White Planters from AGCO has introduced White Planters model 8936-30, the industry's first large-acreage row-crop planter available with factory-installed rubber tracks.

The 36-row planter, with 30-inch row spacing, is equipped with 30-x-67-inch rubber transport tracks and four large gauge wheels on each wing to reduce soil compaction.

The planter's heavy-duty frame is built with exceptional wing flex to ensure consistent seed depth regardless of the terrain, and it folds to a width of 15 feet for convenient transport.

Each wing of the planter has two sections, and each section flexes up to 21 degrees up and 21 degrees down in relation to the center section of the planter for a total of 42 degrees of flex for each half of the planter, allowing the planter to match field contours.

The planter's center section carries six row units, while the wings each accommodate 15 row units. In the planting position, each wing is supported by four gauge wheels equipped with 33 x 15.5-16.5, 12-ply tires.

The machine was designed to ensure the row units would accept row unit–mounted tillage coulters and residue-management attachments and granular-chemical attachments. Two optional 750-gallon liquid fertilizer tanks also can be mounted on the planter for the application of liquid fertilizer.

"As the size of farm operations increases, producers are asking for larger planters capable of covering more ground, but soil compaction with larger equipment is always a concern," says Gary Hamilton, senior product specialist for White Planters.

"The track system and design answers the need for a planter that can cover a lot of acres with minimal compaction and put the seed into the soil in a manner that promotes uniform seed placement for consistent emergence and crop productivity across the full width of the planter."