A bulk glyphosate handling system was named best new invention at the recent Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina.Dennis Bulani of Rack Petroleum in Biggar, Sask., said the idea came to him at 3 a.m. on a November day last fall while finishing up the 2009 harvest.As a bulk fuel dealer and farmer, he was thinking of the days when fuel was delivered to farms in barrels.”As the volume of diesel fuel increased, that became quite a ted-ious job, hence came the bulk fuel truck,” he said.Rack Petroleum is an independent bulk fuel dealer that has delivered fuel for 25 years.”With the staff and expertise we have in handling gasoline and diesel, the thought occurred to me that I think the herbicide industry is going to evolve to bulk just like fuel did,” Bulani said.He introduced the handling system this spring and called it the Racketeer. It includes a fully contained 8,000-litre tank complete with a pump and metered flow system. Farmers can store their glyphosate on their farms in specially designed tanks that meet stringent environmental requirements.Although glyphosate isn’t considered a dangerous good, Bulani said he decided to treat it as such to alleviate environmental concerns.”The tank itself has got a berm on it, basically it’s got 10 percent containment, and it’s portable, so that way we can be good stewards of delivering the product to on-farm, know that it’s being stored safely.”Bulani said the system also saves farmers money.”We eliminate all the pods and plastic and freight that’s involved with handling herbicides.”Rack Petroleum and DuPont Canada agreed in February to supply Polaris brand glyphosate through the Racketeer system. Polaris won’t freeze, so leftover product can be left in the tank during winter.”We still urge our customers to recirculate the product in the spring if it’s been sitting all winter to make sure that it’s a homogeneous substance.”Bulani said customers like the new system.”We got quite a number of tanks out this spring and the response from the users has been more than just average. It’s been quite exciting.”Response at the show was also greater than he anticipated, he said.For more information, visit www.therackonline.com.
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