Worcestershire grower Shaun Perry has recently taken delivery of his third Househam sprayer, an Air-Ride with 30m boom and 4,000-litre tank.
“We’ve been using Househam sprayers for the last 26 years,” he says. “Our first was a Super Sprint model with 24m boom that we ran for 12 years, then we changed to 30m tramlines and upgraded to an AR3500 with a wider boom, which performed well over the last 12 years.”
Based at Mount Pleasant Farm near Broadway, Worcestershire, MR & HE Perry farms around 1,600 acres of all combinable crops comprising in-house and contract farming agreements. Cropping across the mostly clay farm includes winter wheat, winter beans, linseed and oilseed rape.
A family business, Shaun is joined by his brother Matt, plus parents Helen and Martin. And recently, Shaun’s son Conor has returned to the business after a spell of farming down under having completed his education at Harper Adams University.
“Conor will be getting his fair share of spraying this season,” adds Shaun. “It’s important that we can all step into each other’s roles, so I’m not the only sprayer operator.”
The AR4 came to the farm directly from the 2025 LAMMA show stand, and is distinctive with its grey wheels. Mudguard extensions have been added to protect nozzles from dirt and debris when in transport, and an airline socket has been located by the filling station, simplifying nozzle cleaning, when required.
He says the cab is a distinct improvement over the previous model, being both quieter and offering far better comfort.
“Visibility is great, and this is just a far better place to spend long days spraying compared to the AR3500,” he adds. “This one has LED work lights as standard, where we had to upgrade the previous sprayer’s lighting ourselves.”
Mount Pleasant Farm chooses not to apply liquid fertiliser, but does run its sprayer with a 16,000 litre Bailey bowser, fetching water to the fields to avoid folding booms and returning to base to refill the AR4’s tank.
A rainwater harvesting system affords up to 200,000 litres of water storage, which helped to keep crops alive for longer, during 2025’s extremely dry season.
“We can cover 500 acres/day without pushing,” he says. “We’ve a couple of 75-acre fields, and an average size of 35 acres. If we needed to, the whole farm could be sprayed in just two days.”
That productivity has come about without the need to invest in layers of technology, but instead, making the most of logistics.
“We don’t need to add lots of specification just because it’s on the options list – instead, we’ve only chosen auto section control on the last two sprayers,” explains Shaun. “The AR4 now has 12 sections compared to eight on our previous AR3500 and those are all run through Househams’ own TMC & Nav-Guide system.”
Shaun adds that it’s too easy to over-complicate the job.
“We don’t have auto-steer on the sprayer – tramlines are a far more cost-effective solution than GPS.”
The sprayer operates with two sets of wheels – the standard 600/60 R30 and narrower 380’s for row crop work.
“We are always mindful of compaction and ground conditions, so when the going is less than ideal, we’ll only put enough in the tank for a field-by-field approach,” he says. “But when conditions allow, the tank is filled.”
Triplet nozzle body holders see a set of Guardian Air nozzles used as Shaun’s go-to for most applications. Water volumes of 120 litres/ha are preferred, unless pre-emergence products are being applied, and the rate increases to 200 litres/ha, along with a switch to Defy 3D nozzles.
“For us, a self-propelled sprayer is viewed as a 10-year investment, and if we can get an extra two years without a considerable hike in running costs, then that reduces our cost of owning and operating,” he says. “And that’s pretty much how it’s worked out.”
“Househam sprayers have proved to be simple, straightforward and reliable, with more than enough accuracy for what we want to achieve,” adds Shaun. “We’ve enjoyed great reliability from our sprayers, and have had fantastic back-up from Jamie Fryar and the team at JFS Services – his support is what keeps us loyal to the Househam brand.”
Shaun (L) pictured with his son Conor (R)