Irish manufacturer Mastek Ltd Launch 24m dribble bar slurry applicator

I recently travelled to Cavan to look at the new prototype Mastek 24m wide dribble bar slurry applicator, the biggest ever built in Ireland.

Paul Quinn, managing director of Mastek, says this applicator equipment has been designed to minimise field compaction and keep transport costs to a minimum by eliminating the need for additional vehicles usually associated with tanker spreading.

The motivation behind building this machine was the interest from tillage farmers here and, especially, in Britain. The price of fertilizer and tighter margins has forced these farmers to source nutrients for their crops from other areas. Slurry is just one of the options, but previous machines had a maximum working width of 12m. This width was unsuitable for wide tramlines and led to more driving on the field and crop damage. This is a real problem where slurry was applied two to three times in the season. Paul says that his machine can work in tramlines of 18m and 24m.

The uptake in umbilical systems in Ireland is good, says Paul; the recent wet winters have been a real game changer.

Contractors can see the benefits of the reduced weight and traffic on the fields. The 24m dribble bar is supplied with two macerators and 48 outlets for the distribution of slurry. The operation of each macerator is managed independently through the tractor’s hydraulic spool valves.

The dribble bar also has a pivot mechanism, which allows the operator to tilt the system to ensure that the dribble bar remains parallel to the ground.

A fully hydraulic closing mechanism allows both arms to be folded simultaneously behind the tractor. This ensures that the dribble bar does not extend beyond the overall width of the tractor during transport.

Mastek also offers a complete power on demand hydraulic system as an optional extra.

Overall, this is an impressive piece of Irish engineering that has provoked a lot of interest from Britain. The size of the machine is daunting at first, but watching the mock-up demo, the controls and folding of the machine worked well. It is simple to operate from the tractor cab. The tractor would need to be in the 160hp to 200hp category to safely handle the machine. When folded in, the machine is quite long behind the tractor, so a little bit of tail swing should be watched out for in tight gateways.

The pricing of the new dribble bar is expected to be in the region of €50,000, plus VAT. The piping comes in at €13/m, and most contractors and farmers will require at least 400m. Another interesting product from the company is a retrofitted dribble bar that can be attached to any tanker without needing brackets welding or adjustments to the tank. The retrofitted 7.5m dribble bar costs €9,000, plus VAT. Mastek will sell all of their products direct to the farmer.

For further information contact Mastek in Cootehill Business Park, Cootehill, Co Cavan, on 049-5555953 or see www.mastek.ie