Specialist fleet spreads its services far and wide in mind
Specialist fleet spreads its services far and wide in mind
Providing a specialist muck spreading service that
extends to a fleet of 12 spreaders and two teams, puts
Wilts contractor Simon Jackson in the big league when it
comes to dealing with muck. Geoff Ashcroft reports
MUCK spreading is a major element of Simon Jacksons specialist contracting business. So much so, that spreading for the Wilts contractor extends to being virtually a year-round operation tackling manure heaps, slurry lagoons and poultry litter.
"I can provide my customers with a muck spreading team at any time of year because of the focussed nature of our business," says Mr Jackson. "By opting to specialise, we can give our customers the best possible service in the tasks we do – essentially muck spreading, big square baling and direct drilling."
For his muck spreading operation, Mr Jackson has a fleet of 12 spreaders at his disposal. He aims to provide a fast, efficient spreading service for customers within a 40-mile radius of the firms base at Salisbury.
"Our busiest time for muck spreading runs from August through to April, where many mixed farming customers want muck applied to stubble immediately behind the combine. Then we move onto maize stubble in the autumn, and also plaster those fields being prepared for maize drilling in the spring."
Mr Jackson estimates his muck spreading workload to be about 150-200,000 tonnes of manure each year, with teams easily capable of dispatching 1000 tonnes/day. The key to good output, he reckons, is to match equipment to the jobs.
"We dont need to run massive equipment for spreading. Its more a question of how far we need to haul muck from the heap or slurry pit to the field, and then matching loading equipment to the number of spreaders required for the job. On very long hauls, our customers sometimes get involved pulling a spreader."
Mr Jackson operates a fleet of seven vertical beater spreaders for solids, which are a mix of West and Richard Western models, with five, 12t capacity West Dual spreaders used for slurries. A 9000 litre vacuum tanker is also part of the fleet.
"Our three biggest spreaders are 12 tonners, the rest are 10 tonners. Such equipment is plenty big enough when running around narrow lanes and also means we dont need big tractors to operate them.
"We also need to consider access to muck heaps or lagoons, which can often mean weaving through farmyards and around buildings. This rules out operating with excessively large equipment.
"Modest sized spreaders means our tractors are 6000 series John Deeres, which are compact yet powerful, so we can make use of them on other jobs when were not spreading."
Each spreading team operates with its own loading equipment. Most of the time, the Jackson operation relies on a JCB Farm Master loading shovel and a John Deere 6810 with a 740A front-end loader – both machines can be equipped with muck forks or buckets, depending on the material being handled. But for those deep lagoon tasks, he uses a 360 degree excavator with a high capacity bucket.
"The corrosive nature of the job means we aim to change spreaders at four years of age, though regular washing and preventative maintenance means on-farm breakdowns are kept to a minimum.
"Our biggest problem comes from foreign objects – every muck heap has them. And stones in a heap often means a replacement rear windscreen for a tractor is never far away."
The Jackson contracting operation has been muck spreading at HN Butler Farms 607ha (1500 acre) Whitewool Farm, Petersfield, Hants, for about the last 10 years, handling about 30,000 tonnes of manure each year.
"Our 350-head dairy herd and 330 sow pig unit produces so much muck, that I would have to put one man on spreading duties every day of the year," says Will Butler of HN Butler Farms. "And its not always possible to go spreading all year round, so using a contractor to spread our muck makes so much more sense."
The Jackson team descends on Whitewool Farm three times a year, for a period of about 7-8 days. "Its like a military operation," says Mr Butler. "The team moves in and the muck just disappears. We lend a hand where we can, but it is nice to rely on a professional team with good equipment.
"Theyre a reliable, happy outfit that always turns up within a day or so of when they originally planned to. And I can rely on them to get the job done properly." *