Held at Bodrhyddan Hall, North Wales, the inaugural Muck Management event gave visitors the opportunity to see the latest muck and slurry spreading machinery, alongside suppliers of handling and storage infrastructure.
Richard Western adds compact DL spreader range
Designed for smaller farms, the new DL6 and DL8 models provide heaped capacities of 7.5m³ and 9.7m³ respectively.
Operating with the same features and experience from its larger D range, the two new models allow smaller farms and users with traditional, narrow-access farmyards to carry out their own spreading and access sites previously only accessible with flail barrel machines.
Fitted with twin vertical beaters and an optional slurry door, the machines are offered with a concise specification list that includes greedy boards, electric bed control and a choice of tyre sizes. For servicing, the rear bed sprockets use a two-piece bolted assembly which Richard Western says allows the sprocket to be removed in sections and reversed when the primary drive lugs become worn.
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Power requirements start at 60hp for the DL60 and 80hp for the DL80, with the machines weighing just over 3.5 tonnes empty.
Bauer shows new tanker models
The Bauer LUPUS Line Plus is designed for high-output slurry applications, combining a 20,000-litre (4,900-gallon) polyurethane tank with a 6,000-litre/minute progressive cavity pump capable of filling the tanker in a claimed three to four minutes.
Unlike conventional vacuum tankers, the pumped system eliminates slurry aeration. Built on a heavy-duty galvanised chassis and fitted with 860/60 R32 tyres, the tanker features a Bauer-developed pendulum axle, four-wheel steering with gyroscopic control and dual-circuit air brakes.
An eight-inch front loading arm allows both high- and low-level filling and can also be used for pump-out duties, while the machine is prepared for an inlet chopper. Rear linkage accommodates dribble bars, trailing shoes or cultivators. The demonstrated example was equipped with a 24m Vogelsang SwingMax 3 dribble bar, switchable to 18m, with side-arm shut-off.
IsoBus control, proportional joystick operation, automatic rate control and optional NIR-based variable-rate application are also available.
Strautmann returns to the spreader market
Since splitting from original importer Opico and establishing a dedicated UK import operation, Strautmann has returned to the muck spreader market with a full range, from a single-axle eight-tonne rear-beater machine to the full-specification 22-tonne VS2005 shown at the event.
Targeting users applying manures using precision application techniques, the walking-beam axles with rear steering operate with six load cells supporting the bed and spreading assembly. The machine works with the rear hood closed, forcing the shredded material onto the twin spreading discs.
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Controlled through a variable-rate IsoBus controller, the machine can work with a range of application maps for different nutrient rates, with spread widths of 12-18m depending on tramline layout. The application rate is controlled by bed speed in conjunction with adjustments to the deflector above the rear discs.
The displayed version was fitted with a full specification including rear steering and front axle lift, dynamic weighing, LED work lighting, variable-rate control, configurable IsoBus integration and an automatic headland deflector. Realistic power requirements are claimed to be 180hp and above.
Storth previews its in-house developed pump
Building on farmer and contractor feedback from the existing pump systems it supplies, Storth has developed its own PTO-driven pumping system.
The ST/38HD Chopper Pump is rated for an input power of up to 300hp, generating a maximum output pressure of 16 bar and a flow rate of 350m³/hour.
The eight-blade, 350mm-diameter impeller operates at up to 2,750rpm and features an oil-cooling jacket. The pump offers a primed suction depth of 4.6m, with a 150mm inlet feeding a 125mm outlet.
The pump assembly and drive gearbox have been designed with an air gap between the two castings, which Storth says removes any contamination risk from a failed pump bearing seal pressurising slurry into the gearbox housing. It also provides a visual indicator of seal and bearing condition when working with abrasive, sand-laden slurry mixes
