Based near Killimor in south-east Galway, Dermot Brehony started off providing a contracting service in the late 1970s. Today, Brehony Peat Ltd is a family-run business that specialises in turf cutting, silage cutting and slurry spreading. We caught up with Dermot and one of his drivers, Joe McDonnagh, to find out why they opted to go down the route of a self-propelled slurry tanker.

Low emission trends

With trends in slurry spreading leaning more and more toward low-emission application systems, Dermot knew he had to further invest in a slurry application system to meet changing farmer requirements. Currently running two vacuum tankers, a 2,600-gallon with a splash plate and a 3,000-gallon with a dribble bar, he noted a growing appetite for the dribble bar, especially among his dairy farmer client base.

After looking at the marketplace, Dermot could see two options that suited his business – buy another 3,000-gallon tanker with a dribble bar or offer something more unique which could bring about the added advantage of aeration – a self-propelled machine equipped with a disc injector.

The idea of going towards a self-propelled purpose-built slurry tanker had been on Dermot’s mind for a number of years.

The fact that another contractor 20 miles away has been running a similar self-propelled machine for almost a decade removed a lot of the doubt that a machine of its kind couldn’t work in the west of Ireland.

Dermot said that from watching this system in action, he realised the advantages of injecting slurry into the roots of the grass – aerating the soil, reducing nitrogen loss, no contamination of the leaf , quicker grazing turnaround. He said this system allows farmers get more from their slurry.

Trip to Holland

“Another contractor, Seamus Doyle, and I decided to head to the Vervaet factory in Holland to take a look at the machine and get a feel for the manufacturing process. Aside from manufacturing new machines, the firm also rebuilds and overhauls older machines, adding any later developments which were added to new machines.

“They clean and disassemble the machine down to the engine, inspect each component and, if necessary, repaint or replace it. We were very impressed with this and I decided to purchase a refurbished 2012 machine. I hadn’t even seen the machine I purchased, but had seen the standard it was going to be rebuilt to.”

Dermot said he liked the concept of the Hydro-Trike – a well-designed purpose-built machine. He liked the way the three wide wheels (1,000mm x 1 and 1,050mm x 2) spread the weight of the machine evenly. Each of the three big tyres runs on a different track, meaning compaction is minimised.

The Brehonys took delivery of the Vervaet Hydro-Trike on 22 January. Roll the clock forward six months and Dermot is happy with how the machine has performed.

Joe explained: “It has a lot of advantages over a conventional tractor and tanker equivalent setup. Its high cab provides good all-round visibility. The wheels underneath the tank are driven and the weight is well distributed.

“Despite being over 11ft wide and 33ft long, it’s actually a more manoeuvrable machine than its tractor and tanker counterpart. Likewise, it will travel where a tractor and tanker won’t. The single front wheel can steer 170°. You would nearly turn it on the spot!”

Engine and components

The Hydro-Trike is powered by a DAF MX 300 S1 engine. This Stage IV motor has a huge 380hp on tap. The machine only ever revs to 1,600rpm, helping to minimise fuel consumption.

The Dutch-built powerhouse is equipped with a 650l fuel tank. Speaking to Dermot, he noted fuel consumption on a short draw is averaging around 6l per load. Across the run of a day, depending on the draw and how hard the machine is driven, fuel consumption will be somewhere between 42l/hr and 60l/hr.

Vervaet uses a lot of reputable components in the manufacture of the Hydro-Trike. It sources the hydraulic pumps and motors from Sauer-Danfoss. The rear axle and transmission is sourced from OMSI. Meanwhile, many of our readers will recognise the cab from the pictures. Both the cab and steering column are sourced from Claas.

Features

Another big attraction the Hydro-Trike offered was the variable flow rate metre which allows the machine to precisely apply slurry. Once the type and width of slurry application method (disc injector, dribble bar, etc) is inputted into the machine’s computer, the flow meter can be accurately set for the required litres per acre.

Although the machine itself is a fully refurbished 2012 build, it’s coupled with a new 9m TBL disc injector. The applicator is attached to the machine via a three-point linkage setup. The 9m working width encompasses 24 pairs of discs, so 48 discs in total. Each pair is spring-mounted and has 2in outlets. The working depth is set by two rams on the three-point linkage. Joe noted that they usually shallow-inject at a depth of 1.5in to 2in. The disc injector also features an auto-greaser.

As evident from the pictures, the machine is very well shod. The front tyre is a Michelin 1000/50R25, while the rear are Michelin 1050/50R32. The tyre inflation and deflation kit allows the tyre pressure to be automatically reduced when the machine enters the field. This helps to increase the footprint and reduce compaction.

Dermot explained that the tank has a capacity of 3,300 gallons. As it’s equipped with a mechanical pump and not a vacuum pump, 100 gallons will always be retained to prime the pump.

Joe notes: “It will fill the tank in two minutes and 45 seconds with the 8in lazy arm or in three minutes with a 6in hose. Compare this to our 3,000-gallon vacuum tank, it takes four and a half minutes to fill. This equate to just under a two-minute saving per load. Across 35 loads in the day, that’s a saving of 55 minutes in its own right.”

Verdict

The fully refurbished and rebuilt 2012 machine set Dermot back a significant €330,000 including VAT. Although a huge investment, Dermot feels he is future-proofing his business by offering a shallow injection service. Despite also saying it could have been a moment of madness, Dermot says the machine is very nimble and has coped very well in typical west of Ireland farms. Since taking delivery six months ago, Dermot has picked up a huge amount of new work, much of which is from farmers who have their own conventional tankers.

Like any low-emission application system, round bale silage which has been fed too close to the barrier proves to be an issue, but with the slurry running through two macerators at high pressure, he noted that the Vervaet has performed better than he expected. He added that no equivalent-sized conventional vacuum tank could touch the output capabilities of the Hydro-Trike.