Josh Whitear works at Netherley Farm Partnership, which won the YEN milling wheat competition this year with a crop of Crusoe that yielded almost 12t/ha.

Josh Whitear © MAG/Oliver Mark

What sprayer are you using?

We’re on our fifth season with an Amazone front-and-rear combination that we bought after seeing our neighbour’s. It does 700 hours/year and replaced a 2,400-litre Knight combi, which we still have in the shed for emergencies.

It cost roughly £40,000, including £5,000 for the front tank. Circulation between the two is continuous to keep the mix agitated and liquid is automatically transferred to the rear to maintain a decent weight balance, so it’s only when the front tank is completely empty that it gets a bit light on the nose.

The tractor is the expensive part of any mounted sprayer setup. Originally, I had it on a John Deere 6150R but, a couple of years ago, that was upgraded to a 6155R. It made a huge difference in terms of how I operate the sprayer, as I can now set all the controls on the Command Pro joystick.

See also: Simple 24m mounted sprayers for less than £30,000

What extras did you get?

© MAG/Oliver Mark

We ordered a second 4600 screen for the tractor, which means I can view sprayer information via the Isobus connection on one and Greenstar RTK on the other.

Having previously run SF1 guidance, the move to RTK was a bit of a step up. The application maps never wander, which is important as I spray at high water volumes and often need two tank loads for larger fields.

Field sizes are also bang on, so I tend to fill 0.1ha less than is required to finish a job, allowing for the spray lines to be completely emptied – it’s surprising how much they hold.

As for the sprayer, I’ve got automatic boom height and individual nozzle control. Amazone’s “comfort” pack means I can tap an exact water-fill volume into the screen and also initiate a tank rinse from the tractor cab. The latter is useful, as I’m pretty thorough when it comes to washing out.

© MAG/Oliver Mark

One extra that has proved particularly handy is a £750 custom-made bracket to carry the pipes joining the front and rear tanks up the side of the tractor – a bit like you’d have with a front-mounted drill hopper. The box-section frame slots into a bracket bolted to the chassis.

This saves undoing any of the pipes when uncoupling,, which avoids the risk of spillages and makes it easy to spot any leaks. There’s no chance of the pipes catching the crop during work, either.

I’ve made a carrier frame for the castor wheels too, so I have them with me all the time, and have another set for the front tank. It means I can drop the lot off in 10 minutes and wheel everything to store neatly in the shed. I tend to take the side frame off as well, as it wobbles around a bit without the weight of the pipes on it.

Over the past couple of years I have added a few LED lights, including new ones for the front tank and a pair of cameras to help when pulling out of gateways. They run via an adaptor from Vapormatic straight into the Deere terminal.

I’ve also got one at the back for reversing and a second to keep an eye out for nozzle blockages on the central boom section. These two run through a separate screen – I have the reversing one displayed when travelling and switch to boom mode when spraying.

How has it performed?

Performance has generally been really good, and we’ve had no major breakdowns.

Like any machine, it has a few weaknesses, though. The two pumps – a six-piston unit for the sprayer and three-piston version for liquid transfer between the two tanks – have been trouble free, but they are noisy, particularly as they’re always running at the same time.

And the application rate periodically flickers on the screen when gunk gets in the pressure sensor. I’m pretty sure it’s just a visual problem though, as I always end up spraying the right amount and it’s fine again once I’ve cleaned it.

Storage box © MAG/Oliver Mark

My other gripes are fairly minor. The storage box is positioned really close to the boom, so it’s not a great place to be keeping coveralls and gloves. Plus the boom break-backs are a bit flimsy and tend to wobble over hard, bumpy ground.

In the long term, we’d like to go to 30m booms, ideally with a slightly larger tank capacity. A trailed machine is probably out of the question because of the steep banks we work on, but several manufacturers now offer a 3,500-litre combination that would give me more capacity without having to upgrade to a huge tractor – something like a Deere 6195R would do the job.

What are your go-to nozzles?

I’ve got triple bodies carrying different Hypro Guardian Air nozzles. For late-season ear wash applications at 100 litres/ha, I tend to use a 02 yellow and run slowly – between 8 and 9kph – to keep the spray around the ear and avoid hammering the crop.

Through the rest of the season, I tend to run at a 150 litre/ha water rate and speed of 9-11kph, using either an 03 blue or 035 red/brown. For pre-ems, I use an 04 twin at 200 litres/ha. Nozzle choice comes down to the conditions on the day and it means I’ve got options if the wind picks up.

What’s your spray store and fill-up area like?

Our filling area isn’t particularly fancy, but we’re hoping to build something smarter in the next couple of years that will include a bio bed. I’ve got two bunded pallets, one of which I put under the induction hopper to catch any splashes when filling. The other I use for carrying all the containers out of the chemical store, and it means I can open all the lids prior to loading without risking any uncontained spillages. A recent addition was a couple of magnetised whiteboards that I slap above the induction hopper with my tank mixes written down.

I also bought a bunded Clarke service trolley – like you’d see in a workshop – for measuring and draining containers. I can then chuck the rinsings in the induction hopper while I’m washing out. Plus, I’ve got emergency drain covers and a large spill kit at the fill-up area, and carry another kit on the front tank.

I’m fastidious about tank cleanliness. I tend to do a rinse in the field, then do two separate 750-litre fills that I spray out. If you’ve got the time then it’s definitely worth it, especially between crops.

I’ve also got a wash-down lance to clean the booms in the field, rather than washing them at the yard. It’s fed by the 250-litre clean water tank and has plenty of pressure.

We’re still on pen and paper spray records, but I do all the Gatekeeper data entries so I can double-check everything, including the recommendations. I’ve got a good relationship with our agronomist Chris Rylatt, so I can call him with any queries or last-minute changes.