Horsch celebrated a pair of firsts at Ag in Motion in July.
The equipment manufacturer debuted its Leeb Xeric 14 FS fertilizer spreader into North America at the farm show.
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For its efforts, the company also picked up a Gold Innovation Award at the show.
One thing for sure, at 160 feet wide, this new spreader makes a big statement.
Large coverage area and 12-section control means operators can quickly dial-in fertilizer placement as needed.
Mike Wasylyniuk, product manager for sprayers at Horsch, said the biggest difference between the company’s latest spreader among its competitors is the width.
However, differences don’t end there. New technology such as 12-section control with individual metering augers for each section are on the new Horsch as well.
“One-hundred-and-sixty feet wide with 12-section variable rate control will be the two main innovations on this unit,” said Wasylyniuk.
To get there, Wasylyniuk said the company combined three different technologies: an air seeder cart, a pull-type sprayer chassis and a high clearance sprayer boom.
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Bringing those three ideas together essentially created the Leeb Xeric 14 FS, he added.
The Leeb Xeric spreader controls its variable rate application using a 12-section control with individual metering augers for each section.
Photo:
Greg Berg
“The last idea that’s going to be a little bit new to the industry will be automatic calibration,” said Wasylyniuk.
“Those 12 metering augers are inside a calibration box that’s on load cells.”
Individual metering augers for each section means each section can be adjusted to a variable rate across those 12 sections.
The flex boom on the Leeb Xeric spreader helps keep the far ends of the 160-foot boom from getting too close to the ground in uneven terrain.
Photo:
Greg Berg
“So just like any of the air seeders here, it’ll self-calibrate as it’s going through the field, and just make the experience for the operator a little bit simpler.”
A unit this size is also designed to cover a lot of ground, and fast if need be.
Wasylyniuk estimated that if an operator travelled at 32 km-h with the new Horsch, they’d cover about 388 acres in one hour.
“We can run higher speeds with this unit,” Wasylyniuk added, “but if you get into some hills, it also has a flex boom. So, it also has boom height control and an outside flex that no other air spreader will do.”
Mike Wasylyniuk, product manager for sprayers at Horsch, stands in front of the Leeb Xeric fertilizer spreader.
Photo:
Greg Berg
The Leeb Xeric is also equipped with four wheel steer that follows tractor tracks to limit compaction and an automatic tire pressure system.
“As this tank empties or fills, the tire pressure will change up and down,” added Wasylyniuk.
“As soon as you fold the booms in or out, it will automatically adjust the pressure on the tires.”
Late last year, Horsch was also awarded a Silver innovation award at Agritechnica for its proactive BoomControl system that that uses 3D radar sensors that analyzes the soil surface to maintain a consistent spray height.