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Dry Fertilizer System Fits Variety Of Planters
With few planter makers offering dry starter fertilizer systems, especially on larger planters, a small company in Quebec is making a big splash. Aulari makes dry fertilizer kits to modify planters and cart-based systems for use with either fertilizer or seed on 12 and 16-row planters.
  “We make kits for 6 to 24-row planters of practically all makes to use granular starter instead of liquid,” says Patrick Audette, president, Aulari. “Our fertilizer hopper mounts to the frame where the liquid tanks now go and are easily installed by the user. With everything we do, we try to keep things simple.”
  The Aulari systems have a mechanical drive, variable flow metering with airflow distribution to each row unit. Airflow can be produced by pto, tractor hydraulics or a pto drive.
  “The ground drive with its variable rate transmission can deliver from 60 to 400 lbs. per acre with a single sprocket,” says Audette. “To apply less than 60 or more than 400 lbs., simply change the sprocket. Only three sprockets handle all fertilizer and seed needs.”
  The fertilizer is precisely placed 2 in. to the side and 2 in. below the seed using Aulari precision placement fertilizer coulters. Each coulter has its own gauge wheel and either an 18 or 20-in. disc for deep placement. Discs are easily replaced by simply removing the depth pin.
  “We call it two by two,” says Audette. “Down pressure on our coulters is adjusted from 400 to 640 lbs. with a simple pry bar. We have five depth settings that are adjusted simply by moving a pin. No other tools are required. It takes just minutes to adjust down pressure and depth on 12 rows.”
  The 120-bushel hoppers are available with expansions to 140 bushels (3 1/2-ton fertilizer or 2 1/2 ton seed) and can serve double or even triple duty. Mounted to a corn planter, they put down starter fertilizer. With a simple attachment, they can be used as a nurse hopper or seed reserve when planting soybeans. Later in the season, the kit can be removed from the planter and mounted on a toolbar for side-dressing granular nitrogen.
  “Unlike air seeders, our hopper is not pressurized,” says Audette. “It doesn’t have to be airtight, and there is no worry about leaky manifolds. Farmers also like the electronic scale option. Users tell me it is more accurate than the electronic monitors on their tractors.”
  Aulari also offers a tow-between cart with a universal hitch that matches different types of equipment. The cart can be outfitted with the 120/140-bushel hopper or a 200-bushel hopper. Larger units are designed for 12 and 16-row planters while the smallest can be used with 6 and 8-row planters. Any of the tow between carts can also be used for multiple applications. Audette says it takes about 4 hrs. to switch between systems.
  “We have one customer who uses his cart with an air boom to fall apply fertilizer,” says Audette. “In early spring he applies urea to winter wheat. Then he hooks his planter to it to plant corn and apply granular starter. Finally he uses it to side-dress urea on his corn. Another fellow with an air drill hooks it to the cart early for peas and later uses the cart for corn and then for side-dressing with a toolbar.”
  Combining the 200-bushel tow-between cart and a 120-bushel frame mounted unit creates a ground gobbling system. Audette says customers with the two units can cover 260 acres in a day, 25 percent faster than they can with other systems.
  The Aulari coulters are also built for speed. “Some of our customers with auto steer regularly side-dress corn at 10 mph without damaging roots,” he says. “Some put down as much as 600 lbs. per acre in a single pass.”
  The frame-mounted ALR3002 with 120-bu. hopper starts at around $26,000 for a basic system. With options it can increase to $40,000. The tow-between ALR2103AM cart starts at around $80,000.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Industrie Aulari, Inc.; 
620, rang Saint-Roch; 
Saint-Barnabé-Sud; 
Québec, Canada
 J0H 1G0 (ph 450 792-2126; toll free 
877 892-2126; info@aulari.com; www.aulari.com).


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2013 - Volume #37, Issue #2