Field days like this are not very common in this country, where the curious come together not for a public relations campaign but to actually see how unique agricultural machines work. These include manure handling equipment from the Danish company „Agrometer a/s“, which is of particular interest to farms that not only want to work sustainably, but also to save money.

Much more money and much less work

When asked about the importance of investment at a field day in Panevėžys, Oksana Puronaitė, manager of Berčiūnai Agricultural Company, said it was simply a matter of survival.

„In a broader sense, it is important to invest in more productive machinery because we are simply less tired now. We are tiring our people less, who are really dedicated to farming and we probably won't be able to find new ones“,– the human side of the investment was revealed by O. Puronaitė, who stressed that we need to make our daily routine easier, so that we „are less tired and get more done“.

Berčiūnai ŽŪB has invested in a milking carousel in recent years, which serves over 600 milking cows. The farm has also installed a separator-pasteuriser from the Austrian BAUER concern, which has improved animal welfare and health.

„We are managing the situation with somatic cells. This has led to a clear improvement. From a geometric mean of around three hundred, we have managed to reduce it to 150 and below,– said O. Puronaitė.

When asked whether this means more money for the farm, Ms Puronaitė summed up: "It means a lot more money and a lot less work."

When it comes to manure and slurry management, the farm has made no mistake with the purchase of an „Agrometer“ slurry irrigator. We have a self-propelled „Agrometer a/s“ slurry irrigator which we have been using for two years. I can't imagine how we could carry out our work without the whole system. It is extremely efficient. And, let's just say, not requiring a lot of human resources. There is one person who helps unwind and rewind the hoses, and one operator who can water close to 3 000 cubic metres of digestate per day," said O. Puronaitė.

From the lagoons to the fields, the farm can lay about 6 kilometres of hoses to transport the liquid fraction.

Two exceptional days

The unique „Agrometer a/s“ technology is not the only thing that makes liquid manure feeding to the fields via hoses possible.

In October, UAB „interAG“, the only official representative of „Agrometer a/s“ in Lithuania, organised two field days to demonstrate the unique Danish slurry management technology. It is designed for medium and large farms where 60,000-80,000 cubic metres of liquid fraction need to be applied to fields per year.

„We are continuing our series of „Agrometer“ and „interAG“ field days, where we show what many farmers may not have seen. On the first field day we showed self-propelled liquid manure applicators, and now we have introduced trailed applicators (complete with a disc-type „Volmer“ cultivator)“ in the maize fields managed by Berčiūnai ŽŪB, said Ugnius Stančiauskas, Director of UAB „interAG“.

With one or more diesel transport stations, the farm can work over distances of 8-12 kilometres. One can only imagine that the transport of the liquid fraction in both directions could be even more than 20 km!

"This is particularly important when fields are too wet. We don't break the roads and paths that lead to the fields. In this case, 4-8 farm lagoons can be serviced. This is a lifesaver in wet, rainy conditions (so that the lagoons don't overflow and can be emptied in a sustainable way)"," emphasises U. Stančiauskas.

A typical slurry truck (e.g. 30 cubic metres) weighs around 50 tonnes with a tractor. But an "Agrometer SRS" unit, with hydraulically expanding axles, weighs only 28 tonnes. It runs on different tracks to the tractor, so there is no soil compaction.

Stunning combination of performance

The technical parameters were explained by Björn Puschmann‘ of „Agrometer a/s“.

„We are in a harvested maize field and we are applying liquid manure with a disc cultivator. What makes our technology special is that we feed the digestate through hoses (from a distance of about 500 metres) via a pump into our inserter and then we incorporate it into the soil, preparing it for sowing," explained the manager of „Agrometer a/s“.

No odour is detected, as the placement takes place at a depth of about 15 cm and about 190 cubic metres of liquid fraction are pumped per hour.

„The width of the pad is 8.5 metres. We inject about 70 cubic metres per hectare. This is a very large quantity. You can see for yourself that the inserter is really powerful, robust“, – Björn‘ proudly pointed to the working machinery, adding that the reel has 625 metres of hose, which is not dragged, but lays very nicely on the soil.

„Everything is done automatically, as the operator controls the flow through a computer. The incorporation is even, nice and efficient," said a representative of „Agrometer a/s“.

When asked about the payback of this unique technique, the Dane said frankly: „For a machine like the one you see today, you would need to insert about 60,000 to 70,000 cubic metres per year. And with a self-propelled irrigator, 80 000-90 000 cubic metres to start to see the benefits and to be worth the investment. Of course, with the support of the European Union, smaller farms can also buy the equipment. That is, they can invest quietly and then work productively.

Take advantage of EU support

Farmers can now get support through the National Paying Agency to buy a wide range of machinery and equipment. This is a unique opportunity for farmers to buy "Agrometer" watering cans or inserters, even if they have cooperated. After all, cooperating farmers' projects get extra points.

" I think that there are really small cooperatives with 4-15 members. There are a lot of them, especially in Samogitia. So why not buy one machine and provide services to its members?", says U. Stančiauskas, Director of UAB "interAG", adding that EU support is a great opportunity, not to mention the 40-60% intensity of the support (under the measure „Investments in agricultural holdings“. For this measure, applications are open until 4 November and 23 December) or 85 % aid intensity (under the measure "Development of very small holdings". Applications are invited until 29 November).

Experts from „interAG“ will help you to navigate the bureaucratic maze and provide you with the right advice when submitting your project.

If you are interested in „Agrometer“ technology, you can consult UAB „interAG“ by calling +370 672 82677 or by sending an email to info@interag.lt. For more information, please visit the official website www.interag.lt.