A Season With Precision Planting Reveal Row Cleaners

We run a 2009 John Deere 1770NT 24-row planter that we upgraded with Precision Planting products a couple of years ago. This season I started out by putting Reveal row cleaners on 22 of the 24 rows to see how they would perform, specifically on double-crop soybeans. After just a few days of seeing them outperform the two old rows side-by-side in the same pass, I converted those two rows to Reveal, also.

After harvesting the wheat and making multiple passes through the field—combine, grain cart, and even the neighbor's tillage tool—the soil wasn’t ideal. But the Reveal system impressed me, especially with its ability to maintain smooth ride quality despite the rough conditions.

One of the key advantages of Reveal is its frame-mounted design. Unlike my old row-mounted cleaners, Reveal minimizes the impact on the planter's row units. Even with multiple passes and uneven tracks, my ride quality shown on the 20|20 consistently averaged around 95%, which is remarkable given that I’m working in no-till conditions with heavy cover crops. Previous setups only achieved high 80s, so the difference in seed placement precision was noticeable.

What stood out most was the independent adjustment of the row cleaners. Increasing pressure to move residue didn’t affect the downforce on the row units, which is a game-changer. It allowed me to maintain proper planting depth without adding compaction or sidewall issues, even when conditions were less than ideal. The system handled heavy corn residue and left clean strips, making my planting more efficient and effective. Overall, the Reveal row cleaners delivered exactly what I was hoping for.