Sprayer Spraying Quantities

[g norton]

I am a novice farmer and need some advice on Spraying Equipment.
I need to buy a spray rig for my 40 acre hay field.
How much water does it take to spray an acre of ground, in general terms?
I realize that different chemicals take different strengths and I will have to adjust for that.
Would a 150 gal tank be sufficent, or do I need something larger.
I am looking for a 3 point mount on the back of my 585 Case IH tractor.

 

[LoPresti Lawnscape]

I am a novice farmer and need some advice on Spraying Equipment.
I need to buy a spray rig for my 40 acre hay field.
How much water does it take to spray an acre of ground, in general terms?
I realize that different chemicals take different strengths and I will have to adjust for that.
Would a 150 gal tank be sufficent, or do I need something larger.
I am looking for a 3 point mount on the back of my 585 Case IH tractor.

It's not as much about water per acre as it is Active Ingredient or A.I. per acre.

Now most products will have a minimum amount of water per acre that must be used to be affective in dispersing the A.I. properly.

What are you spraying? Herbicides or Insecticides?

At the end of the day you MUST read the individual product labels and do the math yourself.

You can spray what we call low volume....that is to say the mix is stronger and you need to apply less carrier or water per acre which will obviously extend your load range but the A.I. per acre must always remain the same or close.

You also need to know what amount of water or fluid is being sprayed by your individual sprayer per acre, or 1000 sq feet. This is all determined by PSI of the sprayer, PTO speed, ground speed and nozzle size.

So yeah it gets complicated.

 

[LoPresti Lawnscape]

Also keep in mind that water weighs basically weighs 8.35 lbs per gallon so 150 gallons will weigh 1250 lbs plus the weight of the sprayer unit.

Depending on what tractor you're using this may come into play.

 

[nwbearcat]

150 would be fine for what you're planning. Dad sprays more than that in a year with a Polaris 6x6 and a boomjet nozzle with a 30 gal tank. I'd suggest you read far more before you write a check. Also, stopping at the local fertilizer/seed/chem shop might be worthwhile at some point. Consider they'd probably just do it for you for $10-15/A, then you don't worry about mis-mixing, drift off your field, or onto you if you don't have a cab. Do you know what or why you're wanting to spray? Something specific you're wanting to accomplish? Figure that out, and then you can get some good help. Might also help to know how the ground lays, is it open enough for booms? Steep? Wet?

Read these, there's some helpful thoughts to get you started...
Spray Smarter Spray Parts | FAQs all about Spraying
http://www.teejet.com/media/40270/equipment and calibration_circular 1192.pdf

 

[LoPresti Lawnscape]

150 would be fine for what you're planning. Dad sprays more than that in a year with a Polaris 6x6 and a boomjet nozzle with a 30 gal tank. I'd suggest you read far more before you write a check. Also, stopping at the local fertilizer/seed/chem shop might be worthwhile at some point. Consider they'd probably just do it for you for $10-15/A, then you don't worry about mis-mixing, drift off your field, or onto you if you don't have a cab. Do you know what or why you're wanting to spray? Something specific you're wanting to accomplish? Figure that out, and then you can get some good help. Might also help to know how the ground lays, is it open enough for booms? Steep? Wet?

Read these, there's some helpful thoughts to get you started...
Spray Smarter Spray Parts | FAQs all about Spraying
http://www.teejet.com/media/40270/equipment and calibration_circular 1192.pdf

Those guys have to get more than 10-15 an acre.

Some of those boom sprayers cost 300,000 dollars and the product cost alone would be more than 10-15 an acre.

 

[jbooth]

Those guys have to get more than 10-15 an acre.

Some of those boom sprayers cost 300,000 dollars and the product cost alone would be more than 10-15 an acre.

I had 7.5 acres of beans sprayed for $126.00. That figures out to $16.80 an acre. It took less than 15 minutes. The spray guy had quite a few larger fields in the area so he was making pretty good money. I don't have a clue about the cost of the machine, but it was a high wheel model with a long boom. Most of the "real" farmers in my area use the custom sprayers when using round-up prior to no till.

 

[nwbearcat]

10-15/a doesn't include chemical, he's out that either way, and I couldn't quote that until he tells us what he's trying to accomplish. But if you really wanted to challenge me, we could maybe get something done in a pasture for under $15...24D is pretty cheap, and if it laid nice, I've seen app for $7 or less, but not likely for a guy with only 40A...

You're right, those are expensive machines, you've got to get the acres under them to make them pay. That used to be my bread and butter, selling our spraying services.

BTW, if you don't belive me, here's what the ISU custom rate survey has to say...

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/fm1698.pdf

Spraying (materials not included) Average Range
Ground, broadcast, tractor, / acre $6.10 4.50 - 8.90
Ground, incorporated, tractor, / acre 10.90 6.50 - 13.20
Ground, broadcast, s. propelled, / acre 6.50 4.00 - 13.00
Ground, banded, tractor, / acre 7.30 6.00 - 9.00
Ground, road ditches, / hour 52.05 30.00 - 75.00
Aerial, / acre 8.50 4.00 - 14.00

 

[nwbearcat]

I had 7.5 acres of beans sprayed for $126.00. That figures out to $16.80 an acre.

I'd assume these were RR beans, so I'd guess you to be at $5/a for Glyphosate, $1/A or less for adjuvants, and the rest would have been application...

You've not seen their insurance bill...it's not all profit...

 

[jgrreed]

If you do decide to go with a smaller unit, be sure and check out the Fimco's from Agrisupply. Good value, good quality.

-Jer.

 

[Retired Iron Peddler]

I am a novice farmer and need some advice on Spraying Equipment.
I need to buy a spray rig for my 40 acre hay field.
How much water does it take to spray an acre of ground, in general terms?
I realize that different chemicals take different strengths and I will have to adjust for that.
Would a 150 gal tank be sufficent, or do I need something larger.
I am looking for a 3 point mount on the back of my 585 Case IH tractor.

Before you buy anything you should attend a pesticide applicator's license school and learn how to calibrate a sprayer and how to properly handle, mix, and apply chemical by the acre. In our area, these schools are held once per year by the county ag extension agent and are all day. There is a small fee to cover the cost.

I maintain my 35 acre hay field with a 100 gallon 3-point sprayer, 21' coverage with folding booms, and foam markers. I have a farm background, know how to calibrate my sprayer and how to safely handle and properly mix chemicals, have my pesticide applicators license, attend a continuing education school every year, and carry liability insurance.

Bill