“The planter/seeder debate is an interesting one. Essentially, it’s a cost/benefit analysis,” said Darren Bond, farm management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.

Of course, buying a shiny new piece of farm equipment brings financing costs — but that’s only the beginning.

“The biggest thing is the cost, but cost is always the easy part of the cost-benefit analysis,” said Bond. “So we have to look from a broader perspective.”

On the other side of the balance sheet is seed savings.

“One of the big selling points of using a planter is being able to reduce the seed rate. Seed is very expensive,” he said. “In our 2025 cost of production guide, canola is $82.50 an acre. If we can halve that seed cost, there’s some pretty big savings there.”

Fendt’s Momentum planter in the spotlight

That cost-conscious mood was on display at Ag in Motion 2025 near Langham, Sask., where AGCO featured its Fendt Momentum planter.

The Momentum is AGCO’s flagship planter, and Don Green, product specialist with Fendt, said it brings new capabilities. With a 130-bushel seed tank and a 1,000-gallon liquid tank, it sits at the high-capacity end of the market.

Green said canola is proving to be a viable fit for the planter. Fendt recently sponsored some research that was done at Olds College in Alberta.

“They did a side-by-side comparison with a competitive air drill, and it showed that we could produce more plants per acre with a lowered seeding rate,” he said. “So, there’s automatically a seed savings in there.”

The Olds trial also showed a two-bushels-per-acre yield advantage, but Green said that yield boost isn’t a guarantee, as those kinds of results are variable.

“I wouldn’t count on that as part of the economics, but the one thing you can count on is that this planter will establish your crop for a lower seed cost per acre,” he said. “That is consistent across all of the work that we’ve done.”

Between yield and seed savings, researchers found a $50 per acre net benefit for planted canola compared to canola seeded with an air drill.

Looking beyond canola

Green said he is also excited by pulse crop potential. They are in the midst of side-by-side trials in Saskatchewan looking at the benefits of running chickpeas and lentils through a planter. Beyond the seed savings expected to mirror the canola trials, he said they’re hoping that because of the better seed placement and spacing the planter offers, there might be some disease benefits.

“I’m not making promises, but we’re sure watching to see what the results are,” he said, adding that early results are expected later this fall.

Agronomic case still taking shape

Ken Coles, CEO of Farming Smarter, also said the idea of planters for pulses makes sense, and that there could indeed be disease benefits.

“I wouldn’t disagree that sometimes a wider row spacing might allow for more airflow. That might be a good thing for disease management,” he said.

Farming Smarter is a southern Alberta non-profit that runs agronomic research trials and shares practical, science-based best practices with farmers.

The group co-authored a 2021 study in the Canadian Journal of Plant Science that compared precision planters and air drills across 12 site-years in Alberta. The work found planters could cut seed use and, under irrigated conditions, boost canola yields by about 10 per cent, though results were mixed under dryland conditions.

Coles noted that planters first made their mark in canola through the seed industry. Hybrid seed producers once relied on old box drills to keep male and female seed rows separate, but precision planters offered a simpler and more accurate way to do the job. Many seed growers adopted them early on because they were already using planters for crops like dry beans or sugar beets.

That early adoption set the stage for broader, on-farm interest. And for regular canola growers, Coles said planters bring clear advantages in seed placement.

“Honestly, they’re designed to do a better job than our traditional air seeders,” he said. “They will do a better job in every setting. Does that mean you can just jump straight into using them? No, there’s a lot more to the story.”

That story includes crop type and environment. Coles points out that you could plant anything and expect better seed placement, but the reason that canola is a better candidate than, say, wheat is because of what he described as the crop’s plasticity.

“Canola has an amazing ability to branch and take advantage of the space that it has,” he explained.

He pointed to Australia, where farmers began using planters sooner than here in North America. However, they were using comparatively wide row spacings under quite different environmental conditions. That approach didn’t translate well to Prairie conditions.

“When we tried using a planter on 30-inch rows here, it just didn’t do well,” Coles said. “When we moved it down to about a 15-inch row spacing, then we found that it was pretty competitive.”

Results across years and conditions have been mixed. Under irrigation, Coles found the narrower rows were better, but with dryland farming, moisture became the critical factor.

“So sometimes it was better, sometimes it wasn’t. It was a little inconclusive,” he said.

That uncertainty highlights why Prairie growers are cautious.

Not built for zero till

One of the downsides to planters is that they were not designed for zero-till systems.

“That’s where having row cleaners is important, and the appropriate down pressure, so that if you want to take it into a zero-till system, it will still do a good job,” said Coles.

Despite the challenges, he said he sees potential growth for the technology, though he doesn’t expect air seeders to disappear. He noted that companies are already incorporating planter features such as parallel linkage, seed firmers and seed singulation into their drills.

“Is it going to be the element of every operation? Probably not. It’s a pretty expensive way to seed certain things,” he said.

Fertilizer adds a wrinkle

Another consideration is fertility.

“You still have to figure out how to get your fertilizer down,” said Coles. “That’s a systemic, on-farm logistics issue when your traditional seeders are set up well to do that.”

Bond agreed and said fertilizer application should be top of mind for farmers considering shifting to a planter. He noted that when farmers switch from a seeder that applies fertilizer during seeding to a planter, they must find another way to put that fertilizer down.

“Is that going to be an extra pass? And if we have that extra pass, then are we essentially giving up the advantages that we’re getting with the planter?”

How a farmer addresses this is critical. Poor timing or placement can lead to environmental losses that aren’t obvious right away but can drag yields down over several years.

Bond noted that moving fertilizer to a separate pass means farmers must weigh trade-offs: spring applications reduce losses but add workload at a busy time and risk drying out the seedbed, while fall banding can be efficient if soils are cool, with the added benefit of often cheaper fertilizer prices.

He stressed that the key is finding an alternative system that matches the efficiency of an air drill. Otherwise, the economics of switching to a planter may not hold.

Fertilizer prices make the issue sharper.

“Phosphorus is very expensive. Our market rates in Manitoba are close to $1,300 a tonne,” Bond said. “Because we’re widening our seed rows, we can’t put quite as much in the seed row as starter fertilizer due to seedling toxicity and fertilizer toxicity.”

That means phosphorus often must be placed elsewhere, adding cost and complexity.

Weeds complicate the picture

Weed control is another factor farmers need to examine.

Bond pointed out that farmers moving to a wider row spacing with canola need to be diligent when it comes to weed control.

“The wider your row spacing, the longer it takes for that canopy to close, the more opportunity there is for weeds like kochia and the redroot pigweeds and lamb’s quarters to really take off,” he said.

Where planters fit

Despite the challenges, Bond sees scenarios where planters make sense.

One is on farms where the air drill is maxed out. A planter can add seeding capacity, allowing some canola to be seeded earlier rather than at the tail end of the window, potentially improving yields.

“It just alleviates that pressure,” said Bond.

Another is on farms already growing corn or soybeans, where a planter is in the yard for those crops. In those cases, shifting some canola acres makes sense without overhauling the system. Bond said most of his clients don’t seed all their canola with planters, but allocating a portion of acres can be a good fit.

“To look at it from a whole farm perspective is very beneficial,” he said.

A constructive debate

Bond said the fact that farmers are talking about planters at all is a positive sign.

“This debate has been going on for a good 10-15 years,” he said. “Some producers just love using planters with canola because they’re able to save $30 or $40 an acre on seed costs, and they feel that pretty much pays for the planter in their situation.”

At the same time, other farmers remain skeptical.

However, Bond says more important than any single answer is the debate itself. He sees the discussion as a good thing because it has farmers talking about reducing costs without reducing yield.

“That’s the only way that producers are going to get through tight margin years.”

The post Seed costs spark new interest in planters for canola appeared first on Grainews.

First, the 3725QDA coulter drill makes its debut.

“The 3725 was kind of an extension of the 5 Series model, the 3335, when Bourgault went with the quick-adjust frame,” said Colin Rush, North American sales and marketing leader at Bourgault. “It allowed producers to change the seeding depth by moving shims on the frame, without going one-by-one on the openers.

“We took that exact same concept and decided it was time we had a quick-depth adjustable coulter drill.”

READ MORE: Bourgault becomes third shortliner acquired by Linamar since 2017

The result of that design change is the 3725QDA. It uses a hydraulic cylinder and shim assembly on each rear carrier wheel to set the seed depth. Adding or removing shims changes the angle of the frame, which results in seed depth change because of the unique geometry of the PLW (Paralink Walking) opener. The total range of seed depth change with the Quick Depth Adjust (QDA) is three-quarters of an inch.

“By adjusting shims across the back of the drill in a couple of minutes it allows you to switch crops. It’s a great innovative feature,” Rush said. “Each shim is an eighth of an inch. You raise the cylinders up and put shims in or take them out. Where the closing wheel is situated, it allows the opener to go deeper. One of the reasons producers up until now haven’t liked buying coulter drills is they haven’t been as easily adjustable as precision hoe drills.”

Rush said about 10 of the 3725QDA drills will be working in fields this season ahead of full production, and the company has had this adjustment system in field trials for a while.

“We’ve been in tests on it for the last couple of years to make sure it worked as well as our precision shank hoe openers do,” he said. “Model year 2025 will be the first full production year. They’ll be available for the spring of 2025.”

The first production year models of the 3725QDA drills will require manual depth adjustment, but eventually the brand’s AccuSet 2 adjustment system will be available on this model as well, which allows for remote depth setting.

XP Duo meter

Bourgault’s “air planter” 3820 coulter drill with PLR row units is a blending of seeder and planter technology into one single implement. It uses a meter to supply singulated seed to each row unit just like a planter. But the new XP Duo meter is now able to supply singulated seed to two row units at the same time.

That cuts the number of required meters in half and reduces the complexity of the air planter system.

“Several years ago we announced the whole air planter concept,” said Rush. “The XP meter with one meter per opening row was very much in tune with what the industry was providing on planters.

“Singulation in anything is a significant cost, adding the cost of a positive displacement or vacuum meter plus the bulk-fill system, and then the electrical and hydraulics required to run all those systems could be very significant.

“We just found we weren’t bringing enough value for the customers. We were able to look at the value and say what if each meter could do a single or double row of singulation. So it’s essentially half the meters but all the singulation; having two ejectors essentially cut our costs and complexity, as well as hydraulic and electrical requirements, in half. So this was the birth of the XP Duo meter.”

The new meters use positive pressure to deliver seed to the trench. The company says that system allows for accurate seed placement even with uneven soil surfaces or hilly terrain.

With XP Duo meters, the 3820 drills can be set to provide 7.5-, 15- and 30-inch row spacings to accommodate a wide range of crop types with just one machine.

The XP Duo meter will be available on the 3820 Paralink drill as well as the CD848, CD9120 and CD872 frame mounted seeders.

“For guys looking for singulation on things like soybeans but also want a drill to do winter wheat, cereals, cover crops on a narrow spacing, we can essentially lock up that rear rank on the coulter drill and have that 15-inch spacing for soybeans,” Rush says.

“If they want to do corn with that, each of those dual meters we can block off. There’s a plug that goes into one of those ejectors and now it’s on 30 inches. It’s really designed to be a very quick change. We think it’ll be a great concept.

“Essentially we’ve created a new machine class now with this XP Duo meter, the air planter and volumetric seeder on the same platform. As crops shift, we’re trying to be more futuristic to match what we think producers’ needs will be.”

The post Bourgault updates two product lines appeared first on Grainews.

Matthew Yanick, who founded Rocanville, Sask.-based MY Precision Ag, spoke at the recent Manitoba Ag Days farm show in Brandon about the benefits of equipping older farm machinery with the latest tech products and how, in some cases, it can be a cost-effective alternative to buying new machines.

“I sometimes say your machinery of tomorrow may already be in your shed today,” says Yanick, whose company has customers across Canada as well as the northern U.S. “I’m not saying don’t go buy new machinery. New machinery is great. This is just a second option.”

The biggest advantage to upgrading an existing piece of equipment instead of buying new is cost saving, he says. Technological add-ons cost a fraction of the price of most new equipment.

READ MORE: Expensive new equipment or older/cheaper: Which makes more sense?

And those costs continue to climb — a recent report from Manitoba Agriculture estimated the cost of farm equipment increased by between 25 and 62 per cent in the past two years.

“New stuff gets more and more expensive every year, interest rates get higher every year, payments get bigger. No one wants that big payment if they already have something that’s paid off sitting in the shed that can do what they want it to do,” Yanick says.

And upgrading existing machinery can also save on input costs, boost yields, provide more precise data tracking and reduce the chances of crop lodging with the addition of sectional control and variable rate systems, he says.

It can also mean considerably less wear and tear on the machine’s human operator.

“You’re going to be less tired at the end of the day because you have a more efficient machine,” he said. “You’re not hitting as many switches…and with autosteer you’re not trying to keep it on a straight line using a fence post like 20 years ago.”

You won’t get any argument on benefits of upgrading existing equipment from Jake Ayre, who operates a family-owned grain and seed farm near Minto, Man. In today’s ag climate, he says, producers have a business responsibility to look at how they can increase the efficiency of their operations while keeping a handle on costs.

“(Machine upgrades) are definitely something we look at all the time,” he said in an interview. “Sometimes the inclination is to upgrade that piece of machinery to a newer model. But there is a variety of upgrade kits that you can put on that piece to either improve the efficiency or improve how things are done.”

Ayre pointed to an example on his own farm. He found the air drill he used was producing too much air pressure in the seeding lines, which resulted in seeds hitting the row, then bouncing out and landing on top of the soil.

Last spring he decided to install a D-Cup Diffuser, an Australian product, in the air drill, eliminating that high-speed air flow in the seeding lines. The result was an improved seeding rate and drastically fewer ungerminated seeds.

Steven Donald operates a mixed grain and cattle farm near Moosomin, Sask. He’s also a journeyman ag mechanic — and an advocate for using technology to increase existing farm machinery’s capabilities.

“The only thing you’re gaining with buying a brand-new piece of equipment is hours,” he said in an interview. “I’ve actually found that the accuracy on some of our (upgraded) systems are even better than a factory-installed system.”

He cites the example of the real-time kinematics (RTK) system he installed on his own farm, which has allowed him to use an existing air seeder for sectional control and variable rate fertilizer application.

“I’m doing all the things that these fancy new machines do,” he says.

Do your homework

However, Yanick cautions producers to do their homework before investing in new technology for older equipment.

One of the first things you should do, he says, is investigate whether your existing machine is compatible with some of the newer precision ag technologies that are available.

That includes making sure your machine is big enough, and powerful enough, to handle whatever technological upgrades you’re looking to make.

“You don’t want to sink a lot of money into something if it’s only going to work for you for one year and you’re trying to grow your operation,” he adds.

“In the case of a tractor, does it have enough horsepower for your current needs and the next couple of years? It’s the same for combines. Is my combine big enough to do the acres per hour I need, or am I better off to buy a bigger combine or find a secondary combine?”

Ayre agrees. Information about most upgrade kits is available on the manufacturers’ websites, he says, and many users post reviews on the products on social media platforms such as Reddit and Facebook.

He also suggests checking with manufacturers directly, as most have a precision ag or tech specialist who can answer questions about options available for their product lines.

Compatibility is also a key consideration when upgrading existing machinery. Yanick says some models can be much easier to upgrade than others, and you should check with your dealers to make sure any tech kit you’re considering can do the job you want to have done.

It’s also important to carefully consider the state of whatever piece of equipment you’re looking to upgrade — and that it has “lot of life left on the hour meter.

“Sometimes people come to us and say we’re having this issue and they think putting something new in is going to fix it, but a lot of times that issue will carry over because something on the machine is (working incorrectly),” he says.

“In that case, the last thing you want is to spend a bunch of money on something you already have and then have it not work because you have a pre-existing issue.”

You should also consider the cost of any upgrades you’re looking to add, versus the cost of buying a newer unit that already has those features on it, he says. Some upgrades can cost a substantial amount of cash, depending on the machine and what you may be trying to add to it.

What are my options?

So, where should you start if you are considering upgrading a piece of existing machinery?

Yanick suggests taking a look at the machinery on hand and considering the options available. Most tractors, air seeders and planters, sprayers, liquid and NH3 applicators, combines and grain carts can be upgraded.

Tractors

Some of the most popular upgrades for tractors are precision farming displays, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers, autosteer, and machine sync and data transfer systems.

Yanick says monitors are the “true heart and soul” of any precision farming system, and it’s important to choose one capable of doing what you want it to do.

It’s also important to choose a monitor fully compatible with the machine it’s being installed on — and with a big enough screen that you won’t be straining your eyes all day long.

“If you have older operators where their vision isn’t there anymore, don’t go buy the smallest monitor just so you can save a little money,” he said. “I personally like the bigger displays. They just make everything easier. They’re more future-friendly.”

Choosing the right GNSS receiver is important, Yanick says, because everything from sectional and variable rate control to autosteer is linked to that unit. Newer GNSS receivers have upgraded boards, meaning they can link to more satellites and are more reliable. Many require an annual subscription.

Autosteer is one of the building blocks to maximizing the efficiency of any machine and Yanick recommends working with a dealer to find a kit that’s right for the device you are looking to upgrade. If the unit is guidance-ready, some manufacturers offer kits to reuse those factory components. Hydraulic autosteer systems are recommended for sub-inch accuracy applications as they are the most responsive.

Telematics, such as machine syncing and data transfer, can be added to compatible monitors and provide a range of features including remote software updates, machine-to-machine map and data sharing, office-to-machine data transfer, and machine-to-office data transfer.

Yanick says they are a great tool in instances where multiple machines are working in sync in the same fields and working off each other’s maps for application and sectional control. Most typically require some form of cellphone plan.

Air seeders and planters

Yanick says his company receives a high number of inquiries from customers wanting to upgrade an existing air seeder or planter. The most common request is to add variable rate capability for seed and granular fertilizer.

The two options are to buy a kit that is already available or to custom-build one. An upside to adding one of these kits to a machine is that it can be integrated into a tractor’s existing display, which can eliminate the need for a lot of old wiring and multiple monitors.

Sectional control on existing seeders and planters is also in increasing demand. Yanick says it can pay for itself very quickly through savings in input costs and less lodging. One downside is the available options right now are quite limited, although most can be installed fairly easily.

Blockage and flow monitoring systems can be a great investment for existing air drills, Yanick says. Most kits are very similar to factory-installed systems. Not only do they show if a line is plugged, but they can also indicate if one tower is putting out more product than another and if your rate is starting to fluctuate — things many air seeder monitors might not catch. Upgrade kits are available for units manufactured as far back as the 1990s, he adds.

Hydraulic downforce units allow planters to adjust almost instantly as field conditions change and ensure proper seeding depth at all times on every row throughout a field. Yanick says they are much more effective than existing manual springs or airbags, which can take up to 20 seconds to change in field conditions.

“With consistent downforce and consistent seed depth, you’re getting consistent emergence, you’re getting proper seed placement, you’re getting everything you want, especially with corn,” he said.

Sprayers

In addition to display units, GNSS receivers, autosteer and telematics, potential upgrades to sprayers include pulse width modulation (PWM) nozzle controls, boom recirculation, auto boom height control and spot spray technology.

Yanick says the biggest benefit to adding PWM nozzle controls is that they allow for individual nozzle shut off which helps to maximize sectional control. They also provide greater control of pressure, droplet size and drift as well as turn compensation so less chemical is sprayed when the unit is turning. There are aftermarket options available from companies such as Ag Leader, Capstan and Raven, in a range of prices.

Installing boom recirculation capacity often goes hand-in-hand with adding a PWM nozzle control system and can be added to booms up to 20 years old, Yanick says. The biggest benefit to boom recirculation is that the sprayer is full of “hot” product rather than water as soon as it’s primed, which helps avoid skips in the field. A recirculating boom also makes rinsing and cleanouts easier and helps to reduce the amount of chemical residue in the boom. Different kits are available from manufacturers such as BRS and Raven.

An automatic boom height control unit can be a godsend in maintaining a consistent spray height, according to Yanick. Not only will it give the operator the best coverage of a field, but it can also reduce concerns about spray drift. The different kits available include one from Raven in which controllers are mounted on the front of the boom to provide it with a little extra time to do calculations and be proactive rather than reactive.

Spot spray upgrades are becoming more and more popular every year, he says, particularly because they provide as much as a 90 per cent savings on chemical costs. However, he cautions, in some cases a whole new boom may need to be added to accommodate the technology on an existing sprayer, which can be quite costly.

A liquid fertilizer flow monitor is basically the liquid fertilizer equivalent of an air seeder blockage monitor. It reads the flow of liquid through individual lines and sends an immediate alert to the cab if one plugs or starts putting out less product.

Combines

Precision farming displays, GNSS receivers, autosteer and machine sync and data upgrade kits are now available for many older models of combines. Upgrades are also available for yield and moisture monitoring and mapping.

Yanick says more farmers are looking at having the ability to perform yield and moisture monitoring and mapping as data collection becomes more important each year. Most combines can be retrofitted for these and there are options available from manufacturers such as Ag Leader.

Grain carts

Technology upgrades for grain carts include wireless scale kits, full load cell kits and autonomous grain carts.

Wireless scales such as the Agrimatics Libra Cart allow producers to convert existing scale monitors to a wireless version for better data management. They hook into a cart’s existing load cell system and are relatively easy to install and set up. They typically run via a computer tablet.

“Lots of guys are using the old-style scale monitors and they’re not really tracking the data on the monitor. They usually have a notepad in the cab, and they are writing down every load and it’s pretty easy to miss one,” Yanick says.

“With a system like this, typically it’s got an auto unload feature so when you start unloading, it knows and it starts saving the data to the tablet it’s running on. You never have to worry about missing a load.”

Yanick says he often hears from customers that they need to buy a new grain cart because their current one doesn’t have load cells. That’s no longer true with the introduction of full load cell kits. They can be added to most existing carts and use the same wired or wireless monitor system seen in many newer carts. Some older carts may require welding to install these kits, but many slide in easily with the appropriate adapter sleeve.

“We do (installations) and guys say this is going to save me a lot of money and a lot of headache. I should have done this years ago, but I didn’t know it was available,” he adds.

Autonomous grain carts such as Raven’s OMNIDrive are still a relatively new form of equipment, but Yanick expects uptake is going to increase substantially as more people become familiar with the technology. These kits allow a grain cart tractor to drive to a combine and unload the combine by itself, then drive to a truck where a human operator unloads the cart.

A word of advice

Yanick pointed out that it’s important, when considering tech upgrades to existing equipment you have, to make sure you choose a dealer with experience who provides good after-sales support.

“If they are putting it on and something goes wrong in the field or you have questions, if you can’t get help you are going to get frustrated…and you’ll never want to do it again,” he says.

He also advises that you test out any technological upgrades ahead of time, rather than at peak times during the season when you’re rushing to complete a task at hand.

“It limits a lot of the start-up issues that come on the first day…and will make your season go a lot smoother,” he said, adding many dealerships offer off-season support and training for such systems.

Donald’s final piece advice regarding machine upgrades is to remember newer isn’t always better.

“If you’re not addicted to things that are shiny you can get the best or the same thing for pennies on the dollar (with upgrades).

“Fifteen thousand dollars will buy you autosteer with sectional and rate control, but $15,000 won’t buy you much of a tractor anymore,” he says, laughing.

The post Old equipment, new life: Cost-effective tech upgrades appeared first on Grainews.