Months of excessive moisture ups the ante for the new AS640.
Kenneth Hiser grows corn, soybeans and wheat in the “dead center of Kentucky,” near the small town of Big Clifty. He’s faced a challenge that is common for many farmers in 2019: Excessive moisture starting in early spring and persisting through the early summer has made it difficult for him to get his crops planted and sprayed in the “normal” timeframe.
“We farm about 2,000 acres and will probably spray our wheat three times this year,” said Hiser, who purchased an Apache AS640 in December 2018 to cover his spraying needs, which also include two passes through his corn acres and three passes through his soybeans.
The spring weather challenge followed an equally soggy fall, when corn and soybean harvest meant a lot of mud and ruts. Normally a no-till farmer, Hiser spent much of the start to the 2019 growing season conducting vertical tillage to smooth out the ruts left after fall harvest.
On top of the rush to finish planting soybeans, Hiser found himself facing rust disease issues in his wheat crop in mid-June, necessitating a full fungicide program for his crop.
Features that matter in a wet year
Though so much of the last 8-10 months have been a rush on his farm, spawned by repeated heavy rains that have kept him out of the field at key times, Hiser is more confident in his spraying operations with his new AS640. This is the third Apache Sprayer the former Spra-Coup operator has owned in the last decade. He previously owned an Apache AS715 and Apache AS720.
“What I liked about the AS640 is that it’s lighter and I could get the bigger tires on it,” Hiser said. “We have a lot of wet ground, and it’s on the sandy side. The weight of the machine helps it go places where you wouldn’t think it’d be able to go in the field.”
The Apache AS640 is the lightest self-propelled sprayer made by Equipment Technologies, weighing in under 17,000 lbs.
The maneuverability and coverage potential the AS640’s light weight provides persists despite the machine being two-wheel drive. While Hiser said he was originally a bit skeptical about the absence of four-wheel drive, he noted that he’s not had one occasion when he would have needed the heavier, more expensive drivetrain.
“I actually believe this machine will go anywhere a bigger four-wheel drive sprayer will go,” Hiser said. “Even though it’s a two-wheel drive machine, it will go just about anywhere. It’s amazing. It’ll just go.”
Hiser typically operates each Apache Sprayer he’s purchased for about three growing seasons before he’s ready for a trade-in. The combination of in-field performance, as well as the machines’ simplicity, will have Hiser looking to purchase another Apache Sprayer when he’s ready to trade in his new AS640.
“I’m 65 years old, and I like simplicity. These Apache machines were such a step up from the old Spra-Coupes, but still not as expensive as bigger machines,” he said. “Three years from now, I’ll be looking at a new Apache.”
Learn more about the Apache AS640. Ready to get serious? Locate your nearest dealer, or schedule a demo!
