After his previous sprayer was burned in an accidental fire, dairy farmer Brett Farrell decided to renew his confidence in Hustler Equipment by investing in one of their latest models.
He chose a Hustler Applic8r LX1150 mounted boom sprayer which he was able to fully customise to his needs. Watch the video to see why Brett is thrilled with his new Hustler sprayer!
Brett’s dairy farm, located near the village of Parakao in the Whangarei District and Northland Region of New Zealand’s North Island, extends over 412 hectares, with 311 hectares dedicated to the milking operation. With its subtropical climate, Northland offers a key competitive advantage for its agricultural sector. The region produces about 116,000 tonnes of dairy products each year.
With 820 milking cows and most of the maize silage produced on-farm, Brett can’t do without an effective sprayer for his crops. In the past, he had a Hustler Kapito sprayer but it was unfortunately involved in the fire. Both tractor and sprayer burned, “there was no other choice” except to buy a new one. As Brett was happy with the previous sprayer he used for eight to nine years without any issues, he decided to buy a brand-new Hustler. As a bonus, the new sprayer was also well positioned in terms of price.
“The old one was very reliable. It never gave any problems at all.”
Because every farmer and farm is different, Hustler offers a range of mounted boom sprayers that can be fully customized to suit your particular needs. This was a key feature that Brett particularly liked.
“We have a Hustler Applic8r LX1150. Hustler customised that for us.”
For his new sprayer, Brett chose the Applic8r LX1150 with a fully hydraulic SonicBoom to not waste time going in and out of the paddocks. This model comes standard with a handwashing tank, a built-in toolbox, the ViziGauge view, the adjustable MixMax agitation system, a QuickFlush flushing tank for easy cleaning, and all sorts of time-saver features.
“There is a very easy drain plug, it’s just a little pull cord at the back, which is brilliant!”
Brett chose to customise his sprayer with a handy storage box where he can put his chemical containers. He also set up the boom with 380-millimetre centers and triple nozzle bodies in order to cover various types of applications from herbicide to fertilisers. When needing to spray maize raws, at 760 millimetres apart, Brett just has to turn every second nozzle body off to get the perfect post-emergent spray!
Beyond that, Brett appreciates how Hustler sprayers are built to last and well thought-out. With a smart chassis/tank/pump integration, Hustler produces a tough and compact sprayer.
The built-in SkidPlate protects the vital parts of the machine from common obstacles faced when spraying. With this design, Brett doesn’t need to park his spray unit on a pallet and it’s “the best thing,” according to Brett. With
“the stand at the back, so you’ve got a heavy boom you can take it off and it’s got two stands that sit out, so it doesn’t try and fall over backward,”
Brett detailed.
Some improvements have been made since the Katipo sprayer generation, Brett noticed that
“the controller is a lot easier and more logical to use as well.”
The spray controller can be linked to an existing or new GPS tracking unit, including a customisable in-job layout.
Using a GPS system helps to rationalise the use of fertilisers and chemicals, ensuring targeted distribution while avoiding overlap or empty areas – meaning a consequent reduction in costs and operator fatigue. The sprayer GPS system can run and manage other ISOBUS implements, which is handy when the tractor is already equipped with a GPS like Brett’s tractor. However, if your tractor is not already equipped, Hustler partnered with Raven technology to offer the plug-and-play Raven CR7 GPS.
“I definitely recommend this machine, it’s brilliant, easy-to-use, good price, well-constructed, durable and they’ll customise it to what you want.”
Source: Hustler
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