A new state-of-the-art Terra-Gator makes it easier for growers and custom applicators to comply with stringent state and national manure application laws.

The computer-operated Nutrient Management System (NMS) was introduced this summer by Ag-Chem, a division of AGCO. When attached to a Terra-Gator 3104 or 9105, the system can apply 25,000 gal./hr. at variable rates from 8 to 12 mph.

The NMS includes a Falcon computer controller, a GPS guidance and Kongskilde injector toolbar, says Darrell Steiner, Ag-Chem's industrial sales manager.

Alan McTaggert, owner of Thumb Farm Service, Bad Axe, MI, and one of the first NMS buyers, thinks the $350,000 machine will keep him competitive in Michigan's environmentally sensitive “Big Thumb,” an area of recent 1,000-head-plus dairy growth. The NMS unit first went to work there in August on new wheat stubble.

McTaggert's crew first completes 2.5-acre grid samples and determines the nutrient load levels of the customer's field, and his yield goals. With this information the crew creates a manure application map using the Soilteq Geographical Information System (SGIS). Then, three 8,000-gal. semis transport liquid manure from the confinement systems to the field where the Terra-Gator 9105 NMS, with its 4,500-gal. tank and 18½-ft. toolbar, injects about 200,000 gal./day, as programmed for the field. Final step is creation of an as-applied map for record keeping and required documentation to government agencies.

McTaggert sees the NMS as a means to keep pace with a local switch away from commercial fertilizer. “Our customer base continues to increase, but our phosphate sales aren't growing accordingly because of the amount of manure being applied. We're seeing a lot of interest from farmers who don't have livestock, but like the idea of applying manure to help build organic matter,” he explains.

He expects to inject manure on about 10,000 acres this year and projects better return on investment with the NMS than he's getting from custom-applied commercial fertilizer. The service is being priced at 1.2 cents/gal. “There are still some unknowns because no one has a lot of experience with the new applicator. But with the way the regulations are coming down, this is the way of the future for manure application,” says McTaggart.

For more information, contact Ag-Chem Industrial Division, 13625 Geyser Path, Apple Valley, MN 55124, 952/891-4567, www.agchem.com, e:mail: dsteiner@agchem.com or visit www.freeproductinfo.net/fin.

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