Labour is expensive, time is short and the mass handling of seed and fertiliser is becoming more and more popular, and for that a farmer needs the right machinery.
This type of machine can be expensive and often additional tractors are needed.
Myburgh Toerusting’s filling up system is a cost efficient, fast and safe way to keep your planter going and to keep it full.
“Bulk handling is one of the biggest nightmares during planting season if you do not have the right equipment, because then you are going to have to dump your big bags into smaller bags to handle them,” says Jannie Myburgh of Myburgh Toerusting.
This led them to design their own system. Myburgh Toerusting’s planter filling up system consists of four components.
Although Jannie says that you do not need all four to start with, the four together will help you fill your planter easily, simply and quickly.
Tractor forklift
The first component is the tractor forklift. Because the forklift lifts so close to the tractor’s rear wheels, you can lift heavier bags with a smaller tractor.
“You can comfortably handle a one tonne bag with a 75 kW tractor. When you work with machines that lift further from the tractor, a 120 kW tractor struggles to lift a one tonne bag without its nose lifting,” explains Jannie.
Mass bulk handler
The second component is the mass bulk handler which is an attachment for the forklift.
The mass bulk handler makes it easier to handle the bag. Jannie explains that a one tonne bag with its handles is up to 1,5 m high. If you have a 3 m forklift you can only lift the bottom of the bag up to 1,5 m.
So it is too low to load into the planter. The mass bulk handler gives you an additional height of 1,3 m.
The other problem is that the bag can tear when it hangs against the forklift when you pick it up.
The mass bulk handler allows you to lift the bag 500 mm further away so that the bag does not tear. The mass bulk handler also has better hooks.
“Usually, people just hook the bags’ handles over the forklift’s toes, which tend to slide off if you have to brake quickly or if the operator does not tilt the forklift correctly before lifting. If the bag falls, it bursts open and then there is a few thousand rand worth of fertiliser on the ground,” says Jannie.
Fertiliser bin
The third component is the fertiliser bin. Jannie says that the problem with a one tonne bag is … it is a one tonne bag.
“If you untie the string at the bottom, a tonne comes out, you have to stand up to get the string fixed again to stop the flow.
We built the mass bin to eliminate the string of the bag. The bin has a flap at the bottom that you can open and close. So now you can pour out 5 kg of fertiliser from a one tonne bin without difficulty and without spillage if that is all you need.”
Divider
The last component is the divider. This ensures that you do not need to fill four bins but only two.
“You can fill the planter from scratch. I tell all my farmers that I do not want to be around the day an operator’s foot slips and he gets stuck in a planter with a tractor. Because if he hits the planter from behind, the carts will be damaged and then you cannot plant, your planter stands still.”
When you fill the planter from the front you can break only the bin which you can temporarily fix to finish planting.
“Once your operator gets his rhythm, it should take him three minutes to make an eight-row planter full of fertiliser,” says Jannie proudly.
To learn more about what Myburgh Toerusting can offer you, please visit their website at www.mtoer.co.za
