In a bid to maintain its high standards of welfare and bio-security, Herefordshire bird producer Farmpoint has invested in an XTA air-blast trailed sprayer to carry out poultry shed disinfection for its 800,000-bird operation.
“We really wanted to be more in control of how shed sterilisation took place once the buildings had been cleaned out, and the XTA looked to be the right bit of kit for the job,” explains Ed Turner, pictured. “It’s really important that the products we apply are dispersed effectively and thoroughly, to ensure that pathogens are eradicated.”
Supplied by Pallisers of Hereford, the XTA 3320 is an orchard-type air blast sprayer that uses a twin fan to produce an adjustable, 8-14 bar spray pressure that feeds 26 nozzles arranged in pairs.
“We wanted something that was both compact, yet generous in its capacity, and offered a high degree of manoeuvrability,” he says. “With its V-swivel hitch mounted to the tractor link arms, the 2,000-litre sprayer follows our L1342 Kubota tractor with a high degree of precision, which makes it very easy to thread it through the interior layout of our poultry sheds. If the tractor will drive through, so will the sprayer.”
“We’ve never before had a sprayer that could lift the backdraft shutters on our poultry buildings, so we know the XTA produces a very effective blast of air, which is giving us a far better coating of the inside of our buildings,” says Ed. “Importantly, we no longer get puddles on the floor, because we’d rather everything was coated by a thick fog that holds the disinfectant in place for as long as possible. Dwell time is the key to disinfectant effectiveness.”
The farm has also added an M7-153 which supports the cleaning process with a 2,600-gallon vacuum tanker that’s used to dispose of washings, which operator Luke Williams says has surprised those who have used it. Equipped with front linkage and PTO, the tractor is also used with a front-mounted flail topper.
“The M7 is far better than expected,” says Luke. “Cab and front axle suspension is really good, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the way it pulls a fully-loaded tanker.”
“Adding a low-loader trailer to the fleet will simplify moving the L-series and XTA sprayer combination between our three poultry units,” adds Ed.