No-Till Farmer
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Planter availability may not draw the beads of sweat that tractors have created over the past couple of years for farmers, but the supply is certainly tight enough to make a farmer’s skin glisten. As a result, more farmers are having to look far beyond state lines to find a recent-generation no-till planter that best fits their operation
Yet if a no-tiller is going to purchase equipment from a distance, how do they determine the quality of a planter and its value without viewing it first-hand? As an example, we’ll deal with Brad Horn, a fictitious central Michigan no-tiller described in more detail in the accompanying box.
A fictional grower, Brad Horn, is located in Michigan’s Lapeer County. No-tilling 900 acres of no-tilled corn, 850 acres of soybeans and 150 acres of wheat, Brad is taking on an additional 279 acres this year. As a result, he’s ready to move up from a 16-row to a 24-row no-till planter for more timely seeding.
Scouring the internet over the last few days, he’s found a 24-row no-till planter offered for sale by a grower in southeast Nebraska. Brad hopes to buy this planter without making a costly trip to personally look at the unit.
To make sure a “sight unseen” purchase makes sense, Brad is wondering what he needs to consider in order to avoid any unfortunate post-sale issues and concerns.
To help Brad evaluate this planter purchase and be comfortable with the results, we’ve asked Tractor…