Europe’s 'highest spec' lime spreader clinches Machine of the Year
Niall Tiernan with the Spread Point Machine of the Year at the National Ploughing Championships at Ratheniska, Co Laois. Picture: Dan Linehan
A lime spreader claiming to be the “highest spec” in Europe, has been named the Machine of the Year at this year’s National Ploughing Championships.
But smashing the piggy bank at €131,000, SpreadPoint’s SX-A is unlikely to be a machine for the small suckler farmer.
Targeted at the contractor market and launched at this year’s National Ploughing Championships, with hydraulic tilt for uneven ground, LED working lights and hardened steel construction, this is no ordinary spreader, and is fitted with mod cons, gadgets and gizmos galore.
Possibly the most exciting include a pair of 6m hydraulic folding arms lined with wind-proof PVC skirts to prevent less lime from being lost, solving one of the most common issues with conventional spreading disc systems... the dust cloud that follows.
The complete auger – including its internal screw and outer tube – have been constructed from high-grade stainless steel designed to eliminate corrosion.
It’s also unique from a safety perspective, as the machine eliminates the need to use PTO shafts in spreading.
The firm SpreadPoint might be new to the market, but don’t be deceived; this brand has plenty of indigenous agri engineering pedigree behind it, having been founded by Richard and Noel Kane, a founding partner of the well-known Northern Irish marque Kane Trailers.
Niall Tiernan, the firm's export sales manager, explained the machine is also Variable Rate Compatible, meaning operatives can apply precisely the right amount in the right places.
“The spreader knows what part of the field it is in and is able to adjust its application rate according to the prescription map, which the user can upload. It offers contractors a USP, and has higher output because of its 12m spread pattern,” he said.
“It’s the most maneuverable tandem axle belt spreader with the shortest chassis on the market, and is fitted with a Center Tire Inflation system and VF tyres.”
Floatation tyres might have come in handy for many other showgoers this week, as they allow the tyre to be deflated, increasing the surface in contact with the ground and, therefore, the pressure the machines place on the soil.
It’s not a new concept to agriculture, and has major benefits from an environmental point of view, as it reduces soil compaction, fuel usage and risk of cutting up the soil surface.
But this year’s Machine of the Year and Innovation Arena Silver Medalist uniquely allows users to adjust the tyre pressure with just a touch of a button – all from within the cab via the ISOBUS controls.
Inventor Richard Kane said: "With spreaders, one of the biggest challenges is getting the correct tyre pressure for the job because it changes its weight in the field by 400% from full to empty as the field is spread.
"It means that you just cannot set the correct tyre pressure in the yard before you set off and expect it to be one size fits all for the whole job.
"When a spreader is empty, it might weigh for talk's sake, 5t, but full it might be 20t. So to get the tyre pressure set to the optimum, you have to adjust it continually as the job is carried out and have a working range of 400%. That's where the CTI system really comes in - it can be set to adjust the tyre pressure as the load is reducing in the machine."
Kane admits the machine is the culmination of his own "wish list" for the perfect spreader for his 1,000ac of cereals in Seaforde, the foothills of the Mourne Mountains in Co Down.
"There's a saying we use: if your washing's on the line and you see a cloud of lime, you really need to run to get it in on time!" he said.
"The idea is to reduce that plume of dust. It reduces the amount of lime that is wasted, but it also reduces the amount of phone calls; contractors don't want to be annoying people - they just want to get the job done.
"You can't afford have kit sitting still, so it also means they can spread even when it's windy."
