A spreading apparatus (10) for spreading granular and/or pulverulent material such as grain, salt, fertiliser and the like is disclosed. The apparatus (10) includes a hopper (11) having a discharge aperture (12), a vibration unit (17) arranged for agitating material within the hopper (11), circuitry (22) arranged for supplying power from a power source to one or more material handling components of the spreading apparatus (11), monitoring the power drawn by the one or more material handling components and controlling operation of the vibration unit (17) in dependence upon said power. In various embodiments, the material handling components may include one or more of: a spreading disk (15) arranged for distributing material received from the discharge aperture (12); an auger (18) extending through the discharge aperture (12); and/or a conveyer belt arranged for conveying material from the discharge aperture to the spreading disk (15). A method for spreading granular and/or pulverulent material is also disclosed.