Spray Marker Uses Weighted Paper Strips

Spray marker uses weighted paper strips SPRAYING Accessories 11-1-35 Unable to buy a spray marker with key features he wanted, Montana wheat rancher Glen Laubach, of Great Falls, designed and built his own. One thing led to another, including a new factory to manufacture and market the popular marker born in his farm workshop. "We sold over 600 units in Montana last year and are now 'tooling up' to market throughout the U.S. and Canada," Laubach told FARM SHOW two weeks ago. His new-style Lob-A-Marker is loaded with a roll of specially-made paper resembling a roll of toilet paper but using heavier grade paper. Each roll, made up at the factory, consists of 60 perforated strips 30 in. long and 3 in. wide. Each strip has a rectangular metal piece (2¢ in. long, 5/8 in. wide and made of 14 ga. metal) taped to one end to weigh it down so it "stays put" and isn't easily blown away. And, unlike foam, the paper strips leave a highly visible mark that lasts for several days ù even in freezing weather, such as when applying fertilizer," Laubach points out. The paper is biodegradable and disappears in a few days. The small metal weights are left laying in the field. Won't they cause problems, such as puncturing implement tires or possibly being ingested by beef or dairy animals? "With more than 1,000 units now in the field, we've yet to hear of a single such problem," answers Laubach. "Because each paper strip is 30 in. long and highly visible, you don't need many strips to mark an acre. A 60-strip roll, for example, will mark about 100 acres, using a 40 to 50 ft. sprayer, which figures out to only one small metal weight per 1.66 acres." The new easy-to-maintain marker runs off a 12 volt battery system. The operator simply pushes a button to trigger the drop of each weighted marker strip. Rolls of paper, available in white or yellow, come 12 per case. A case retails for $60. Cost of the dispenser unit is $195. If you go around the field, you need only one ù two (one on each end) if you go back and forth. Dispensers are easily switched from one piece of equipment, such as sprayer to fertilizer spreader. Cost of the specially-made and weighted paper ranges from 4 to 10 cents per acre, depending on boom width, type of terrain, amount of surface residue, and so forth. For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Laubach Mfg., 104 Second St. South, Great Falls, Mont. 59405 (ph 406 727-1177).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.