With a newly acquired 36 meter SAMSON SHB4 hose boom, Varnæsløkke Maskinstation can get around the narrow and hilly roads on Sundeved more easily. - And the boom follows the terrain with the new boom steering," enthuses one of the machine station's slurry pilots.

The beautiful hilly landscape between Aabenraa and Sønderborg is also among the most agriculturally intensive in Denmark. Heavy soils in a hilly terrain facing Aabenraa Fjord and Alssund, connected by narrow and winding roads.

Is this the kind of area that would be the first to want ever-wider hose booms and slurry trailers with the highest load capacity? Yes, actually!

Machine station owner Allan Lund, Varnæslykke Maskinstation og Kloakservice, doesn't want to be the one to dictate a maximum of 24 meters of maintenance track among his customers.

- I remember it well. Even when we got the first staggeringly wide 12 meter spray boom, we thought it couldn't get any bigger. "For a long time we thought 24 meters would be the new standard, but now some of my customers are installing 36 meters of maintenance tracks, so we just have to keep up," he says.

Automatic boom control

When the transition to a SAMSON 36 m snake boom also makes it easier to travel on small roads and the boom never digs into the ground, it's a pleasure to follow the development.

- I've only been in the ground with this boom once, and it was a blatant driver error that I have to take on my own head, explains employee and slurry truck pilot at Varnæsløkke Maskinstation, Morten Petersen about the automatic boom control from SAMSON.

- Whereas I used to drive the boom a little too high, this one sweeps over the crop at the correct height thanks to the automatic boom control. Of course, it also protects the boom from hitting the crop or the ground when we drive in the hilly terrain," he explains.

In the hilly terrain of Varnæsløkke Maskinstasjon's customers, there is a good reason for automatic boom steering. And a big advantage is that the boom can also go below horizontal when driving with a width of 36 meters.

Machine owner Allan Lund, Varnæsløkke Maskinstation, has a total of three slurry trailers from SAMSON. The latest one he bought is used. He got this PG II 31 cubic meter slurry tanker with 36 meter SHB4 boom and automatic boom steering for the 2020 season.

Plenty of traction

Varnæsløkke Machineinstation's SAMSON SHB4 36 meter wide snake boom was one of the first to hit the market.

Machine station owner Allan Lund bought the slightly used 36 meter wide SAMSON SHB4 hose boom together with a 31 cubic meter SAMSON PG II slurry tanker from Samson Agrolize and, together with a 3 cubic meter front tank, can bring 34 cubic meters of slurry to the field every time. Or just the amount that a local haulier with his 34 cubic meter manure truck carries in each load.

However, we don't use the front tank here in the summer, when we mostly spread slurry after mowing," says Allan Lund.

- Generally speaking, here at the contracting company we drive with large tractors in front of our 3 SAMSON slurry trailers. It's necessary with the many hills we have here...

During the summer, Varnæsløkke Maskinstation runs without a front tank. In the otherwise pig-dense area, there are also grassland fields that need a little help getting started. - It's nice that we can be more flexible with the tractors," says machine station owner Allan Lund.

Pick up yourself in Viborg

Varnæsløkke Maskinstation bought both the SAMSON PG II 31 slurry tanker and SHB4 hose boom from Samson Agrolize as used for the 2020 season.

- We got rid of an old SAMSON trailer in exchange. Actually, I was a bit surprised when I realized that the old truck had already run for 18 seasons," says Allan Lund.

- Even though the trailer and hose boom were used, Samson Agrolize offered to send two men to a course in Viborg. We picked up the trailer ourselves and together with the pickup of the trailer and boom, we had the latest boom control adapted and installed in the tractor. This has meant that we have run the entire season without any problems, the electronics have worked flawlessly and my people have quickly become familiar with it," says Allan Lund and admits that he is not a driver on the slurry gear himself.

- I have good people for that," he says modestly.

Quick folding

The SAMSON SHB4 boom can be used in multiple grooming track systems.

- We can run 20, 24, 30 and 36 meter systems, but I think there are a few more customers who will switch to a 36 meter system next season. And when it turns out that it's also more comfortable for us to drive with the larger width, I can only applaud the trend towards ever larger working widths," says Allan Lund.

- The wide boom folds in less than 30 seconds and takes up less space on narrow country roads than previous booms, which we all appreciate.

Slurry pilot Morten Petersen adds that the combination with the four distributors on the SHB4 boom has an additional advantage.

- Although you might think the opposite with such a wide boom, in my experience, this boom is even significantly better at pushing out thick cattle slurry. There have been no blockages at all, he points out.