In the past 30 years, according to a recent USDA Economic Research Service analysis, GMO seed costs have increased 270%. But commodity prices rose just 56% in that same period. As farmers cut expenses to help even out the resulting budget deficit, many are starting with equipment and working to make do and mend.
As you evaluate your planter this spring, Bryce Baker, PTx Trimble marketing manager, says to focus on two metrics.
“You want seed emergence as consistent as possible, which starts with uniform germination. From the first seed to the last, you want the shortest window possible,” Baker says. “The second thing is singulation. A lot of times, every percentage lost in singulation in corn is about a 2.5 bu. hit to your yield. If your planter is hitting about 95% singulation, we think there’s opportunity to improve.”
To improve your planter’s performance, upgrading components with the right retrofit technology can be an impactful investment.
Here are some retrofit components and systems you can add to improve early season results:
John Deere ExactEmerge and MaxEmerge 5e Meter Precision Upgrades
Prior to this year, John Deere offered its electric drive seed meter upgrades as part of a larger planter upgrade package called “Ultimate Planter Upgrade.” Now, you can upgrade just the seed meters (on John Deere model year planters 2015 and up) without a total row unit swap out through Deere’s Precision Upgrades retrofit program. Deere claims these meters increase your population accuracy by 20% compared to its MaxEmerge 5 meters, and the ExactEmerge upgrade can boost your planting speed up to 10 mph, which qualifies as high-speed planting these days. Both kits offer row-by-row control, individual row shutoffs, and turn compensation on curved rows. Deere says most farmers will be able to install these seed meters on farm or you can have your local dealer handle it.
Precision Planting Cornerstone System
Introduced in 2024, this factory-built, fully customizable retrofit planter upgrade package is available for purchase for the 2025 planting season. If you’re looking for a complete row unit swap out but would rather not piecemeal all the various components that this system encompasses, Cornerstone is a solid choice for taking an older planter and bringing it up to today’s standards. The system includes fully customized row units alongside Precision Planting technologies like vSet and vDrive electric seed meters, FurrowForce two stage closing wheels, Keeton Seed Firmers and SpeedTube high speed seed tube all integrated into a single, easy-to-install row unit. The various seed hopper options are all rear tipping, so removing them for seed tube or meter maintenance is relatively easy.
Precision Planting Keeton Seed Firmer
The Keeton Seed Firmer is a great example of a simple and effective attachment that can quickly add yield to your planter. The composite arm presses every seed into the furrow to tuck it firmly in the soil. And even if you already have seed firmers on your planter, you’ll need to inspect them each spring to make sure they’re not worn down and need replacement. If you find yourself needing new firmers, you can replace them with this retrofit kit from Precision Planting; it’s compatible with a wide range of planters from Case IH, Great Plains, Horsch, John Deere, Kinze, Krause, Kuhn, White Planters and others. Precision Planting also offers a SmartFirmer, which deploys a sensor in the tip of the firmer to collect real-time data from the seed furrow.
Yetter Air Assist Cylinder
This new for 2025 kit is available for eight-, 12-, 16-, 24-, and 36-row planter sizes. Yetter says it allows farmers to quickly adjust row cleaner settings from the cab so you can make on-the-fly adjustments depending on soil conditions. The system includes three main components: the Air Assist cylinder, a compact in cab control box that Yetter says allows up and down pressure control of the row cleaners and less unit bounce, and electric or hydraulic compressors where farmers have the option to continue using the compressors already on their planter or they can order new compressors from Yetter in three different sizes.
Yetter 6200 Twister Closing Wheels
Good seed furrow closing is one way to secure seed-to-soil contact, which imparts moisture onto your seeds and kick starts germination and emergence. These single-stage poly wheels have been around since 2016, but they’re a proven and economical add-on if your planter needs new closing wheels. Yetter says the 2025 6200 model has a poly twisted spike design to break up soil compaction around the seed furrow and can be used in a variety of production systems, such as no-till, and on a range of planter models. Beck’s Hybrids Practical Farm Research program compared these with other closing wheels and found Twister increased yields by 5 bu. per acre on average. Installation can be as fast as five minutes per row.
Early Season Planter Maintenance Checklist
Precision Planting’s Bryce Baker himself said it best: It won’t matter how much technology you put on your planter if it’s not properly maintained.
“The best money you could spend (this spring) might be the $1,000 on some new bushings,” he adds. “That might be the spot to improve and make sure everything is nice and tight before you go out and plant.”
Here’s a quick list of some planter components Baker says farmers should inspect:
- Parallel arm bushings
- Gauge wheel arms
- Disk opener size and shimming
- Closing wheel alignment
- Planter levelness
Dig a little deeper and make sure your planter is ready to roll this spring with these AgWeb.com stories on planter setup and maintenance:
- Is Your Planter Ready to Roll? Use this Checklist to Be Sure
- Your 19-Point Planter Checklist to Ensure Smooth Spring Planting
- The Usual Suspects: 5 Planter Parts to Inspect Now
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