Abbey Machinery has taken note of the furore surrounding the exclusion of dribble bars from Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS 3) and produced the Agri Pro trailing shoe applicator, which, it claims, can better cope with hilly ground.
Described as a 7.7m trailing shoe low emission slurry spreading (LESS) applicator, the Agri Pro trailing shoe is TAMS grant eligible and maintains direct soil engagement in a new streamlined design.
Coping with slopes
The failure to recognise the inability of existing trailing shoe applicators to deal with less than flat fields was one of the main criticisms of the latest round of TAMS grants.
Abbey has taken this opportunity in the market for an updated LESS applicator that provides precise trailing shoe application and soil engagement on hilly or uneven ground.
This new applicator is said to be designed to maintain downward force on the individual shoes while remaining as lightweight as possible, aiding stability on slopes.
Abbey’s own engineering
The 7.7m Agri Pro trailing shoe is a custom Abbey-engineered design which provides soil
engagement with an enhanced contour following.
It comes equipped with a 30-hole distributor which feeds the 40mm hoses leading along the boom.
The vertical trailing shoe is said to leave the slurry in discrete lines on the soil below the crop canopy.
The applicator includes a self-levelling boom that adjusts to the ground contours.
The company’s head of engineering, Dermot Burke noted: “Abbey are experts in engineering slurry management solutions; the new Agri Pro trailing shoe is a natural extension of our Total Cow range.”
Although the Agri Pro trailing shoe will pair happily with Abbey’s wide range of slurry tankers, it can be purchased as a standalone unit for retrofitting to other makes.
The new Agri Pro trailing shoe will be on exhibit at the Abbey Machinery stand at the upcoming National Ploughing Championships and the Tullamore Show later this month.