Fertilisers
OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS the fertiliser industry has had many changes, especially in the way they are applied. I well remember when I was at school, the playing field had patches of daisies everywhere, and the trick to remove them was to use sulphate of ammonia. We were issued with a small bag of the stuff, and told to drop a few crystals on the centre of every plant, usually at playtime. This chemical had two effects, it burnt out the centre of the daisy, and fertilised the surrounding grass, so that it soon covered the spot. I mention this because there was no other way of applying it selectively; indeed no other way without investment in machinery. We boys were numerous and cheap.
On a farm scale most fertilisers were in the form of ground crystals, very dusty and prone to get damp and clog up into lumps. In my memory they were usually delivered in paper bags, the inner layer being sprayed with a plastic film to keep out any moisture, and to prevent any chemical sticking to the paper. These bags weighed one hundred-weight each, and had to be man-handled. They originally came via the railway, which involved much handling; out of the railway truck onto a farm trailer, then unload into a storage shed, later to be reloaded and taken to the field to finally tipped into the spreader. This system was improved by the use of a lorry train. In the 1960's the ICI firm would deliver an hundred ton order in one day ! A group of six fifteen ton lorries ( a little overloaded) would arrive, the first at eight o'clock in the morning, and take it's load to the appropriate shed. All my staff would be on hand ( nobody wishing to be excused this mammoth task!), to off load these bags, and make a tidy stack. It did not take long, and as there was usually another waiting to be unloaded, we just got on with it.
We did this for two years until Chafers, a spray chemical firm developed a system to deliver these plant nutrients in liquid form. This required adapting the spraying equipment, and providing suitable storage tanks. But, the advantages were clear. No carrying heavy bags, at any time. No involvement in accepting deliveries, and especially at the time we used the fertiliser, no hard work in spreading it. At this time the rail network was being overhauled by Dr Beeching, and in addition to rail closures many wagons were declared obsolete.. The old oil tankers were far too small for use and were scrapped. I purchased two to these, one at each of the farms. They arrived on lorries, loaded by a heavy duty crane , but little thought was given as to how to unload them We were told they weighed three tons each, and that a tractor front end loader could mange it. Well-- my equipment did not make any attempt to lift the thing off, chiefly because there was a considerable amount of crude oil in the bottom. I had not realised how complicated these tankers were, as inside was a collection of heavy steam pipes to keep the oil warm and so liquid. The tanks we received were loaded with thick gluey oil three feet thick.
In the end we found we could not lift even one end. We had to hire a crane to lift them off , and place them on the wood cradles we had ready for them. Later we lit fires under the tank;. thinned the oil, and I'm afraid to say let it run out into a trench, and burned it. Not quite such a terrible thing to do, as it would have been burned anyway, either in cars, or industry. At this time it was common to burn much farm rubbish. Fields of unwanted straw and other crop wastes were set on fire. I don't think our small very seasonal pollution activities did much harm, but nowadays it would not be tolerated.
So being set up with tanks the fertiliser business was easy. Many types of liquid were soon available for use on the different crops, indeed I had to purchase another larger tank for the land near the Reach farm, but I was one jump ahead of the supplier, in that the contract was to install the tank on footings I had prepared, so no lifting problems. This new tank was painted green, and looked very smart. The old rail trucks looked very shabby but did have SHELL written on them. I was sorry that logo had to go to give a smart appearance to the farm-yard.
Whist this new system was going on, changes were also in progress in the solid fertiliser business. The prill was invented, and eventually the paper bag was replaced by a polythene one holding one ton. This meant that all the handling was done by machinery, and the larger quantity reduced the loading time. Today most fertiliser is delivered this way, although I do notice the large liquid tanks are still around. My two rail tanks have since been cut up and sent away as scrap metal. The prill is a system of heating the mixed chemicals, and adding sufficient water to make them flow. They are then poured down a tower like rain, and solidify as they fall. These round balls are then sorted and the correct size bagged up, the odd bits go through the system again. This makes it easy to measure accurately the amount put on the land
So the fertiliser manufacture has had many changes, and I am certain there are more to come. The method of applying them has changed also. In the early days, the horse drawn spreader would cover eight feet or so, and worked by flicking the granules off a revolving plate. This plate was half outside, and half inside the box of fertiliser with a shutter to regulate the amount let out. This idea lasted many years until power was available. Today the chemicals are measured out in the centre of the machine, and blown by air down pipes on to the ground. These pipes can be almost any length, so thirty foot spreaders are common Power also enabled high speed revolving discs to fling the granules over a considerable distance, whilst another idea was a steel tube waving back and forth at speed, again involving a sort of flicking action.
All these changes have enabled the farms to be run by very few staff these days. High output, modern techniques, even satellite navigation to get the rows straight, or to alter the rate of application to suit the soil conditions; just type in the requirements, burn the disc, place it in the slot, and away we go. Oh yes , and don't forget to put on the radio!