Working the cornfields: Roberto Muñoz and his Unimog

Roberto Muñoz lives in harmony with nature. Maybe that is the reason for his permanent smile. The son of a farming family drives a Unimog 423, with which he sprays liquid fertiliser and pesticides for Servicios Técnicos Almazán S.L. from Soria. Today, he is driving to Villalba, a small village in the Soria area, twelve kilometres from the company's premises. One of the advantages of the Unimog is its versatility for use both in agriculture operations and on motorways. Roberto can thus reach the 15-hectare barley field via the A 15 in just a few minutes. The farmer who owns the field gave the company the job of spraying pesticide in order to fight the net blotch disease which typically affects barley.

Precise measurements thanks to GPS.

First of all, Roberto drives around the piece of land in order to store the circumference of the field in the GPS system. He fully extends the spraying rod from AMP Sprayers – 27 metres. Then he regulates the amount of pesticide to be sprayed per hectare and defines the distance between the rods and the ground. He opens the spray nozzles with the press of a button ... and the show begins!

Roberto watches how the rays of sunshine make the sprayed liquid glisten in his rear-view mirror. The view of the drops falling to the ground never fails to fascinate him. Fully concentrated, he looks at the GPS display to make sure that he doesn't spray the same area twice. He glances at the speedometer: 12 km/h. He smiles.

Instant diagnosis.

“The Unimog is the most popular vehicle amongst farmers,” he says. The huge ground clearance and the Tirecontrol Plus tyre pressure control system on the U 423 are highly valued in the industry because they protect the ground. Using the “Sand” function, Roberto can drive on loose surfaces with a low tyre pressure and a greater contact area. On the motorway he can activate the “Road” function and thanks to the high tyre pressure and a smaller contact area he can drive safely. He rarely uses the third mode “Rough road”.

Roberto can diagnose the state of the wheat, barley or rye fields at a glance. “I spent my whole childhood in grain fields,” he says. The 33-year-old already has twelve years of experience and explains why many farmers fall back on the services of Servicios Técnicos Agrarios Almazán S.L. The company works with a spraying system that allows various liquid products – for example fertilisers, pesticides or insecticides – to be distributed at the same time. The vehicle would have to drive over the same field three times in order to distribute solid or granulated products which would increase the risk of damage considerably.

– Roberto Muñoz

More professionalism.

Roberto is one of those very few young people who have decided to stay in their region. Although the agricultural sector generates 15 percent of the GDP in the province of Soria, the rural population in Soria and Castile and León region continues to decrease. “There is almost no new generation coming through,” he says. However those few that remain are providing for more professionalism in agriculture. Roberto: “In my opinion, agriculture is not only a strong economic sector, but also the most important.”

Photos and video: Begoña Tremps