David Hall’s Lowlander 120 Narrow Compact HBD

David Hall has always known what he wants from a new manure spreader, and his latest Bunning Lowlander Narrow Compact 120 HBD has specific features to increase versatility while being easy to operate and maintain high levels of accuracy.

With a workload including 85k tonnes of solid manures and fertilisers, David Hall is aware of the value to his customers of accurately and timely applications throughout the year, which is why he runs a pair of Bunning Lowlander spreaders.

His latest machine is a Bunning Lowlander Narrow Compact 120 HBD (horizontal beater and disc), specifically designed for increased output when applying heavier products such as lime and gypsum. It joins a Bunning Lowlander 150 HBD spreader and Bredal K105.

David was noticing that the tighter windows following harvest meant he needed an additional spreader to increase the output, especially on heavier products such as lime, which makes up around 40k tonnes of the workload. Shire Farm Services has a wide variety of customers in a 40-mile radius from its base in Worksop. David explains.

“Spreading lime is fine when it’s dry, but as soon as it turned wet it feels like cement, and we couldn’t get it applied in time with our Bredal. It would bridge in the spreader, which meant downtime, and at low volumes it would cause a surge motion, so the even spread was affected.”

David Hall
David Hall has been using Bunning spreaders for over a decade

Output was around 400t/day, which he was pleased with, but David had ideas on a new spreader design that could fix the issues and increase daily output. After running one Bunning spreader and being impressed with the spread and build quality, a call to Ben Johnson, UK and Ireland sales manager at Bunning, revealed a similar bespoke build for a user in Kent had just been finished.

David explains what he required: “I needed a narrow body spreader to allow low application rates while maintaining good forward speeds. I also didn’t want it to be as big as the Lowlander 150 we already owned, as the extra weight with lime, and spreading in the spring ahead of potatoes and sugar beet, would have caused issues. Ideally, I wanted to run 800-wide tyres on the spreader as well, to help with compaction.

“After explaining what I required to Ben, it was pure luck that he’d just finished building an almost identical machine for another user. I asked him to build me a similar one on the spot as I knew that it would solve the issues we were having. Bunning were very accommodating with a different spec for the 150 HBD and I knew the new spreader would be just what I required.”

Not just a manure spreader

The Lowlander 120 Narrow Compact HBD arrived in October 2023 and an essential feature retained from other HBD models is the large 1.1m spinning discs for accurate spreading. David was used to this on his Lowlander 150 when handling a variety of products, including compost, farmyard manure, poultry litter, sewage sludge, lime and gypsum.

“We wanted two spreaders that could apply to 24m in a standing crop. The K105 spreader could easily reach 18m, but our Bunning spreaders are fitted with a 6in lift on the rear axle to increase the disc height, allowing a wider and higher spread over crops. We still have the K105, and it is solely used for fertiliser, which it is a brilliant machine for.”

Increases to daily output have been significant on lime spreading, which is the primary role for the Narrow HBD spreader. The Bredal K105 was able to hit 400t applied on a good day, however, the new machine has surpassed that with an extra 250-300t spread in the same timeframe. David puts this down to several factors.

“The extra processing capacity of the horizontal beaters has improved product delivery to the discs and means there is no surging that we used to experience. We can maintain a constant, faster speed in the field, and the spreader alters the floor speed to maintain target rate.”

Spread width is also a key reason that the output has increased. The Lowlander has increased the option to spread to wider widths on products that are able to. Widths of 18m are easily achievable with sewage sludge, which means compatibility with 36m tramlines.

A larger bed motor, offering more torque, has helped with heavy products, and additional slats on every other chain link on the moving floor has considerably improved the smooth and consistent spread pattern David achieves.

“Maintaining a consistent spread pattern is essential to achieve even coverage. High nutrient value materials are only useful if they are applied evenly accurately. When I watch the material coming from the discs, there aren’t gaps in product delivery, and we end up with a carpet on the floor. There aren’t any machines that can do this as well as a Bunning can.”

Technology now essential

Both Lowlander spreaders have weigh cells with ISOBUS control and can spread via prescription maps to vary the application rate as required. David says this is becoming an increasingly common request as soil health and nutrition are rising higher on the agenda of growers.

“Our customer base involved several large farms and estates that have used GPS and RTK guidance for decades or operate controlled traffic systems and keep detailed records of jobs and inputs. We need to match their systems and provide detailed record keeping as they require it. Without it, we could lose business.”

A pair of Case Puma 240 CVX-Drive tractors power the spreaders and David says they have plenty of power for everything he requires, and the latest screens are easy to set up and use. The justification for purchasing premium spreaders is one David doesn’t have an issue with.

“We could always buy cheaper spreaders, but the reality is the build quality would be less and the potential for downtime would be increased, which isn’t something I want to risk. The backup from Bunning is also excellent and dealing with a UK company is something that I don’t underestimate.”

Bunning have also worked with David to address an issue he had with his older Lowlander 150. He had an issue of bolts breaking on the discs, so Bunning supplied new shafts and increased the size of the bolts to prevent this from happening. David says it is this willingness to understand what the problem is, and sort it quickly, that makes the difference.

Menu