John Deere & Vogelsang Team Up For Precision Slurry Application

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John Deere has partnered with Vogelsang to make organic liquid slurry spreading more sustainable and precise. (Photo courtesy of John Deere.)

John Deere and Vogelsang are working on a joint technology project to make organic liquid fertiliser application more sustainable and precise. The manufacturers are combining technologies, including John Deere’s Section Control and Vogelsang’s Comfort Flow Control section control system, to ensure that the correct amount of slurry is spread without overlap.

“We are using our joint expertise to ensure that plants can be supplied with the necessary nutrients through more precise slurry application,” says Alexander Berges, John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group marketing manager for Region 2. “Precise organic fertilisation has significant advantages over mineral fertilisation. It improves the CO2 balance of agricultural production and reduces ammonia emissions. Higher yields, more consistent plant growth, and protection of water courses are further positive benefits.”

“The site-specific and need-based application of liquid manure enables modern agriculture to operate more sustainably and to promote the triad of economy, ecology, and social acceptance,” says Vogelsang Managing Director Harald Vogelsang.

Controlled Flow

Vogelsang’s new BlackBird trailing shoe system, which mounts on the back of a fertiliser tanker, uses Comfort Flow Control technology for automatic partial width section control. CFC has been integrated into the Generation 4 Display operating terminal located in the cab of newer John Deere tractors, alongside Deere’s Section Control technology. Using GPS position sensing from a range of available satellites, including SF1 and RTK, the system automatically opens and closes each hose with plus or minus 3 centimetres’ accuracy as the tractor pulls the tanker down the field.

Vogelsang has also engineered new electropneumatic valves that enable rapid opening and closing of boom sections or groups thereof by deflating or inflating air bellows in the hose outlets. Application booms for the Blackbird are available with either section-level or single-hose control.

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Vogelsang’s advanced BlackBird trailing shoe system can now be controlled and its precision enhanced by John Deere tractors and technologies. (Photo courtesy of John Deere.)

The Right Mix

For even more insurance against over- or undersupply of nutrients to the plants, a John Deere HarvestLab 3000 manure sensor has also been incorporated into the combined system. The HarvestLab sensor uses near-infrared-reflectance technology to measure the nutrient levels of the slurry more than 4,000 times per second. It’s precise enough, Deere says, to be certified by DLG TestService GmbH for laboratory-level accuracy in measuring nitrogen and phosphorus. With the help of HarvestLab, the Vogelsang spreader can distribute nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertiliser by kilograms-per-hectare or cubic metres-per-hectare application rates.

Find The Right Fertiliser Equipment

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