-By Randy Cooper
“You look like a kid on Christmas morning.” That’s what my wife Betty said as she watched me jump out of the truck to see what the UPS man had left for me. I had been waiting on my new ATV broadcast spreader that I ordered from Moultrie. I’ve needed one of these to spread lime, seed and fertilizer. Doing it with a walk behind spreader is a major chore, especially when you are going up one hill and down another and running into stump holes and rocks. The hoppers on most walk behind spreaders only hold about 25 lbs at the most. They run out literally before you get started. Then you have to walk it back to the stack of sacks, reload it and here we go again. The Moultrie spreader will hold about 100 lbs in its hopper and it has a tight fitting lid that prevents spilling.
What I like most is that it comes with a mounting bracket allowing you to mount it on any kind of ATV. Or you can order brackets that will mount it to a utility vehicle or on the back of a truck. In my case, I mounted it on the back of my golf cart. I have a utility bed on the back of my cart with a fold-down gate. I’ve mounted the bracket in such a way that when I’m not using the spreader I simply remove two bolts and I’m able to fold the mounting arms out of the way and close the gate back up.
The set up is easy. It runs off 12 volts and plugs right into a cigarette lighter or an adapter that is available at any of the motorcycle or ATV shops. After powering it up, you go through a simple programming procedure. The spreader I am using has an electric slide gate that is remote controlled. It has six different opening positions for seeds of all sizes. When broadcasting lime, I open the gate all the way and move at a moderate speed. When I’ve reached the end of a row or need to stop and turn around, all I do is close the electric slide gate. You can leave the turntable running so that when you make your turn and line up for the next pass all you have to do is once again open the slide gate with the remote control and you’re back in business. This is a dream tool come true for someone like me. Not only can I use the spreader to spread lime, fertilizer, and seed in my food plots but I can also use it to spread lime and fertilizer in my yard, vegetable garden and flower garden as well.
To some, this might seem like cheating or taking the easy way out. Some guys I have met want to do things like they learned to do in the “old school.” I guess there’s nothing wrong with that if you insist on wearing yourself out to the point that you’re no good to yourself or anyone else when or if you finish. I learned from the old school too and that’s why I’m using the NEW implements of today that make these tough jobs so much easier than ever before. I have so much time and energy left over from using products like this to get the job done that I actually have time for other things. In fact, I was able to completely lime, fertilize and till the plot I was working on in about half a day.
I’ve included a few pictures of my new broadcast spreader. Call it a “guy thing” if you want but there is just something about new tools and gadgets that just makes you proud to have your picture taken along side of them. My wife calls it “A GUY AND HIS TOYS SYNDROME.” Oh well; I guess she could have called it something a lot worse!! I’m proud of it and all the work it’s saved me already as well as in the future.
Just one final note; when you use lime or fertilizer in the spreader, be sure to clean it out with a water hose and dry it good. Fertilizer is especially corrosive and will rust and pit just about everything not made of plastic.
Tools like this are worth their weight in gold in the amount of work and time they will save you. Invest in tools that will last you for years. The wear and tear it will take off your body will probably add years to you, too.
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