# Bulk fertilizer in IBC tote



## Saucymynx (10 mo ago)

hi there. I am brand new to this forum and to hay production So please forgive me if this is a stupid question. I have 10 acres of orchard grass and alfalfa hay ground in the central upper peninsula of Michigan. With last year‘s drought it produced 1.25 tons of hay per acre. I did fertilize last year according to soil testing and at that time had a bulk fertilizer dealer 8 miles away from whom I could borrow their commercial spreader. They have since stopped dealing fertilizer and the next closest place is 45 miles away. For me to use their spreader with mean four trips each way to pick up the spreader and return it per application. With only 10 acres, I could easily spread it with my three point hitch mounted hopper spreader. My question is, how to transport two tons of bulk fertilizer.? One idea I have is to use a 250 gallon IBC tote. With the density of fertilizer, each tote should hold about 2000 pounds of fertilizer. I could easily move that with my loader and lift it up high enough to fill the hopper. Is this a crazy idea? Have any of you ever done that? Thanks so much for any advice you can give.


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## Markpnw (Dec 27, 2019)

Why not just use a tote bag?


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## Saucymynx (10 mo ago)

Markpnw said:


> Why not just use a tote bag?


I have no idea what that is! Next stop: Google!


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## Saucymynx (10 mo ago)

OK. So I found out what a tote bag is. My next question is, how do you move those around, and how would you get it from the bag into the hopper? Thanks


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

I had tried this once before I determined I didn't want to use a 3 point spreader anymore. I had just borrowed my neighbor's dump trailer. I had considered an IBC tote to store urea in for top dressing after first cut, but my fertilizer elevator is really high up and unless I get the small opening of the tote just perfect beneath it, there will be a lot of fertilizer going everywhere.

I transferred to my 3 point hopper with a 5 gallon bucket, it went pretty quickly.


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## Markpnw (Dec 27, 2019)

Saucymynx said:


> OK. So I found out what a tote bag is. My next question is, how do you move those around, and how would you get it from the bag into the hopper? Thanks


The 3pt spreader won’t take a whole tote so I’d use a bucket to transfer.


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## AndyH359 (Jan 3, 2012)

Tote bags I have around here have four lifting straps sewn in that slide over the forks for lifting.

Another option may be to have the tote bag sitting on a pallet when they load it for you.


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