The Elixir 66 is Farmada’s commercial applicator for liquid, dry and anhydrous fertilizer. The Elixir 66 features a ladder-style frame with 6 x 6 inch heavy tubing and large 72 inch spacing front to back. It is capable of applying fertilizer up to 8 inches into the ground.

When it comes to key features, Daniel Rauchholz, founder of Farmada, emphasizes aspects that improve the Elixir 66’s versatility.

“One of the key features is the oscillating axles on the center frame, which can move up and down in the field,” he says. “This gives you the benefit of a tandem but the row transport abilities of straight, inline axles. On crowned roads, this spreads the load of the machine evenly across all transport tires to reduce wear.”

Rauchholz explains that the Elixir 66 comes in two configurations: coulter-shank or split-mount, with a third, high-speed, low-disturbance unit in the works.

“In the first style, the coulter and the shank are mounted on the same frame member,” he says. “This is preferred by growers with lots of hills and terraces. Then in the split-mount style, the coulter is mounted on the front tool frame element and the shank is mounted on the rear. 

“The split-mount is preferred by high-residue no-tillers who farm a little straighter. When you’ve got a 65-foot unit with 72 inches between the coulter and shank, they won’t align as well on large curves.”

Rauchholz sees the ideal customer for the Elixir 66 as large growers needing to apply fertilizer in a short amount of time, mentioning co-ops as good potential customers.

Rauchholz says the Elixir 66 appeals to corn growers looking to blacken some soil with the shank units, while the high-speed, low-disturbance option will appeal to growers with more combination crops who aren’t looking to leave a black strip behind.