Big A Floater Deep Bands Fertilizer

Big A Floater Deep Bands Fertilizer FERTILIZER APPLICATION Fertilizer Application (58f) 19-4-24 A Minnesota custom applicator used a Big A floater tractor last fall to deep band fertilizer with little residue loss or visible soil disturbance. The deep band applicator was custom-built to fit the floater. "Equipment manufacturers told us a unit like this couldn't be built, but it worked even better than we expected," says Chuck Wilmes, sales manager for the Dill Cornpany, of Janesville. "We built it primarily so we could use our floater in the fall during the off-season." The 42-ft. deep bander was built with an Ag Systems anhydrous toolbar that bolts directly to the floater frame. It has 20 out-lets on 24-in. centers and is equipped with wavy coulters and standard knives as well as foam markers. It applies 200 to 650 lbs. of N, P, and K or P and K at speeds of 4 to 7 mph and depths of 4 to 6 in. The company equipped the rig with an 8-ton Tyler airflow box that's turned backwards to re-duce the distance that the fertilizer is pushed. The floater is powered by a 250 hp Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine. "We used it for the first time last fall on about 3,600 acres of corn and soybean ground and charged $4.50 per acre," says Wilmes. "We think it has a lot of potential because there isn't much deep band equipment available, and there's nothing we know of like this high-flotation rig. Concentrating the fertilizer in a band instead of spreading it over the_ soil surface results in more efficient use of fertilizer. Several area farmers plan to conduct side-by-side yield checks this fall to determine the benefits of the new system." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Chuck Wilmes, Dill Co., Box C, Janesville, Minn. 56048 (ph 507 234-5193).

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