A recent visit to Agri-Spread in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, to meet Australian and Canadian farmers and distributors took me to yet another successful Irish machinery manufacturer. So to walk into a meeting on the factory floor and see high-tech spreaders, organic and inorganic, was both a surprise and a delight.

The company was founded in 2005 as a components manufacturer and it evolved to become Agri-Spread in 2009. David Murphy is the managing director of Agri-Spread and he said that the initial product line involved a vertical rotor rear-discharge manure spreader. The company then moved into the artificial fertiliser spreader market to produce large bulk-type spreaders with considerable versatility.

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The fertiliser spreaders are twin-disc types with each rotor driven by an independent hydraulic motor. They are all trailed belt machines, which can also be used for dry organics or lime or other dry materials, so they are much bigger than the standard mounted spreaders in this country.

Two things struck me within the first few minutes of entering the factory. First was the agricultural construction – machines were made to last. Second was the level of sophistication that was present on the machines on show. Weigh cells, GPS control, monitoring devices, belt speed compensation, etc, were present on all machines, including the muck spreader. This level of sophistication does not have to be included on a machine but it is available.

David explained that the company had moved quickly from being a basic machine producer to having products with a high level of sophistication because that’s what customers wanted. Many Irish farmers may be relatively unaware of the brand but it is becoming increasingly well-known down under in Australia and across the water in Canada.

Customer requirements

David explained that in 2013 he was contacted by Australian farmer John Warr, who asked about a machine for his own use. He became involved in the development of what he needed and ended up becoming an agent for Agri-Spread, with eight machines being his initial order.

John said that Australian farmers needed machines with a range of specifications to help meet some of the local and regional requirements there. With farm sizes frequently above 10,000ha, and even treble that, he was not looking at three-point linkage-mounted machines.

Agri-Spread makes moderate to big single- and twin-axle trailed spreaders for these foreign markets and they must be capable of hard work, cope with travel speeds of up to 25mph and withstand searing heat at times. It also makes a range of units to mount on to self-propelled vehicles where the customer provides the vehicle and Agri-Spread fits the spreader.

The spreaders use belted floors dropping material on to twin discs which are individually driven by hydraulic motors. The belt speed can be controlled by direct drive from the wheel of the spreader or by hydraulic drive controlled by GPS technology. Machines have also been developed for the Canadian prairies. One of the requirements of customers there was to be able to record the use of products to provide measured proof of quantities applied for a customer or over time. This required an early association with people from Topcon who are still working with Agri-Spread. They have helped design and develop different systems to provide customer needs and that association continues.

One speaker from Canada said that he needed to be able to spread a mixture of gypsum-based products and composted litter and to record the amounts used. Initially, the spreading width was confined to 60ft but simple development changes now enable this mixture to be spread accurately to 80ft or 24m.

Versatility is another general requirement in all markets. While products such as lime will need to be spread at rates of tonnes per hectare, the Australians have a requirement to be able to spread as low as 0.5kg/ha to spread mouse poison on the land. To have this level of versatility is a big ask but it seems that Agri-Spread has delivered the customer’s needs.

Agri-Spread has an R&D capacity which was important to develop the solutions for the range of customer requirement in different regions. David Murphy emphasised the importance of being aware of the requirements of a market before entering. He also emphasised the necessity of having a good agent on the ground in every market to advise on requirements and challenges.

David then told the assembled customers that the company is developing a new spreader capable of not just variable rate application for precision farming but also variable bout width. He explained that these machines would have a split belt, independently driven, with one side feeding each disc to control the flow rate. Each disc will then be independently driven, as with all of the company’s spreaders, but this one will have the ability to vary rotation speed, which is used to alter bout spread width. Slower disc speeds will not throw out as wide.

The company is currently investing heavily in the business. It has extended its premises outside of Ballyhaunis, installed new spraying booths and put in a rail system to support the assembly line. It looks forward to continued growth and development while building the capacity to meet future anticipated demand.