Tremont, Illinois, USA
January 16, 2018

Precision Planting, LLC announced the launch of three new products today during the 2018 Winter Conference being held at the company’s headquarters and simulcast to audiences in five other locations.

The company also announced the opening of the Precision Technology Institute (PTI) located in Pontiac, Ill., a 200-acre farm to serve as an agronomic research site, as well as a location where farmers can experience Precision Planting technologies and products in a real-farm environment.

“As Precision Planting continues to look for opportunities to improve the way we plant, we are actively investing in progress and development for the future. Today we launched new technologies that address real problems and are another step toward helping farmers become smarter every season,” said Brad Arnold, Precision Planting general manager. “The establishment of the PTI in Pontiac will enhance our research efforts and help us demonstrate how precision agriculture can enable farmers to increase yields and ROI by ensuring the seeds they plant maintain their top-end yield potential at emergence, while keeping input costs to a minimum.”

The new products launched include the 20|20® monitor, which provides an advanced agronomic picture, allowing farmers to optimize planting, harvest and application decisions with a smart, intuitive interface that visualizes performance and field conditions in real time. The 20|20 monitor powers the most agronomic-advanced systems on the market that control population, down force, liquid application, multi-hybrid planting and higher-speed planting, all while sensing the furrow. The 20|20 monitor also helps collect the most spatially accurate yield data available and provides information for setting the planter to maximize ear count. This allows farmers to not only have the accurate data to make those crucial decisions but also gives them the equipment and powerful automation to make decisions during each pass through the field.

The new SeederForce™ is the first step toward bringing Precision Planting technology into the air-seeder market. Compatible with John Deere 60 and 90-Series Air Seeders, SeederForce is an automated downforce control system that initially measures the amount of weight present on the gauge wheels of the row unit and compares that to the target set by the farmer on the 20|20 display. SeederForce then automatically changes the hydraulic pressure present on the rockshaft cylinder to increase or decrease the row unit down force to maintain the target weight set by the operator, resulting in a more consistent seeding depth and more uniform emergence of the crop.

For switching between hybrids when crossing into different zones, the new mSet™ allows for two hybrids to be planted in the field using a single meter with a dual compartment hopper and a seed selector. The seed selector fills the vSet® meter with a small pool of the hybrid being planted, and when it’s time to plant the other hybrid, it fills the meter with the second hybrid from the other section of the hopper. Transitions happen quickly thanks to a seed pool level sensor that tells the seed selector when more seed is needed. mSet is compatible with both seed tubes as well as SpeedTube® for maximizing acres per hour and gaining profitability from multi-hybrid planting.

New Precision Technology Institute in Pontiac, Illinois

Precision Technology Institute in Pontiac will serve as an agronomic research site, as well as a location where farmers can experience Precision Planting technologies and products in a real-farm environment. The location will be an educational site that brings agronomy, new technology and equipment to the forefront for farmers, said Jason Webster, director of the new PTI in Pontiac.

“We are excited about Precision Planting dealers being able to bring their customers to this farm so that we can share our agronomic research results with them and teach them about problems they may not have even thought about before,” Webster said. “Once we have helped them identify these problems, we can work with them to develop a solution. They will be able to demo our equipment and make their own determinations of whether or not the products fit for their operations. The efforts here will help farmers make sound decisions about what they might need on their farm.”

Crops will be planted in the spring, with a section of the PTI left unplanted to serve as a sandbox, an area where farmers can take Precision Planting products and technologies for a test drive. The company will have the ability to recreate planting time all season long in the sandbox area, says Webster. For example, farmers will be able to drive a tractor hooked to a high-speed planter and experience what it’s like to plant at 12 mph versus their normal, slower speed.

PTI is centrally located on I-55 in Pontiac, just 80 miles south of Chicago, 30 miles north of Bloomington and 70 miles from the Champaign/Urbana area. There is a new hotel located near the center of the farm where lodgers can step out the front door and onto the PTI farm. Research work done on the farm will be fed into the mobile PTI semi-truck unit, which will continue to deliver agronomic education both on the permanent PTI site and at events across the farm belt.

For more information about Precision Planting products, reach out to your Premier Dealer. 

Website: http://www.precisionplanting.com

Published: January 17, 2018