Agricultural Lime Products

Cropmech Supply Agricultural Liming products over the whole of the South West, both Direct to farmers, and through local agents. We have a range of products to offer, and which is the most cost effective for a particular farm will depend on

- Distance from the quarry
- Access – Artic or Rigid Lorries
- Speed of response required
- Soil type can sometime influence choice.

Products

Glendinning Ground Limestone

46% passing a 150 micron sieve, 54% NV. A Top grade product, usually most cost effective due to the specification compared to alternatives.

2mm to Dust Limestone

Comes from the Mendips, 20 -27% passing a 150 micron sieve, 53% NV. A cheaper product, but courser than the Glendinning material. Slower acting than ground limestone.

Ground Chalk

46% NV, 6mm to dust. Effective product, but can’t be left tipped in the rain, so more weather dependant than the other products.

Lime Sand

Lime sand is generally around 37NV, and takes approx. 1.5 – 2 tonnes of sand to do the same job on the PH as ground limestone. It has a benefit of helping the soil structure on heavy clay soils. It also contains a high level of salt, which can improve palatability issues on grassland. Cattle love grazing behind an application of sand.

Prilled Lime

We supply prilled lime in 600kg bags. More expensive than bulk lime, but has a place when there is problems with lorry access, steep land, small paddocks and top dressing crops at 24m.

Basic Slag

We supply Slag from the steel works in Wales ( long may it continue) This is courser than the old fashioned Slag a generation ago, but is and effective liming agent as well as supplying Phosphate and other trace elements. As a guide 1 tonne of Slag will correct the PH similar to 1 tonne of 2mm to dust, but also add 48 units of phosphate to the soil, and a lot of other trace elements including a high amount of Sulphur.

Fertiliser

As well as lime, we supply CropKare Fertiliser, which is a bulk form of Phosphate and Potash. It is 100% available to crops and contains lots of other trace elements. We deliver direct to farms from the docks, and also keep some in stock for small jobs where a whole lorry load is not required. This product is very cost effective, with more farmers moving over to it every season.

Due to the large tonnage we are supplying over the whole of the southwest, we are highly efficient and extremely competitive.

Liming

From Our depot at Huish, we run our own spreaders up to the M5 and down to Bodmin, and up to the north Devon Coast. Outside of this area, and in South Devon we tend to use other contractors who we know we can depend on to do a first class job.

Our spreaders are all on low ground pressure tyres, and we use GPS positioning for accuracy in the field. Our Latest spreader this spring is fully equipped to provide computerised spreading to GPS maps. If you have had your lime requirements mapped out on GPS co ordinates, we can upload the information and spread according to the spreading plan.

All our spreaders are pulled with Fendt tractors equipped with loaders for loading themselves on site. This means we are self sufficient when arriving on farm, and don’t need the customer to supply a loader.

We provide a full soil testing service either just for PH, or for full nutrients using NRM laboratories. (Pic of ATV and testing equipment here).

Bedding Sand

We Supply bedding sand to Livestock Farmers throughout the South West, in both rigid or artic lorries. This Sand is a clean, comfortable and inert bedding material that is well liked by cows, where bacteria cannot sustain growth resulting in lower somatic cell counts and a reduction of mastitis. Sand also extends the lying down time increasing milk production and reducing swollen hocks and knee injuries.

We Supply two types of Sand, Lime sand from Padstow in Cornwall, and also Pit Sand, with the split between the products being roughly 50/50. The Lime sand gives the advantages that when it ends up in the dung  and is spread on the fields it has a liming effect on the soil, so in effect giving  a double benefit. The problem with this is that in intensive dairy farms the Ph of the soil can get too high after a few years. The farms in this situation then tend to move to the Pit Sand, which is around Ph neutral, and so does not alter the ph of the soil.

Cubicle Care

We supply Cubicle care in 25kg bags and 500kg dumpy bags. It is a lime based  product which is normally applied to cattle cubicles to reduce and help control bacteria and mastitis to protect milk yield and the investment you've made in the land, feed and the herd. Simple to handle and easy to apply this specially blended hydrated lime is quick to take effect and produce results. We supply full pallets or lorry loads of this product throughout the UK. If you only need a small amount our stockist D & I Bridgmans should be able to help at any of their branches in the West Country.