The difficulty in recruiting experienced staff is not just a problem here, it is also one faced by Dutch contractors and this is the main reason why businesses with umbilical spreading systems are investing in remote controlled pumps to remove a person from the operation. This includes De Groen Compagnie, which operates in an area around the village of Aartswoud, just a short drive north of Amsterdam.
Slurry is one of the most important jobs for the contractor, which injects around 200,000 cubes a year in a season that starts with grassland from the middle of February and ends with arable land in September. This is all done by two identical 12m Schouten Spider SP C1230 umbilical-fed disc injectors, of which one arrived new in 2021 and the other in 2023. The main machine does 115,000-125,000m³ of the total behind a 2018 Fendt 720, (supported by a 10-year old Fendt 820 for looking after the pipes) that notches up around 1,000 hours a season.
