Magnum Ag Spreading was founded in Fall of 2021. We were approached by a local Ag retailer, Core Ag, about the need to find more spreading power. Core Ag provides custom options for growers like Biosul, lime, compost, and Replenish Nutrients specific to the farm requirements. At that point, we decided to purchase an AgriSpread AS170-T. The experience of local people in the area and the industry made AgriSpread an easy choice to accomplish the tasks being asked of us. The flexibility to apply multiple products and low rates up to very high rates like 2MT / ac on lime gives us the ability to help with every need on the farm.
We are located about five minutes north of Strathmore, Alberta. Strathmore is a town with a population of 15,000. It is one of the largest towns in Alberta, and is currently eligible for city status. Strathmore is located about forty five minutes east of Calgary, Alberta. Our coverage area is roughly an hour and a half radius of Strathmore. We do a few thousand acres in Hanna, Alberta every year which is two hours north east of Strathmore, and that is the farthest we travel.
I am very often asked how long it takes for me to spread a field/farm. My answer is always the same, “That’s a loaded question”. The amount of time depends on multiple different factors being field conditions, distance between each field on a farm, farm size overall (how many fields and how many acres in those fields), application rate, spread width, location of product pickup, and truck turn around times. To put an amount of time that it takes into perspective, my max speed in the field is 15MPH. If I spread at a width of 80ft, I can cover roughly 130 ac/h. That calculation does not include turning at the end of a pass, and how many turns I make depends on the size of the field. Realistically that number would be closer to 90-100 ac/h. Depending on product volume and field conditions, I usually load about 30,000lbs onto the spreader for each load. If I apply a rate of 140lbs/ac I would cover 214 acres in 2 – 2 ½ hours, not including load times. A section field is 640 acres so the simple answer, without factoring in calculations for product pickup, would be 7 hours at 140lbs/ac. If we compare Canadian farms to European farms, the majority of our farms are much bigger. We still have many small farms in Canada. Some farms are 15,000 acres or more, and some are 600 acres or less. Our customer base is a relatively even mix of both.
We spread both compost based products (Replenish Nutrients products like Bio-Sul and more) and synthetics (prilled or pelletized) like urea and blended granular products. It varies between each farm as growers have different fertilizer programs on their farms. Because of that, we don’t exactly follow the market, we do a variety of everything depending on what each farm requires. With that, about 80% of the product we spread is compost based. Most farmers using synthetics (gas, solid, or liquid) apply fertilizer themselves using their air drill, or other multi use tools/machines that they already own (ex: sprayer).
I always tell people that the AgriSpread is like the cadillac of spreaders, comparable to no other. As well as, the AgriSpread is smarter than the operator. Once I set my product settings, I do 10 acres and then check my rate. If I need to I adjust my settings or I do a nudge calibration, and the spreader does the rest. Sometimes I have issues with the density changing (I always run in dynamic mode). That’s because with certain products the density changes so much, and so fast, throughout a load that the flow factor can’t keep up. I usually combat that issue by bumping the rate up or down 10lbs instead of constantly trying to do nudge calibrations and risk over calibration. Depending on the product I’m currently spreading, my width is set between 70ft and 110ft.
As a contractor with Magnum Ag Spreading, I operate our 2016 Fendt Vario 1038 and our AgriSpread AS170-T. Hopefully in the future we will be able to add a floater, ideally one with a liquid tank! At the farm I live and work on in the off season, I operate; Swather/discbine, Combine, Grain cart, Bailer, Rake, Discer, Land Roller, Wheel loader, Excavator, Skid Steer, Moffit fork lift, various sizes of tractors with and without front end loaders, and 4 wheel drive tractors. In the spreading business, I am the only female contractor to my knowledge.
There are multiple other contractors with AgriSpreads in Alberta, both single units and multiple units, as well as one in Saskatchewan with multiple units. Some contractors in Alberta travel to Montana, USA and the contractor in Saskatchewan works in Manitoba as well. All of these mentioned contractors are men.
Our harvest season in Canada usually runs any time between August and November, and seeding can be anytime between March and May for all our common crop varieties. Our spreading season, which is roughly half a year, is usually about 2 months in the spring (March and April), 2-3 weeks mid July to early August for Hay, and 3 months in the fall (mid September-mid December). During those times, we average 12-14 hour days. Sometimes we have to do 16-18 hour days, and sometimes we will work nights if it’s too windy during the day to spread. Our highest priority is maintaining a quality job, so we do whatever needs to be done to work with Mother Nature.
Amber Davidson |Magnum Ag Spreading
https://www.instagram.com/magnumagspreading/
