Fertiliser spreader, drill and power harrow maker Sulky Burel is now operating in its own right in the UK alongside fellow French manufacturer Gregoire Besson. Emily Padfield explains what the company will be offering.

Fertiliser spreader, drill and power harrow manufacturer Sulky Burel announced its intention to make an amicable split from long-time importer Reco and go down the direct distribution route at the back end of last year.

See also: Sulky drops Reco to distribute farm kit direct

The 100% family-owned company has three production facilities in France and is the market leader in France for both fertiliser spreaders and seed drills. The company had an annual turnover of €42m (£32m) last year, with 30% of that coming from export.

The UK is its third largest market, and one that the company is keen to expand. The aim is to double the export turnover by 2020 and be in the top three when it comes to the share of the spreader market.

“In addition, there’s a subsidiary specialising in min-till and direct-drilling technology near Nante under the Sky Agriculture name, which also has a 150ha farm that farmers can visit and try different seeding techniques,” adds marketing manager Stephane Billerot.

The company now holds an extensive amount of stock at its UK headquarters in Bourne, Lincolnshire, which it operates in collaboration with Gregoire Besson.

“We share a team with Gregoire Besson and the logistics work well,” explains Mr Billerot. “Gregoire Besson shares the same family values as us, and it is logical for salesman and technicians to work with both companies as neither conflicts with the other in terms of product.”

Sulky Burel’s range includes mounted and trailed fertiliser spreaders, soil preparation implements like power harrows and disc harrows and both mechanical and air seed drills.

Fertiliser spreaders

On show at Lamma were a number of new products, which included the X40+ spreader range. Available in 18m to 44m working widths with hopper capacities of 1,900, 2,500, 2,600 and 3,000-litres, the X40+ has maximum flow rate is 520kg/min.

The larger X50+ offers working widths of 24m to 50m with hopper volumes of 2400-, 3200- and 4000-litres. Payload is 4t and again the flow rate goes up to 520kg/min.

Sulky Burel collaborates with the IRTSEA institute in France, which has a specific and independent spreader testing bench to model spreading patterns.

“This 3D method allows us to understand the ballistics of fertiliser granules and the spreading shape curve, allowing us to design a machine that manages the curve during spreading,” he adds.

900 types of fertiliser

More than 900 different types of fertiliser have been tested by the company with settings available via an online portal called Fertitest, which has around 1,000 hits a day during the spreading season.

The Econov variable rate control system is accessed via the new Isobus Sulky Quartz 800 display, which allows operators to see both machine and guidance on the same screen, with 12 automatic boom sections clearly visible (if opted for).

There is also a dual-control feature giving independent variable rate control between left and right sides, for field areas like headlands. This can be operated through the John Deere Green Star 2630 display, too.  

Meanwhile, the large capacity XT range of trailed fertiliser spreaders can handle up to 90ha/hour of granular fertiliser (when worked out at a healthy 300kg/ha at 18km/hour).

Drills

Sulky’s Xeos Pro range of combination drills come in 3m, 3.5m and 4m rigid toolbar versions, while there is also a folding toolbar model, which expands the working width offering to 4m, 4.5m, 5m and 6m models.

All Xeos drills use the ADS universal metering system, capable of handling most crops from oilseed rape to peas, and can work with less than 1kg right up to 450kg/ha.

The Cultidisc notched disc system exerts up to 80kg pressure and is 415mm in diameter. It works at a 4deg angle, resulting in less seed-bed disturbance and reducing the power requirement.

The Xeos can be fitted up front with the Cultiline HR power harrow or the Cultiline XR compact disc harrow. With a 3m power harrow combination, working speeds of 8-10kph are possible, resulting in workrates of around 2.4ha/hour, whereas with the disc setup speeds of 12-14kph are plausible, upping the workrate to 3.43ha/hour.