John Deere says recent improvements to their planter lineup will let you seed a wide variety of crops more accurately and faster, which is especially important as no-till acres continue to increase.

Beefed Up Units

While it’s been more than 30 years since the original MaxEmerge planters were introduced, Deere says the new MaxEmergeXP and Pro-SeriesXP planter units offer additional strength to meet the demands of varying no-till field conditions while supporting an array of planter attachments.

“Growers will appreciate the increased strength and easier serviceability of the new units,” says Bill Barr, product manager for the company’s seeding division. “They have been field-tested to stand up to the most rigorous field conditions and offer several feature enhancements.”

The biggest change is the introduction of a ductile iron single-piece row unit shank that’s much stronger than the traditional 11-piece welded shank. Combined with the row unit head, the stronger cast iron unit offers a row unit that is 25 percent stronger to handle planter sideloads.

The cast shank of the XP unit is 50 percent stronger in frontal impact (rocky) situations and the 6 1/2 pound heavier row unit offers increased soil penetration of the Tru-Vee openers, especially in no-till situations.

By increasing the Tru-Vee blade thickness from 3 to 3 1/2 mm, Barr says you can expect the opener blade to last 25 percent longer under no-till conditions.

“The new ductile-iron casting provides great performance,” says Barr. “It deflects without bending, withstands great impact without cracking and is machined…