John Toedte knows well the constraints and challenges that custom applicators face in meeting all customers’ spraying needs, having worked as one before taking on full-time management of his family’s Centralia, Illinois, farm. He’s also well-versed on what makes for efficient, effective applications and that’s what led him to purchase an Apache Sprayer for all his farm’s spraying needs. For him, purchasing an Apache was as much about saving time as it was saving money.
Once he took over his farm’s management, Toedte wanted to upgrade to a larger sprayer. When he did, he was left with potentially costly repairs on a previous self-propelled machine that led him to look for a more straightforward, purpose-driven machine. His search ultimately led him to Apache.
“We used to have a pull-behind sprayer on the farm, but that’s back when we had more time to do our own spraying. As we grew, I upgraded to a different self-propelled sprayer with hydrostatic drives and wasn’t happy with them at all. I had a wheel motor going bad on the hydrostat and it was going to cost $6,000 to repair. That’s what got me looking elsewhere,” Toedte said. “I thought Apache was great for the money and the direct drive system would be a very good fit for me. I was able to purchase my Apache for $50,000 less than a comparable machine.”
Toedte uses his Apache to spray his farm’s acres a minimum of three times each growing season. In addition to the maintenance savings that comes with owning an Apache, Toedte saves by buying chemical and fertilizer himself. It all adds up to a financially efficient operation, especially when he adds on the spraying he does for other area farmers.
“I do all my own spraying now, including fertilizer. I would say it’s saving me at least $10 to $12 per acre, even counting maintenance,” Toedte said. “I do some custom work for other smaller area farmers when the cooperatives can’t keep up. When a smaller farmer is a ways down their list, I go in and help out.”
Though he sees major benefits from both cost and maintenance standpoints, Toedte said the biggest pro of operating his own Apache Sprayer comes from timeliness. He considers himself one of his area’s smaller farmers and having worked as a custom applicator, Toedte knows farms of his size are not always the highest priorities for applicators with long lists of customers, many of whom are larger than him, acreage-wise. Owning and operating his own sprayer has helped him overcome this common drawback to working with a custom applicator, especially for smaller farmers.
“I get to spray when it needs to be done. My weeds aren’t as tall, and my fields are cleaner,” he said. “That’s a benefit you don’t see at first, but you soon realize how much it impacts you in the long run.”
Want to learn more about the cost benefits of owning and operating your own Apache Sprayer? Start here.
