Profile: EC Farm Contractors

from Anglia Farmer January 2020

Property

Bespoke build for sprayer specialist

Crop spraying contractor Edward Crocker has just taken delivery of a new sprayer. Judith Tooth reports.

Edward Crocker sits in the cab of his new sprayer as fi nal checks are made on its wheel angle settings and auto-steering sensors. There are no mechanics or electronics engineers in sight: the adjustments are being made in real time by a software specialist in Australia via Edward’s phone.

The new Lite-Trac LT 350 self-propelled sprayer replaces Edward’s previous model, the SS2400. But it’s by no means an off-theshelf machine: it’s a bespoke build, with no two machines exactly the same, and, while its computer system originates down under, the design and wengineering has taken place just 20 miles from home, at Coates, near Peterborough. Having it made to his own specifi cation has taken a bit more time, but the result is exactly what he wants for his contract spraying business.

“This latest model is the result of two years of development and testing,” says LiteTrac’s design engineer, Jason Robinson. “New emissions regulations forced a redesign from scratch, which we based on feedback from older machines – including Edward’s – while maintaining the original concept and dimensions. In this way upgrades of engines, gear boxes and so on, as well as electronics, are possible because the models are physically compatible.”

“It’s a heavy duty contractor’s machine, with a stronger chassis and a Volvo engine with increased horsepower,” says Edward. “At 320hp, it’s quite high for a sprayer, but being a two-pack unit, you can take the spray pack off and put on a fertiliser spreader or a slurry tanker, or even use it as a fl atbed trailer. And everything above the wheels tips up.

“Even with a bigger engine, fuel effi ciency has been improved by 30 per cent, which is worth about £5000 a year to me.”

Flexible design

For Lite-Trac, building fl exibility into the design means reaching sectors beyond agriculture, too.

“It’s really a multipurpose tool carrier,” says director, Paul McAvoy. “It can be used on construction sites, in railway applications and in the sugar cane industry, for example.”

For Edward, though, spraying is his >>

Edward Crocker with his new Lite-Trac LT 350 self-propelled sprayer.

>> business, and covering around 14,000ha a year means investing in equipment that’s better than his farmer customers would buy themselves, he says. While he works for businesses with anything from 50ha to 1250ha, many of his customers are 200ha family farms, for whom investment in the level of technology he can offer would be hard to justify.

“While smaller farms would need to make a lot of savings in chemicals to get their money back, they can benefit from that technology and the savings it creates by contracting in my services,” he says. “It’s a good selling point for me.”

You might think it’s a big machine, but it travels very lightly

Farmscan Ag worked with Lite-Trac to develop the electronics and software to steer, map, monitor and control the LT 350’s spraying.

Working both on the fens around Peterborough and Cambridge and on much hillier land around Uppingham and Kettering, it’s important that the sprayer perform wells regardless of the terrain.

“The auto boom levelling feature is really useful on undulating ground. It means the spray nozzles are always at the optimum height above the crop and minimises drift.

“I’ve also been able to improve accuracy by opting to control chemical application in 24 sections along the 36m boom, rather than the 12 sections I had before, to prevent wastage and overlap. And that’s on top of the accuracy to within a few centimetres achieved through GPS autosteer.”

Australian-based Farmscan Ag – which has recently opened a subsidiary in the UK – worked with Lite-Trac to develop the electronics and software to steer, map, monitor and control the LT 350’s spraying. The two companies work well together, says Paul, both having a very hands-on approach in working with clients to customise their machines.

At 50km/hr, the Lite-Trac is quick on the road, which is a particularly valuable feature when covering a wide geographical area as Edward is. That’s down to mechanical rather than hydrostatic drive, he says: as well as coping better in wetter conditions and on steeper slopes, it can go faster between jobs.

A centre mounted engine and even weight distribution across

Edward Crocker recently upgraded from a 9000 litre to a purpose-built 13,000 litre Phillip Watkins tanker to match the new bigger sprayer capacity.

the axles has been part of the Lite-Trac design since its inception. Now it also has wider, larger diameter tyres, giving more tyre contact with the ground and so reducing soil damage.

“You might think it’s a big machine, but it travels very lightly.”

Agronomist

Several of Edward’s customers share the same agronomist, who often works directly with him, letting him know the workload and arranging delivery of chemicals. Other farmers prefer to work more closely with Edward alongside their agronomist. Either way, it’s a working relationship built on trust, dependency and adaptability.

While he manages most of the work on his own, at peak times Edward runs a water tanker, pulled by a JCB Fastrac, to speed up operations. He recently upgraded from a 9000 litre to a purpose-built 13,000 litre Phillip Watkins tanker to match the new bigger sprayer capacity, and means he can fill the sprayer tank twice from the water tank, equating to about 120ha per tanker load at low water rates.

The water tanker has undergone an 18 point inspection for farm trailers. Set up by a grieving family following a fatal accident involving a farm trailer in Cambridgeshire in 2014, the Tilly Pass is like an MOT for trailers, he says.

“It’s not a legal requirement, but I think it will become law. We’re on the road a lot, including some major routes, and probably travel more on the road than most getting between jobs. Having the trailer Tilly tested is for our own peace of mind as well as for the safety of others. It shows the right attitude.”

The serious impact of the wet autumn on farmers’ cropping plans has had a knock-on effect on contractors like Edward, whose workload was down 70 per cent on an average season. A sharp reduction in oilseed rape in favour of crops like beans among his customers has also affected his work pattern.

When he does get back on the fields, though, it will be with a new generation sprayer capable of delivering maximum accuracy with minimum compaction, and nearly 25 years of experience behind the wheel.