July 26, 2016 Farm Technologists

Volume 11 | Issue 3

Farmers are leaving behind the past in which they labored with picks and shovels, becoming sophisticated businessmen employing high tech equipment to improve efficiency and output. Armando Diana learns that Barron and Brothers International is at the forefront of that technology boon.

From the days of the horse and plow farmers have continually looked for more efficient ways to tend to their land. Today, farmers use sophisticated equipment that go far beyond horse sense thanks to businesses like Barron and Brothers, International that designs and manufactures organic and granular material spreaders for the agriculture, poultry, turf and construction industries.
Based in Habersham County, Ga., the manufacturer has developed a reputation for making quality products that increase the efficiency of the farmer while offering the lowest cost of use in the industry. Most people think of a farmer as using antiquated equipment while toiling at his trade throughout the day.

Barron and Brothers not only shatters that convention but goes one step further by equipping farmers with high tech gadgetry that includes global positioning systems. The company incorporates variable rate global positioning systems into some of its product lines to maintain the proper material distribution rate per pound based on the terrain.

It maximizes yield by guiding the spreader through a field in a parallel swath so the farmer obtains the right distribution to get an even application – without overlapping. This idea, called precision agriculture, is about knowing exactly where the farmer is, where they’re going, and what they need to do in between those two points.

“Farmers nowadays are educated, articulate businessmen who rely on today’s technology to stay ahead on the business,” said Lee Kilpatrick, director of sales and marketing.

Kilpatrick says as the spreading equipment moves about the farmland at various locations the variable rate global positioning system makes the necessary adjustments to either increase or decrease the “throw content” of the material being spread. Traditionally, mechanical marking systems have been used to aid in similar applications, but technology now offers a more effective option.

A global positioning system guidance tool allows the user to knowledgeably navigate a field and apply the right amount of material at the right time and place. It also eliminates overlap and skips, reduces costs associated with inefficient application, provides maintenance savings associated with mechanical marking systems, and is easy to use and install

THE PRODUCT IS THE DIFFERENCE
Barron and Brothers offers six different type of spreaders built for various applications. The company manufactures spreaders for litter, lime and shavings. The equipment comes with an accu-flow pattern divider, an exclusive design feature on Barron and Brothers’ litter spreaders that assures uniform material delivery to the spinners for improved material distribution.

The company recently introduced the MegaSpreadTM in response to requests from large acreage farmers that combines the company’s proven truck mount wide-swath fertilizer and lime MagnaSpreadTM with its proprietary pull type 14-ton walking beam suspension frame with floatation tires.

The spreaders also include the company’s proprietary spinner design that delivers a wide, flat, consistent pattern in flat 80-foot-plus swaths. Spreaders that do not deliver a flat spread pattern may throw a wide swath, but do not allow a driving interval of the same width.

Because the spreader has a wider throw pattern than most competitive brands, the farmer saves money in the long run since it takes less passes to fully cover a farm. This efficiency and quality of application is what differentiates Barron and Brothers products from the competition.

This equipment also performs very well with lime application, delivering up to two tons per acre at 14 miles per hour with a 60 foot swath. The MegaSpreadTM and the MagnaSpreadTM are designed for farmers and custom applicators that need to cover large acreage quickly with precision. Either spreader is designed for use with variable rate control or straight control.

In addition, Barron and Brothers manufactures six other spreaders to meet the most difficult environments. Spreaders are available in a wide variety of sizes and types and are built in both carbon and stainless steel, and many chain styles and sizes and electronic controls are available in both pull type and truck mount.

Within this category Barron and Brothers introduced the Triad Series™, which is the only three-material spinner spreader on the market today. A Triad spreader is the first three-material spreader system capable of conveying and broadcasting three different granular materials at three varying rates while moving. This makes for a true one-pass-variable rate application.

The rear hoppers are capable of spreading rates as low as 10 pounds per acre and as high as 250 pounds per acre. As a result, micro-nutrients can be applied at the prescribed rate while maximizing efficiency. The Triad™ utilizes the company’s Magna Spread™ technology and can be equipped to do high ground speed applications.

MORE THAN JUST FARMS
Barron and Brothers goes beyond farms and makes spreading equipment for other applications like precision application equipment for the golf course environment. Spreading fertilizer on golf
courses requires exactness when disseminating fertilizer and lime for top dressings and row cropping. The GrasshopperTM offers high ground clearance for a five-ton fertilizer or seven-ton lime spreader designed for precision application with a rounded payload capacity of 180 cubic feet. The stainless steel or carbon steel hopper is nine feet long and eight feet wide with a 45-degree angle of repose sides.

The company also manufactures the CricketTM series featuring a two- to three-ton fertilizer and lime spreader for precision dry material application. The Cricket provides an affordable and dependable option to meet those needs require only a 30-40 horsepower tractor to pull it. With a narrow wheel track width, it can be maneuvered through narrow paths. Wide flotation tires are standard to minimize compaction.

Rounding out the product line is the SkeeterTM series which is a two- or five-ton pull-type fertilizer spreader capable of 40 foot spread swaths. A re-engineered, simplified version of the company’s traditional five-ton spreader, these units are built tough and will save the user time and money in the field.

Other non-farm application equipment includes a state-of-theart gravel spreader that can replace several pieces of equipment in construction vehicle fleets. The gravel spreader will go where a raised dump truck will not. The equipment is designed to help crews spread road salt, sand, gravel and rocks and can save the operator up to 40 percent in materials and spreading costs by covering more area in less time with less gravel. The RockBuildTM series offers an easy to operate load-and-go design that enables the operator to spread a consistent application of materials anywhere the truck will travel. It eliminates the need for a dump truck and blade or grader to spread rock because it effectively spreads rock, gravel and salt.

MORE THAN A SAYING
The Barron and Brothers International philosophy is making “simple solutions to difficult problems.” But Kilpatrick says the sentiment is more than just a saying. He says the company has excelled in the spreading equipment industry by transforming that concept into their selling advantage.

Technology has changed the farm equipment industry, he explains, and Barron and Brothers has been at the forefront of those technology changes by “listening to customers and building
a product to meet their needs.”

He says the company realizes the same solution doesn’t solve every problem which is why the company provides a wide range of products with great flexibility and customization options. The company’s products are tough and durable, coupled with adaptable designs and outstanding customer service. That combination has created an inventive company committed to improving customers’ economics through quality products, flexibility in design, and support services.

Barron and Brothers business has been built on quality spreading equipment, but Kilpatrick says they consider customer relationships to be the foundation of the company. The company was founded by Doug Barron and family, who knew that selling the right spreader to the right customer was the best way to serve needs and make relationships.

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