A Hankering for More
High Speed Hank is gearing up for his biggest planting season yet after acquiring another 400 acres this past year. He's worried his current planter setup isn’t going to get the job done fast enough, so he's exploring his options.
Right now, Hank has a 16-row John Deere 1775NT CCS planter with an estimated current market value of $100,0001. Even though he just made upgrades to it last year, he can't help but wonder if he could cover more acres with a larger planter.
Hank ran some numbers and laid out the following options:
- Trade his existing 16-row planter for a new 24-row planter → $300,0001
- Trade his existing 16-row planter for a used 24-row planter → $150,0001
- Buy a second used 16-row planter → $100,0001
- Upgrade his existing 16-row planter with SpeedTube → $20,0002
Season One Upgrades
Last season, Hank decided to start upgrading his planter that is equipped with MaxEmerge™ 5 row units. While it got the job done, his planter just wasn’t hitting the mark when it came to even seed distribution and proper seed depth.
Hank’s Precision Planting Premier Dealer recommended the 20|20 Planter Base System that included the 20|20 monitor and single row modules (SRMs) on every row, requiring only some wiring harnesses and weigh pins to get started.
With the foundation of the system laid, Hank decided to include DeltaForce, vDrive and vSet 2 meters to address downforce control, remove the headaches of a mechanical drive system and improve his seed meter accuracy for a total cost of $57,000.
Right Down to the Wire
Finishing last year just in time to hit “knee high by the 4th of July”, Hank realized that getting those additional 400 acres planted in the most optimal planting window would be a real challenge. He doesn't want to risk the quality of his crop right out of the gate because he just purely doesn't have time to get it out.
Season Two Upgrades
This season, Hank made the decision to replace his traditional seed tubes with SpeedTube, Precision Planting's seed delivery system designed to provide high accuracy at faster speeds. With more acres to cover, a faster planter would help him hit the optimal planting window.
Frequent rains kept him out of the field throughout the spring, so when those ideal soil conditions hit, he was ready to hammer down and let ‘em flow!
Hank planted at twice the speed and got an additional 400 acres planted in the same time it would have taken him last year to get his crop in. As a bonus, he even gained a couple of bushels per acre yield while doing so!
High-speed planting with SpeedTube not only allowed Hank to wait for fields to get fit, but it also gave him confidence that planting faster wouldn’t hurt his yield.
Hank was shocked to see he could plant faster and gain up to 2.3 Bu/A by adding SpeedTube!
Since Hank already had the 20|20 planter base system installed, it only took $1,200/row to add SpeedTube – a mere fraction of the cost he would have accrued purchasing a new planter.
An investment of $20,000 still sounds better than buying an additional planter for $100,000, or more. He's happy with his decision and can't wait for the next planting season!
Which Upgrade is Next?
Without the fear of missing out on good weather windows and getting all his acres planted on time, High Speed Hank can focus on new planter upgrades to further increase his return on investment.
With the groundwork laid, it will be easy for Hank to plug in more Precision Planting products and build the most optimal planter for his operation. What would you upgrade next?
- FurrowForce » adaptable two-stage closing system
- SmartFirmer » seed firmer to see inside the soil
- EMHD, FlowSense, vApplyHD » liquid fertilizer control
- SmartDepth » in-cab planting depth adjustment
- mSet » multi-hybrid meter
- vDrive Insecticide » electric insecticide meter
1 Pricing gathered from an average of comparable planters on tractorhouse.com. Hank's existing planter has DeltaForce, vSet 2, and vDrive, which is included in this price.
2 Pricing includes SpeedTube and all necessary components for 16-rows on a John Deere 1775NT planter, where the 20|20 base system was already installed.
