AgriLand paid a visit to Ballacolla, Co. Laois, where Gary Roe (pictured above) was working a newly-acquired, 3,500-gallon Conor tanker.
John W Anderson spoke to Gary to find out why he opted to invest in such a machine and why he chose a 7m trailing shoe on the rear.
He explained: “The main reason for the purchase of the Conor tank and the shoe was that…we see down the line that the trailing shoe or dribble-bar will be compulsory.
“We find the results from the [trailing] shoe very good compared to the splash-plate – especially on grass. There’s less tainting of the grass and it comes back quicker.
“We’re hoping that the utilisation of the slurry is a lot better too – on the ground.”
He went on to say that the big tank is a help on their tillage ground, saying: “Most of our tillage ground is far away from the yard, so we’ve to draw slurry. We can do that now a lot better; a lot quicker.
“With diesel being expensive now, [with] the bigger tank we’re transporting more on the road and bigger loads to the fields. In the back-end of the year, when we’re spreading in front of the ploughs, the bigger tank is able to keep in front of them.”
He continued: “When we were looking at tanks we went down to the Conor factory; we were impressed by what they were doing. They’re well able to listen to ideas; if you have an opinion on something they can change it.
“As well as that, they’re not too far away really and there’s always someone on the end of the phone – even on the workshop floor.”
Trailing shoe versus splash-plate
He says that the bigger pump and two fill points mean that you can fill in the yard quickly.
It’s important to save time here, says Gary, because “the [trailing] shoe is a little bit slower in the field than a splash-plate”.
With a tank that size, you’re trying to get the most out as quick as you can.
He also talked about how the trailing shoe has performed thus far – and how the macerator has dealt with “foreign objects”.
Finally, he explained why he opted for 710mm-wide tyres and, last but not least, if much soul-searching was involved in deciding on a colour for the tanker.
He joked: “One of the big decisions was what colour we’d get the tank but, sometimes, it’s easy enough – especially when everything else in your yard is green and yellow!”
Don’t forget, of course, to watch the video.