A material spreader having a beater bar that meters the supply of small quantities of material to the discharge opening of a material spreader hopper eliminating the need for a gate. The beater bar has one and preferably several paddles that rotate adjacent the discharge opening and as the paddle passes the opening, discharges only the amount of material on the paddle. The material spreader uses a high ratio transmission and low rpm motor to allow for extremely slow rotation of the beater bar. The motor speed can be controlled to allow very slow rotation and very small amounts of material to be discharged from the hopper. The spreader does not require a gate. The discharge of material is metered electronically.
