AgFirst Engineering

CLEVER TEAM ON HAND NATIONWIDE

AGFIRST ENGINEERING SPECIALISES

in design and construction of dairy effluent systems.

The company is renowned for its highlevel design knowledge, experience in the industry and capability to deliver the highest quality solutions.

AgFirst Engineering has system designers, engineering work shops and installation/service crews located in Te Awamutu, Te Puke, Gisborne and Hastings. AgFirst Engineering staff work predominantly in the greater Waikato, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu regions. It is also involved in projects nationwide by client demand. Davieth Verheij leads the Waikato Engineering team and is head of Dairy Effluent solutions nationally for AgFirst. Davieth is supported by two of the AgFirst Engineering workshops located on Bond Road, Te Awamutu and King Street, Te Puke. From Te Awamutu, effluent irrigation equipment is manufactured in house along with importation of key products such as irrigators, pumps, stirrers, hoses, and fittings.

A key product developed by Davieth and the AgFirst team is the Weta low-rate travelling rain-gun irrigator. The Weta can achieve low application depths at low speeds which provides major operational advantages.

The Weta irrigator is self-propelled via a highly efficient turbine-driven hydraulic winch system. The turbine drives a hydraulic pump and winch motor. This drive system requires a lot less energy than a conventional gearbox solution often found on low rate irrigators. The Weta has speed control via a speed selection dial (in meters per hour) and turbine by-pass valve.

Given the efficiency of the hydraulic winch system, most of the flow can be directed to the rain gun itself thus reducing flow and pressure loss through the turbine and providing more flow and pressure to the gun itself. This in turn increases wetted width of the irrigator, reduces application rate/depth and required travel speed.

The Weta’s low application at low speeds is a major advantage over other travelling irrigators.