It is a product that combines the best of all worlds when it comes to chemical management for farmers. Inventor Ethan Eck with the help of farm product innovators Ralph Lagergren & Mark Underwood are bringing to market the patented Chem-Blade and Chem-Blade ES (enclosed system). These are impressive systems designed to open and empty a chemical jug in a half second, and then rinse that jug and prepare it for recycling by shredding, all in less than a minute.

As all farmers know, jugs of farm chemicals are supposed to be properly rinsed with water and then destroyed after use. After conducting surveys with farmers, Lagergren and Eck found that up to 95% of farmers simply don’t have time to rinse or recycle. Chem-Blade was developed to address that industry wide problem in an efficient and effective manner.

The newest Chem-Blade ES provides sharp blades in a sealed enclosure that cut open and empty a chemical jug in about a half-second, followed by an effective complete rinse of the jug inside and out with the uniquely designed built-in spray nozzles. The whole Chem-Blade cycle takes less than a minute compared to several minutes it takes to do the exact process manually. The time saved eliminates the current bottleneck in chemical loading and will allow an operator to spray approximately 25 to 45 additional acres per day depending on the amount of jugs used. The Chem-Blade ES system can be used as an inductor on sprayers, as an inductor at supply stations, or integrated into an existing loading system.

From a safety perspective, because the Chem-Blade ES system is fully sealed and enclosed, the operator is protected from chemical fumes and splash. The product has been developed and is currently in the process of being licensed to large manufacturers at an opportune time as the EPA looks at strengthening 20-year-old standards for chemical handling aimed at protecting farm workers.