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| Matt...
Here is my opinion, for what it is worth......
A self propelled sprayer, especially an 854, would be great and most likely a lot more efficient that what you are spraying with right now. However, for the acres you cover and I am assuming the crops are mostly corn and beans it is not justifiable in your case unless time is a premium. I know of two brothers that farm 800 acres together (that is 800 total not a piece) have a rogator but one works at a John Deere dealership and the other a fulltime job 35 miles away. Time justifies it for them. If you can get it sprayed with a pull type right now then time is not that tight. If you are set on a self propelled then a spray coupe or air ride might be in the budget. We run a 400 gallon spray coupe at work with an 80 ft boom. The operator isn't afraid to work and has a guy to mix and get water for him so 600 acres a day isn't out of the question but it is 400 gal so he has to fill quite a bit. We cover almost 20,000 acres a year with the spray coupe and have a trailer for it to go in WI and IL.
At home we have a 1000 gal Walsh (bought by Miller Pro many moons ago) with 60 ft booms. We grow 550 acres of corn, 300 soybeans, 65 wheat, 25 alfalfa, and 80 acres of peas/snaps. You might as well weld the hitch pin in the 4450 during the summer because it never gets unhooked (we then move the 4450 to the grain cart in the fall and weld the hitch pin in that). We have not even close to maxing this setup out. The biggest downfall on this setup is the 67 year old operator that does not suffer from an abundance of amibition on days. Yes, a self propelled would be nice but not practical.
If I were you (I am not, don't know your checkbook or situation), I would update to a larger pull type. You can find some pretty sweet ones for a decent price. If you have the time and can get the custom work then a SP may be in the cards but from what I know and sure you do too, the custom business usually looks pretty good on paper but not as good in reality. | |
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How many acres to justify a self propelled sprayer?
