It is no secret that fertilizing a meadow or an arable land is a delicate process that leaves nothing to chance. If wrongly spread, slurry indeed releases high quantities of ammoniac. Next to environmental damage, ammonia losses are also the main cause of unpleasant odours, which are often not very well accepted by neighbours. They also have financial consequences for the farmer himself. The extra costs resulting from the purchase of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, which aim at compensating losses, are indeed far from insignificant. This shortfall can indeed reach hundreds of euros per hectare.
Since the ammonia pollution (NH3) is caused by the evaporation of nitrogen when it meets the air, spreading implements are a first-class solution to face this problem. By laying the slurry as close as possible to its target, these implements allow to reduce the ammonia losses caused by volatilisation when spreading. Furthermore, outside any legislative or normative aspect, this type of implement also provides many other advantages to the farmer, such as a more precise and efficient fertilisation, a significant reduction of the extra costs due to the purchase of mineral fertilisers and many more.
Until now, this evidence did not appear sufficient. Several factors indeed dissuaded many farmers from purchasing that kind of implements, with first of all the price and complexity of the machines offered. The existing market was then mainly focusing on contractors and/or cooperatives. And even if these last years a general awareness had allowed to create a certain demand from smaller farms, they were simply facing an absence of appropriate supplies. Few manufacturers of slurry tankers had followed suit by offering real solutions meeting their needs.
Considering this, JOSKIN wanted to take up that call by mobilising its forces. Its work has resulted in a brand-new model: the “Modulo Advantage”.
EASINESS FOR EFFICIENCY
The main objective of this innovative concept is to fully erase the two above-mentioned barriers to investment. The Modulo Advantage is an easy machine suited to small farming businesses and tractors of +/- 110 HP. It includes a slurry tanker with a capacity of 11,000 l on which a 7.5 m Pendislide Basic boom is fitted. This boom is part of the latest developments of the brand and aims at the same objective: delivering high-tech performances with a maximum of simplicity. To that end, this spreading boom is fitted with a control automaton and a Scalper© macerator. It is also fitted with wear-resistant Ertalon skids applying a continuous pressure on the ground by means of a system of spring leaves. By moving apart the vegetation, these skids ensure a precise distribution of the nutrients close to the roots without dirtying the leaves or fodder.
However, these are not the only features of this new Modulo Advantage: a particular attention was also brought to the tyre choice. The single axle is fitted with Alliance 800/65R32 tyres for a load capacity of 9,900 kg at 40 km/h per wheel. If necessary, this new vehicle can be fitted as an option with a front filling arm on “Jumbo” cone.
A UNIQUE MANUFACTURING PROCESS
With this easy-to-use but high-tech equipment, JOSKIN wanted to prove that it was totally possible to reduce the price of agricultural machines without having an impact on the quality. To get rid of this budget constraint, JOSKIN has bet everything on a “mass” production that was until then not used in the slurry tanker sector. The Modulo Advantage will indeed be assembled on an assembly line that will exclusively be dedicated to it and will be produced in identical series, the first of which are expected in July 2019.
Producing a large quantity of this model implies more advantageous prices for the raw materials, a more profitable distribution of the workforce and a higher efficiency for the automated machines. The resulting savings have then a direct impact on the sale price and allow, in this case, to deliver a high-tech product at the price of a standard one. There is by the way absolutely no taboo in this regard: JOSKIN will indeed offer this Modulo Advantage at price lower than € 35,000 excl. VAT*, i.e. a price that has never been reached for a full option slurry tanker (exclusive filling arm) fitted with a rear implement!
With this turnkey solution, the JOSKIN group really would like to provide all farmers with the same spreading efficiency as with a contracting machine and allow them to contribute to our common goal: a both profitable, durable and responsible agriculture.
*Price exclusive transport costs and without certification kit compulsory in some countries. Offer subject to conditions.