Seamus O’Mahony is spreading fertiliser with an Amazone ZA-V 3200 Profis Control for his father, Tony O’Mahony, an agricultural contractor from Bandon, Co. Cork.
Seamus said: “We purchased the machine in the spring of last year from our local dealer, Derry O’Donovan Farm Machinery in Timoleague.
“At the moment we are doing a lot of spring fertiliser work, mainly serving dairy farmers from spring grazing to silage and preparing for maize and whole crop.”
Available in hopper capacities from 1400 up to 4200l, the ZA-V Profis Control mounted fertiliser spreader comes with a choice of hydraulic or electric border limiters, online weighing and calibration, fill sensors, parking wheels, and a roll-over cover, along with many other optional extras.
Seamus continued: “In west Cork, the land is variable, you have small fields and big fields, and you have a lot of fields with corners, so you need to be able to operate in an agile fashion in terms of being able to shut on and off.”
As standard the ZA-V Control is equipped with the AMASPREAD+ in-cab terminal. AMASPREAD+ allows the operator to switch up to three part-width sections on each disc, to the left or right-hand side.
“You have the option to change working widths, so if you have good fertiliser, good land, and a calm day, you can go out to wide widths.
“So, you can save fuel, which is very expensive at the current time, and at the same time, ensure you are getting the spreading accurate,” Seamus said.
“We find the weighing scales on the machine quite good. I like to write down what I put on each field, and with the weighing scales if I have three tonnes on it at the start, and I have four hectares to do at 250kg/ha, then I know I am going to have two tonnes at the end of the field,” he explained.
Amazone ZA-V
Amazone spreaders offer online weighing technology to ensure that the application rate is effectively monitored and controlled.
The 200HZ weighing system, with two weigh cells, monitors the rate of flow compared to the set-point every 25kg, and the shutter slide is automatically adjusted if the values no longer match.
Optional tilt sensors for precise weight monitoring on uneven terrain and low-level sensors that display a warning when the pre-set minimum fill level is reached, also aid in accurately managing fertiliser distribution.
The Amazone ZA-V is available with a choice of the Hydraulic Limiter V, or the electrically operated Limiter V+ border spreading systems; both of which can be adjusted down into the fertiliser flow for a more precise side, border or water spread pattern.
“The controls are very simple to use, press a button and you can shut off left or right. Or, you can cut down or increase the amount, keep it away from hedges, keep it away from waterways and ensure all the fertiliser is put where it’s needed to grow the grass,” Seamus said.
At the press of a button, change over from normal spreading to side, border or watercourse spreading can be done on the move from the tractor seat.
As standard, all ZA-V machines also come with a light set, roll-over hopper cover and parking wheels.
“In terms of maintenance, or putting it away, the wheels are a good safety feature,” Seamus added.
The swivel rolling wheels makes coupling and uncoupling easy, as well as manoeuvring the spreader around the yard. The wheels can be quickly folded up or down by simply pressing your foot against the spring-loaded wheel.
Seamus continued: “When my father sets out to buy a machine, if he has made the decision to buy that machine, it can’t have been a bad one.
“In terms of recommending it to a friend, I’d have absolutely no reservation whatsoever in recommending the ZA-V.”
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