With technology advancing all the time, it’s hard to resist the appeal of new equipment. However, there are many upgrades available that can be added to your existing planter to achieve speed and efficiency next planting season. When we talk about upgrades to your planter system, there are three main areas to look at.
Seed Meter
Recently Iowa State University (ISU) completed a five-year study of high speed planting technology using the Precision Planting SpeedTube and the John Deere ExactEmerge seed meter and seed delivery system. Both planters provided excellent singulation and spacing of corn while planting up to 10 miles per hour (High Speed Planting Technology Article, Link 1).
Iowa State University (ISU) recently completed a five-year study of high-speed planter equipment in corn and soybeans. The study utilized a 12-row planter equipped with the Precision Planting SpeedTube high speed planter system and a 24-row planter equipped with the John Deere ExactEmerge high speed planter system (Figure 1). Both planters utilized individual row hydraulic downforce and were tested using a side-by-side strip trial experimental design. Each planter was used on approximately 400 acres per year.
