Farming: Víctor Hernández fertilises grain fields

Monday, at 08.00 a.m. The fresh air of the Soria province fills Víctor Hernández’s lungs. “I’ve been waiting for the week to begin,” he smiles. He enters the Servicios Técnicos Agrarios Almazán offices, greeting his colleagues as he looks at his driving schedule: today he has to spread biostimulants on a rapeseed field. Víctor walks in the direction of the store to pick up the product with which he will fill the tanks for the spray system on his Unimog 300.

The Unimog: agile and unfazed by off-road terrain.

Víctor climbs into the vehicle and drives along the CL 116 road. “One of the advantages of the Unimog is that on the road it’s faster than a tractor,” he assures us. 30 minutes later he has covered 30 km and reached the plot of land that has been assigned to him. “The rapeseed is already in bloom,” he explains, “The owner has asked us to spread biostimulants over the crops so that they can end their growth cycle under optimum conditions.” He adds that the rapeseed will be used later for the production of hay, vegetable oil for human consumption and biodiesel.

Liquid fertiliser for grains and pulses.

In accordance with the protocol, Victor first drives around the land in the Unimog to get a more precise idea of its size. He then extends the rods of the spray system produced by AMP Sprayers, regulates the amount of product to be used per hectare and the distance between the rods and the ground. “Everything's ready!” he says. He presses a button next to the gearshift and the jets open immediately. Victor looks in his rear-view mirror: against the light, you can see how the Unimog gently distributes the biostimulants across the rapeseed.

Víctor often takes liquid fertiliser to grain and pulse fields – these plants are widespread in Castilla and León. “More than a thousand years ago, both of these crops were staple foods for humans,” he says, “but then farmers weren’t lucky enough to own their own Unimog.”

Photos: Begoña Tremps