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Can you tray test your own spreader?

A few trays or mats on the tramline are a good habit. Here’s what they can tell you, what they can’t, and how they compare with a full-width test.

By Spreadcheck, NSTS testers. Published . 4 minute read.

The short answer

Yes, as a check between full tests. A manufacturer’s kit of trays or mats shows whether the setting looks right and the pattern is even side to side. It can’t give you a reliable CV, it doesn’t check the rate, and it isn’t an NSTS report.

  • Most spreader manufacturers sell a kit for checking their settings in the field: Rauch’s has 10 vessels, Amazone’s EasyCheck has 16 mats and a phone app, and Bogballe’s has 7 trays.123
  • Teagasc says every machine, even high-spec models, needs a field tray test.4
  • Trays in only a few places may not give an accurate picture of the whole pattern; a full test uses trays right across the width.56
  • Proper trays are about 500 mm square with baffles inside, so granules don’t bounce out.78
  • A tray check shows evenness, not the rate: do a calibration as well.6

What the manufacturers’ kits do

Most spreader manufacturers sell a small kit for checking their chart settings in the field:

  • Rauch practical test kit: 10 vessels with measuring tubes. One pass is a quick check of the settings; two passes set it up more accurately; three passes check that the two sides match. Rauch says to use it on a dry, still day, on level ground.1 Its newer XCheck uses 10 folding trays and a single photo in the RAUCH app.9
  • Amazone EasyCheck: 16 rubber mats laid in four rows from the tramline. You photograph them, and the mySpreader app compares the catch and suggests a change of setting.210
  • Bogballe: 7 trays with measuring tubes, which Bogballe recommends at large working widths.3

These kits are built to answer one question well: is the chart setting about right for this fertiliser, and does the overlap between bouts look even? In profi magazine’s 2025 test, EasyCheck mats confirmed that a new spreader’s settings were right first time.11

What a few trays can’t tell you

  • A reliable CV. Teagasc says trays in only two to four places may not give an accurate assessment of the whole pattern, and that a tray every 2 m gives a less accurate CV than a full test.5 The AIC warns that gaps between trays can give misleading results.6
  • The rate. Trays show where fertiliser lands, not how much comes out. That’s a separate calibration.6 See how to calibrate a spreader.
  • Faults in the machine. A kit won’t spot worn vanes, a bent disc or a PTO running slow. Teagasc says even moderate vane wear changes the throw.12
  • An NSTS record. If you need a report for a buyer, a slug pelleter or an assurance audit that asks for one, it has to come from an NSTS examiner.13

How a full-width test differs

A full tray test lays trays right across the spread, out past the next tramline on both sides, so the overlap from the neighbouring bouts is measured rather than assumed. Teagasc describes the full test as trays 0.25–0.5 m wide across two to three times the bout width, and notes it is rarely carried out in the field.5

The trays matter as much as the number. Proper test trays are about 500 mm square with baffles inside so granules don’t bounce out;78 in New Zealand farmer trials, people preferred standard baffled trays to cheap plastic ones because of bounce-out.14

On an SCS test we lay a tray every metre across the full width, analyse your fertiliser first, check the machine, adjust it for each product, and issue an NSTS report. See what an NSTS test costs and includes.

A sensible routine

  1. Once a year, before the season: a full-width test with your main fertilisers. RB209 asks for a tray check ideally every year.15
  2. Every new product or batch: a rate calibration, and a check of granule size, density and hardness against the product you tested with.1516
  3. When something changes: a quick kit check after new vanes, a new tractor, a different bout width, or a delivery that looks different. The AIC advises a fresh tray test after servicing or new parts.6
  4. If the crop stripes: a full test before the next application. See why crops stripe.

Other questions people ask

How many trays do I need to tray test a spreader?

For a quick check of the settings, a manufacturer’s kit of 7 to 16 trays or mats is enough to show whether the overlap and the two sides look right.321 To work out a proper CV you need trays across the whole spread with no big gaps: the AIC warns that gaps between trays can mislead,6 and our tests use a tray every metre.

Can I work out the CV from a few trays?

Not reliably. Teagasc says a test with trays in only two to four places may not give an accurate assessment of the whole pattern, and that one tray every 2 m gives a less accurate CV than a full test.5

Does a DIY tray test count for Red Tractor?

Red Tractor asks for annual calibration with a record; it doesn’t name who has to do it.17 Keep your own records if you test yourself. If you need an NSTS report, for a buyer, for a slug pelleter or simply for peace of mind, that has to come from an NSTS examiner.

What does a tray test kit cost?

We sell a 7-tray kit for spot checks, and 50- and 60-tray kits for full patterns up to 30 m and 36 m: contact us for a quote. Manufacturers’ kits are sold through dealers, and their prices vary.

About this article

Written by Spreadcheck (Spreader & Sprayer Testing Ltd), an NSTS testing company at Rookery Farm, Wheaton Aston, Staffordshire, which wrote the original qualification for fertiliser spreader and slug pelleter testing that NSTS adopted. We sell testing, so every figure here links to its source, and we say where the evidence is mixed.

Checked on 12 October 2026. Rules, prices and guidance change, so follow the links for the latest.

Sources

  1. Rauch, Practical test kit operator’s manual, 2024.
  2. Lectura Press, EasyCheck: digital mobile test kit, accessed 2026.
  3. Bogballe, Test trays, accessed 2026.
  4. Teagasc, Getting the spread right, 2021.
  5. Teagasc and the Fertilizer Association of Ireland, Precise Application of Fertiliser, Technical Bulletin 3, 2017.
  6. Agricultural Industries Confederation, Fertiliser Spreaders: choosing, maintaining and using, 2005, linked from RB209 2026.
  7. LandWISE (New Zealand), Assessing performance 2: spread pattern, accessed 2026.
  8. Wilson, Massey University FLRC workshop, Spreadmark tray testing (workshop paper), 2019.
  9. Rauch, XCheck app press release, 2025.
  10. Amazone, mySpreader app, accessed 2026.
  11. profi, Amazone ZA-TS 5000 fertiliser spreader test, 2025.
  12. Teagasc, Some simple steps before you spread, 2026.
  13. NSTS, Fertiliser spreader test, accessed 2026.
  14. Bloomer, LandWISE, Massey University FLRC workshop, Farmer fertiliser spreader calibration (workshop paper), 2015.
  15. AHDB, Nutrient Management Guide (RB209), Section 1: Principles of nutrient management and fertiliser use, 2026.
  16. Teagasc (Dermot Forristal), Accurate spreading: six steps you need to take, Today’s Farm, 2023.
  17. Red Tractor, Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet Standards, version 5.1, EC.7 and EC.10, February 2025.