‘Tow and Fert’ technology breaking down fertilizer and costs

Interest in the Tow and Fert machines is growing worldwide as farmers want to save money on granular fertiliser. - Photos: Metalform — Interest in the Tow and Fert machines is growing worldwide as farmers want to save money on granular fertilizer. - Photos: Metalform

More crop and vegetable farmers are switching on to the idea of foliar fertilizer applications in a bid to become more efficient and save money.

Fertilizer applications are under huge pressure both from governments seeking to reduce usage and associated emissions, plus from escalating costs due to effects from wars.

However, as the world’s population increases more food will need to be grown to feed them. Ongoing research and technology development is helping produce a balance to satisfy both sides of the food versus fertilizer debate.

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Granular urea is loaded onto the Tow and Fert machine where it is dissolved in water before being applied to the fields.

Trying liquid fertilizers

Traditionally, granular fertilizer has been the go to product to grow crops but nowadays there is a push by farmers to try liquid fertilizer to increase efficiency and save costs.

New Zealand based company Metalform has developed a range of liquid fertilizer spreaders that dissolve the granular fertilizer helping farmers save money. Metalform has been working with fertilizer applications since the 1970s, building fertilizer buckets for helicopters and fixed wing hopper boxes.

During the late 2000s, the company noticed there was a trend happening across New Zealand farms regarding fine particle fertilizer application. At this time there were some companies that had built their own trucks to either grind the granular fertilizer or apply it, but there was nothing commercially available.

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Orchard and crop farmers are using the Tow and Fert technology to apply fertiliser and other nutrients to the roots of their crops.

Fertilizer efficiency

Metalform recognised the science around the efficiency of fine particulates in comparison to large granules and decided to develop something that was available to all farmers to own and use. Today the company employs 110 people at its manufacturing plant in Dannevirke, New Zealand, and have machines operating locally plus in Australia, Ireland, UK, Chile, Uruguay and South Africa.

Tim Henman, international sales manager, Metalform, said: “The advantage is around the fertilizer efficiency. We haven’t reinvented any science, but rather developed a tool that dissolves urea in cold water quickly. “Foliar application of Nitrogen has a much higher NRE (Nitrogen Response Efficiency) in comparison to granular. Customers are experiencing a reduction of the nitrogen use by up to 50 percent without compromising dry matter growth.

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Tow and Fert Multi 500 is the smallest in the range. It holds 500l and is designed to be pulled by a quad bike.

Mixing multiple products

“Our machines hold insoluble fine particle products in suspension and apply them without any blockages or issues like a normal boom sprayer can experience. We also can mix multiple products at the same time to cut down on application passes. These include N, P, K, S, humates, molasses, seeds, selective herbicides and whatever micronutrient you may need.”

The team at Metalform say their technology is also a big advantage to help crop farmers save money on fertilizer. Tim added: “Yes, it absolutely can. It seems that the cropping industry plant and operate within a 36 metre tramline for machinery. “We are currently working on a bigger machine and a 36 metre spread swath, but have some interesting challenges to achieve this with only a few nozzles.

Farmers are using less granular fertiliser in the Tow and Fert system saving costs.

Gypsum prior to planting

“Already in Australia we have vegetable growers using the Tow and Fert machines to apply gypsum prior to planting. Additional for crops, we also supply a horticulture version for applying fertilizer and nutrients to the soil under the trees on the root zone.

“So far, we have them operating in macadamias, almonds, limes, avocado orchards and vineyards here in New Zealand,” he said.

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Already being used extensively on grassland production Tow and Fert machines are also attractive to crop farmers.

Machine range

There are currently five machines in the Tow and Fert range stemming from the Multi 500 designed for use with an ATV. It has a 500 litres capacity that can dissolve 200 kgs of urea. The largest model in the range is the Multi 4000 designed to be towed by a tractor of a minimum of 120hp. It uses the tractor PTO at 1,000rpm for mixing, agitation, and hydraulics to run the specifically designed 3” trash pump found on all other Tow and Fert models for spraying.

With the patented agitation technology in the tank, farmers can simply empty one tonne bags of fine particle fertilizer directly into the water without any pre-mixing or messy work. Combined with the optional crane, five tonnes of fertilizer can be loaded into the 4,000 litre capacity Tow and Fert Multi 4000 in just 15 minutes.

With up to a 24m spread, the Multi 4000 can cover one hectare in just three minutes at 12km/hr (8 mph) and 40 hectares per load.

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Tow and Fert machines are also attractive to crop farmers.

European use

Based in the Republic of Ireland, FuturAg is the Tow and Fert importer and distributer for Europe since 2016 and is run by Leslie Dwyer. Leslie reported that interest in the machines is increasing and a number of farmers across the region are having excellent results.

Leslie added: “We offer full back up in terms of formulating fertilizer plans so we work very closely with easy customer to make sure they get full benefit from the machine they have purchased.”

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Applying nutrients with the Tow and Fert technology is easy and efficient.

What the farmers said

Rob Davies, dairy farmer, Carmarthenshire, Wales, milks 250 cows on 350 acres and uses the Multi 2800 machine. His return on the investment was less than 18 months. Rob said: “All our land gets the foliar spray whether it is silage or grassland. We can cover 38 to 40 acres with one load.
“It does what it says on the tin. I’m basically using 40 percent less fertilizer and hope to improve that again. The saving on fertilizer costs over two seasons paid for the machine. “It really is a no brainer as using less fertilizer is good for the land.”
Dairy farmer Miah Smith from Atiamuri, New Zealand runs a Tow and Fert Multi 2800 and paid it off within 18 months. He said: “We cut our fertilizer bill in half in the first year and produced the same amount of grass.” Miah has also sprayed small forage seeds with the Tow and Fert 2800 such as Plantain, Chickory and Clover.
He added: “I am able to go out and follow the cows two to three days after grazing giving the pasture an immediate boost. We have just as much grass saving half the fertilizer costs and putting on extra seed is a real benefit to us because we are wanting to get a lot more species into our pastures. It has just been so easy. We can put everything we need into one tank.”

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Company ethos

Metalform says: “Spraying your fertilizer on your pasture with a Tow and Fert machine will help you meet your nutrient budget by greatly reducing the amount of fertilizer lost into the environment, reducing the amount you require and saving you money.”

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