New ASABE Standard Proposed On Fertilizer Application

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has initiated a project to develop a standard for evaluating variable rate granular material application. Individuals, companies, or organizations with interest and expertise in this area are encouraged to participate in the development process.

Defined test procedures for comparing machine performance of variable-rate application equipment are currently not available to manufacturers. This proposed standard will specify methods for testing and reporting application accuracy of dry granular materials. Similarly, consumers using these types of equipment, namely the agricultural community, will be able to incorporate objective performance data between machines into purchase decisions. Clear test procedures and performance specifications will allow users to select equipment on accuracy performance as well as more traditional measures of machine quality and cost. The standard may also provide for the testing of machines as they age, to quantify performance degradation with systems wear.

Persons interested in participating in the development of the standard should contact Standards Director Scott Cedarquist at (269) 439-0300, cedarq@asabe.org. A current listing of all ASABE standards projects can be found online at www.asabe.org/standards/proposed.html.