GOING FOR GOLD Farmers everywhere depend on the advanced technology of Rauch fertiliser spreaders. Peter Mercer speaks to Managing Director Norbert Rauch about how the company’s investment and innovation is helping to feed the world.
AT
this November’s Agritechnica show in Hannover the world-leading specialist in fertiliser technology Rauch won a gold medal for its revolutionary AXMAT self-adjusting fertiliser spreader. The AXMAT is the first fertiliser spreader in the world to feature fully automatic adjustment of the spreading pattern for the required working width. An online monitoring system
detects changes in the physical properties of the fertiliser granules and adjusts for these in metering and spreading; the farmer no longer needs to set the spreading pattern by manual calibration or by practical tests. Managing Director Norbert Rauch, the third generation leader of the family business, explains the significance of this technology breakthrough for the world’s farmers.
”Fertilisers are very expensive – the value of fertiliser spread per year in Germany alone is about €2.7 bn – so controlling the exact quantity required for optimum crop yield and ensuring it is spread in the most effective way is very important for farmers. ”The first step in optimising spreader performance is to control the flow rate of the fertiliser on to the spreader discs.