently as possible.

From both an environmental and financial perspective, the last thing you want to do is apply more than is required just because your sprayer is not working properly.

With future sprayer testing in mind, two cousins from Waterford set up Suir Sprayers. John and Eddy Lynch operate from the rear of Massey Ferguson dealership Suir Garages Ltd, near Waterford city.

Suir Garages Ltd is owned by Eddie Lynch, father of Eddy. Eddy credits his father with the foresight of encouraging the cousins to establish themselves in the sprayer and sprayer-testing business.

Despite their connection with the agricultural business, both come from different work backgrounds. John was as a civil engineer before joining Eddy, a farmer, in the Suir Sprayers business. Eddy has a degree in business and worked for IT firm Datapac before setting up the sprayer business.

Both have invested heavily in training and equipment for the role of sprayer testing. They have been involved with the Teagasc spraying course, helping to train other sprayer operators. Teagasc provided the training on Irish-testing requirements, while Eddy and John provided the practical element of the testing training.

Before that, the cousins were trained as sprayer testers in Britain with the National Sprayer Testing Service (NSTS) and in the Netherlands with the Dutch testing organisation, SKL. They have made a significant investment, both in tester training and equipment for testing.

Suir Sprayers has invested close to €10,000 in test equipment from the Dutch firm’s training, excluding course fees and equipment from the British test. Having completed both courses, John and Eddy are well prepared for what lies ahead.

In recent weeks, the Irish Farmers Journal decided to see what is likely to be involved in the new sprayer test. We invited Suir Sprayers to test a battle-weary 12m, 800-litre mounted Hardi sprayer. This sprayer is typical of what can be found on many Irish farms.

The initial requirement before the test was for the sprayer to be washed out and filled with clean water.

Eddy and John first kitted themselves out with safety gear, and then checked the safety elements of the sprayer. Here, we run through the larger elements of the sprayer test picture by picture.

Eddy and John carry a large stock of sprayer spares and can fix most ailments as they come across them. Alternatively, they can carry out as much of the test as is possible, allowing the owner to repair it before re-inspection/test.

The most up-to-date information that Eddy and John have in relation to testing is that the Department of Agriculture is to create an online register for sprayers and all sprayers (except those to be retired, presumably) will have to be tested by 2016. Sprayers will then be tested every five years up to 2020 and every three years after 2020.

The test itself takes two to three hours and the test price depends on boom size. In our case, with a 12m boom, the test price was €160, plus VAT. Additional repairs and parts, if carried out by Suir Sprayers, are extra to this cost

Suir Sprayers

Phone: 051-821500

Email: info@suirsprayers.ie

Web: www.suirsprayers.ie

Address: Passage Cross, Dunmore Road, Co Waterford.