An agricultural college in north-east England is reducing costs and improving soil fertility by using a small and compact Bunning Lowlander 80 TVA manure spreader, with weigh cells, to match manures to field requirements via detailed nutrient maps.
With livestock numbers steadily growing and pressure to stay well within environmental guidelines at East Durham College farm, Houghall Campus, on the edge of Durham, Paul Flynn, director at the college, wanted to use the manure in a targeted way to reduce the reliance on purchased fertiliser and move to a clover-based grassland system.
Paul explains: “The only way to do this is by accurately applying the tested manure to areas of the farm that need it, which means using modern and precise equipment, such as the Bunning Lowlander 80 TVA with weigh cells. Before the Lowlander 80 TVA arrived, we used two old Marshall barrel spreaders that weren’t up to modern precision or standards. We employed a contractor as well, but I wanted to bring the process in-house for the benefit of the farm and the students.”
The college took delivery of a Bunning Lowlander Farmstar 80 TVA in 2022 and Ben Johnson from Bunning supported the team to set the spreader up on the New Holland T6 and train the staff using the application software. “Once set up, the spreader can work very quickly, adjusting the floor speed to control the application rate and follows the field map within 2cm,” says Paul.
The college grows arable crops alongside grassland, providing a home-grown food source for the animals. The cattle, sheep and even the pigs are all home fed, keeping the nutrients within the farm and returning them to the land in a natural cycle.
