Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | You ask about auto steer and auto swath.
There are systems that do one or the other or both. There are other systems that do just one. My recent and current sprayers have used the Ag Leader system with and without auto steer.
The last several years I used a Deere 8120 tractor with a 3 point sprayer. It used an Ag Leader display which could auto steer the tractor. It also included two Ag Leader modules. One was connected to a switch box for the sprayer. The other module called a Liquid Product Control Module connected to a flow meter, control valve and section valves on the sprayer. The system needed a GPS receiver also.
The two modules worked with the sprayer portion. I am able to enter target rates etc and the system controls the spray rate being applied. It makes a coverage and rate map and when auto swath is active will shut off the boom sections when the sprayer passes over an area that has been sprayed.
The tractor also has auto steer capabilities. I used that to "get on the correct rows" but then steered manually across the field. The auto steer and sprayer control were two separate ideas but were working with just one display. This worked very well.
This year I picked up a used Hagie STS. It has the same spray control setup but does not have auto steer. This means that we will need to turn on to the correct set of rows ourselves. This can easily be confirmed by the onscreen map and other indications. I may miss not having auto steer to help me get on the correct rows.
You have several choices for using other systems as well. The Ag Leader system mates up very nicely with the control valve, flow meter and section valves that you currently have. I actually have extra Ag Leader modules from the previous sprayer as the Hagie came with its own. I haven't decided whether to hang on to them for spares or to sell them. I have another set on the planter that I could use for spares on the sprayer so I probably should sell them. |
Automatic Sprayer Shutoffs
