When Ruben Vasquez bought his father’s business last year, he’d
already seen a lot of changes in farming. Yet one thing remains
constant
– the need to get the proper nutrients to the root of the
plant.
When Ruben Vasquez bought his father’s business last year, he’d already seen a lot of changes in farming. Yet one thing remains constant – the need to get the proper nutrients to the root of the plant. That’s the focus of Clampco Fertilizer Applicators.
“My dad, who’s also named Ruben, does the fabrication,” Vasquez said. “I assemble the products and ship.”
The elder Vasquez has been in the business since 1968 and came up with the patent for the Clampco fertilizer applicator when he was working for Clampco. Eventually he went from being a welder and patent maker to owning the company.
“He’s changed a couple of things on his patent,” the younger Vasquez said. “Now it can work for organic farming as well. We sell different types of furrowers, shovels, Alabamas, sweeps and of course, the Clampco Fertilizer Applicator.”
According to Vasquez, tillage tools wear out from the friction of the ground they’re tilling. But Clampco fertilizer applicators – which are for granular fertilizer – continue to improve, he said, adding to the life of the product.
“Now we’re doing special stainless-steel hoppers,” Vasquez said. “These shouldn’t wear out for a long time. When farmers buy our applicators, they know they’re getting a product with a long life. The Clampco can last 20 or 30 years.”
When farmers fertilized their fields in the past, the applicators would spread the fertilizer all over the row, giving nutrients to the weeds as well as the plants. The Clampco applicator injects the fertilizer right to the root zone and keeps the weeds from being healthy, Vasquez said.
Besides all the weeding time the Clampco fertilizer applicator saves, it also saves a farmer money. No longer do unwanted parts of row crops get fertilized. According to Vasquez, the Clampco fertilizer applicator takes the guesswork out of figuring how much fertilizer to use.
“Say a farmer wants to put out 1,000 pounds of fertilizer an acre,” he said. “We can calculate within five pounds an acre how much fertilizer to use. The Clampco is very accurate. It will deliver between five pounds to 2,000 pounds per acre. That’s all at the root zone.
“When a plant starts growing, they’re tested. These tests show the farmer the nutrients they’re lacking. The farmer will order the fertilizer from a company and use a Clampco to fertilize the field.”
Clampcos are used by farmers around the country, Vasquez said.
“Just last week we sold 12 boxes to a potato planter in North Dakota,” he said. “Last year I traveled to several states that carry Clampco including Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. We’re international and sell to Canada and Mexico. Recently we made contact with South America. We’ll have to see if anything happens with that.”
Vasquez has watched the customer base grow, as well as the company.
“In high school I used to work for my dad,” he said. “He’d give me a little bit of everything to do from welding, machining to sweeping the shop. Last year I pretty much bought the company from my dad.”
Vasquez admits there’s a lot about farming that he doesn’t know.
“But when it comes to the Clampco fertilizer applicator, I can help our customers calibrate it and set them up, get them ready to side dress their crops.”
Clampco Fertilizer Applicators is located at 1033-A San Felipe Rd. Open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information call 635-0508 or go to www.clampcoapplicators.com.
