Planter Upgrades

Monday, March 24, 2025

Doing More with the Planter You Already Have

By Emily Mckinlay

Each year, corn growers depend on their planters to sow their corn crop effectively with the hopes of strong emergence and uniformity. As equipment prices and input costs rise, producers may be considering whether it’s the right time to upgrade their planting machines. But planter upgrades and add-ons can offer many of the benefits of a new piece of equipment.

Planters may also be stirring new interest in growing other crops as well, as Ontario producers continue to see success with using planters for dry beans, canola, and pulses.

Collin Collins, owner of Double C AgCo, says that the costs of inputs and equipment requires that farmers get the most out of their current planters.

“As a farmer, I spend so much on inputs, seed, fertilizer, and land rent. Everything has gone up, so I want to do the best I can with the equipment I’ve got.”

So which upgrades will provide the most return?

Compare the costs

Decisions about upgrades shouldn’t be left to the last minute, explains Cullen Tinline, sales and customer support at Kearney Planters in Thamesville.

“The best time to think about your planter is now,” says Tinline.

When determining the right time to upgrade, comparing the cost of purchasing a new planter with improving an older one is important.

“New machinery isn’t cheap, but when people start realizing you can put some money into an old planter, there is some opportunity there,” says Collins.

“No one wants to put $3,000 to $5,000 a row into a 30-year-old planter, but there’s still a return on investment to that.”

Tinline explains that Kearney Planters was founded because manufacturers weren’t selling the planters they wanted. The business grew based on retrofitting older planters with updated features.

While Kearney Planters still sells new and custom-built planters, Tinline says there are unlimited possibilities to improve older planters.

“It’s cost-effective but not necessarily cheap, because nothing is. An upgraded planter keeps up with the times and has all the technology anyone could want,” says Tinline.

“With a brand-new planter, you get it and then pay for it, but by taking your old one and making it better, it is possible to improve it $20,000 at a time.”

There are many options for upgrading older planter models, which allow producers to tackle smaller expenses while increasing their efficiency during planting season.

Upgrades and add-ons

With planter upgrades, farmers can implement technology that rivals brand-new machines. Collins and Tinline discuss some add-ons they recommend as starting points for improving the planting experience.

Hydraulic downforce

Downforce is the first improvement that Collins recommends. He explains that as farmers are growing their acreages and running larger machines, a single downforce setting may not be sufficient.

“Primarily, when people talk to me about upgrades, I think about upgrading to hydraulic downforce,” he says.

“Individual row hydraulic downforce offers a huge improvement over what the standard practice would’ve been on older planters.”

Collins believes farmers will get the best return on this investment.

“As your planters get wider, having one downforce setting across the entire tool bar is pretty generic,” says Collins.

“With individual row hydraulic downforce, you are planting that corn or canola seed at the perfect depth every time and across every row. The stand and emergence are much better than with a crop seeded by an air drill – row-by-row planting with downforce is better than seeding with 200 pounds of air pressure across 40 feet.”

Tinline adds that this can be particularly valuable on farms with variable soil types.

“This is beneficial if your field doesn’t have the same soil density from one side to the other. For most growers, there’s some variability from one field to the next as well,” explains Tinline.

“I farm in Thamesville and have mostly sandy soil, so I only need a little down pressure, but when my hopper is full, it can be too much down pressure. A good, active hydraulic system can provide some uplift, which is necessary for not over-applying and maintaining optimal gauge wheel load.”

With hydraulic downforce, Tinline says the planter can adjust to the ground second by second.

Population monitors

Monitors can communicate data about the planter to improve real-time decision-making. Tinline says that population monitors have been evolving to generate significantly better information in recent years.

“Most people already have one, but old population monitors would tell a farmer the seed population, and that’s about it,” explains Tinline.

“A new population monitor is able to pick up on singulation skips and doubles row-by-row, and it is real-time information you are seeing first-hand.”

By also incorporating gauge wheels and load cells, he says that a population monitor can generate even more data.

“This can tell me ground contact. If it looks like it’s hovering around 70 to 80 per cent, I can get out of the cab and add more down pressure. If I see it at 100 per cent all the time, it’s good proof that there’s too much down pressure,” says Tinline.

“I am able to make decisions right away based on the monitor.”

He says that many producers run their planters with only a run block monitor, which alerts when no seed is falling, whereas a population monitor can identify if there is too much or too little seed being planted.

Electric seed drives

Electric seed drives can minimize planting overlap and save farmers money on seed costs.

“Seed costs are high, particularly with hybrid seeds, like corn or canola. Some hybrids are as much as $80 to 120 an acre. We want to make all that seed count,” says Collins.

“Electric seed drives not only reduce seed overlap to nothing, but they can shut off as you are coming in and out of the headlands.” He anticipates a 10 per cent average seeding overlap in most fields, with higher rates in the small or oddly shaped fields.

For producers growing corn, which is sensitive to competition, he notes that avoiding double seeding will improve yield as well.

“If you are planting at a population of 32,000 and the headlands are suddenly at 64,000 seeds, you’ve now taken a yield hit. You’ve lost money on that seed and hurt your corn,” says Collins.

He suggests this addition could also help producers increase their planting speeds, helping them get across their acres quicker.

Many more options

There are many options for producers looking to rejuvenate older planters. Collins suggests that it could also be beneficial to consider electric liquid fertilizer pumps and row cleaners.

Tinline says he has received questions about speed systems, which can be retrofitted to older planters. He does note that not all planters are built to run at higher speeds.

Each farm is different. There are a few factors that may determine which planter upgrades make the most sense.

What’s right for your farm?

After-market upgrades offer many strategies for farmers to personalize their planters to meet their farm goals.

Tinline suggests evaluating the mechanical integrity of the potential frame to start. “The first step in determining what kind of upgrades you’re going to do is to assess the mechanical feasibility of your planter. Look at what basics need to be repaired to get it to field-ready condition. Then review what budget is left for attachments.”

He also recommends reviewing what the tractor running the planter is capable of, in terms of amperage and hydraulics.

“A million dollars of automation won’t do anything without a good foundation to prop it up.”

He also suggests researching parts and service availability.

Collins recommends reviewing farm goals and what type of planter will best meet them.

“What are your long-term goals with that machine? Are you going to put money into upgrades but are also maybe planning a farm expansion and will be looking to get a bigger machine?” asks Collins, who cautions against spending large sums on upgrades if a new machine will be needed within the next few years.

“The reality of upgrades on old planters is that you can put a lot of money into it, but on the resale market, people still see it as an old planter.”

Depending on the goals of a farm, upgrades and add-ons can be a cost- effective way to get more efficiency out of a previously owned or lower-cost machine.

Collins says, “There are efficiencies and economic benefits to doing a better job with the current piece of machinery you’ve got.” BF