Several new features allow for more onboard fertilizer options, better seed placement and residue management.

“Planter advancements from John Deere are designed to help ensure the seed has the best chance to get off to a strong start,” says Anthony Styczinski, marketing manager for planters and air seeders.

For model year 2027, Deere planters will have an option for a dual-product fertilizer system that allows operators to carry and apply product in-furrow and/or off to the side. The company says that will give corn plants better access to the right nutrients at the right time in the growth stage, which should lead to higher corn yields.

The dual-product system includes both of the brand’s ExactShot and ExactRate systems.

ExactShot delivers nutrients directly into the seed furrow. Deere claims ExactShot can save growers up to 66 per cent of in-furrow nutrient input needs. ExactRate applies fertilizer off to the side of the furrow.

Planters can now be equipped with dual liquid fertilizer tanks with pumps mounted underneath them connected to stainless steel lines.

Both liquid tanks are equipped with level sensing, so an operator knows how much product is remaining in each tank.

Another update is a new agitation system, which is necessary to keep certain chemical blends suspended for even product coverage. An auxiliary tank option allows for the use of micronutrients, biologicals, fungicides and insecticides.

The dual fertilizer system is available from the factory on model year 2027 1775NT 16 and 24 row and DB60 24 row planters.

“We have thought through the entire planting experience, adding a way for the operators to know exactly what is going on with the planter,” says Styczinski.

“From the tractor cab, a display screen shows both fertilizer products on a single run screen. Additional improvements offer the operator to now select a dose length of four-inch and improvements to the map coverage page.”

Also new this year to Deere planters is ExactDepth, which is an electric depth control that supports an in-cab, on-the-go range of depth adjustments and individual row unit depth calibrations.

Downforce automation

2027 models also get downforce automation with FurrowVision. This automation determines the amount of downforce needed to optimize the furrow based on a number of factors, including initial margin setpoint, soil resistance, furrow health, raw depth, and ground contact.

FurrowVision also helps operators identify when residue is impacting the furrow, allowing them to manually optimize row cleaner settings. It uses three in-furrow cameras to provide real-time sectional views of the furrow, as well as depth measurement readings, residue detection filter and additional quality map layers available through the John Deere Operations Center.

Other features to help manage planter operations through Deere’s Operations Centre have been enhanced for 2027 as well.

Logistics is now available through the Operations Center available with the G5 Advanced license. It provides real-time monitoring of equipment location, work status and product levels. This can give tender drivers or anyone else on the farm detailed information about tank product and seed levels.

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Fertilizer Canada has done an excellent job promoting and developing information for agronomists and farmers to help achieve 4R management. In this article, I will briefly review some of the 4R key information. Visit Fertilizer Canada’s website to access their detailed information.

What are the 4R principles?

The starting point for developing 4R management is to work with a well qualified professional agrologist (P.Ag.) or Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) with a strong soil fertility and a fertilizer background with 4R training. Next, working with your agronomic advisor, develop a soil sampling plan for your farm fields to conduct annual soil sampling and analysis of each field. Knowing the level of each plant nutrient in each field is critical to determine what plant nutrients are adequate, marginal or deficient, and how much of each nutrient needs to be applied to each field depending on the crop to be grown. To do this, consider each of the 4R principles:

Right source: This involves identifying which plant nutrients are deficient or marginal in your field for the crop to be grown. Soil testing is invaluable to determine this. From there, you can determine the correct and best fertilizer sources to provide each nutrient, to ensure an adequate supply of each.

Right rate: To determine the correct rate of each fertilizer nutrient, considerations include knowing the plant available level of each nutrient in the soil, estimating release from soil minerals and/or soil organic matter, and the nutrient availability of each applied fertilizer; also, take into consideration past manure applications. Then the rate for each nutrient is selected based on crop requirements and yield potential. Also, be sure fertilizer application equipment is calibrated to deliver the correct application rates.

Right time: Apply each fertilizer at the best time to achieve the highest efficiency of uptake and to minimize potential losses. For example, for an annual cereal crop, apply nitrogen fertilizers just before or at the time of seeding.

Right place: Place each nutrient to optimize uptake by plant roots and minimize losses. For example, for an annual cereal crop, side or mid-row band nitrogen and seed-place phosphate fertilizer at safe rates, at seeding time, to optimize uptake.

4R goals and advantages

Using 4R management optimizes nutrient application and uptake, resulting in optimum crop yields. This leads to better crop management, improved soil fertility and increased soil health. 4R management increases fertilizer use efficiency resulting in higher production per acre for each unit of nutrient applied. This in turn leads to improved farm income and profits.

Adopting 4R management helps retain nutrients in the soil and minimizes the negative impact of fertilizers on the environment. Excellent nutrient management reduces nutrient losses to the atmosphere, such as volatile ammonia (NH₃) losses and denitrification losses of nitrous oxide (N₂O). Leaching losses of nitrate nitrogen (NO₃), sulphate sulphur (SO₄) and other mobile nutrients downward into subsoil and into groundwater can be minimized. Nutrient losses by runoff into surface waters can also be minimized to preserve natural ecosystems on and adjacent to your farm.

4R practices for Prairie crop production

Fertilizer Canada has developed information to increase 4R knowledge for western Canadian farmers and agronomic advisors. Agronomists’ and farmers’ increased interest in developing better fertilizer management plans over the years has led to more research across Western Canada to improve best management practices (BMPs).

Keep in mind, Western Canada has a wide range of agro-ecological areas, each with a range of climatic conditions and soil types resulting in varying cropping practices used by farmers — so there is no one right answer for best fertilizer management for all western Canadian farmers. Fertilizer planning must be farm-specific, and geared for the unique crops, cropping practices, soils and climatic conditions of the farm.

Fertilizer Canada, in consultation with industry experts, has developed recommendation documents for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The purpose of these documents is to provide guidance as to what might be considered better 4R practices in different regions with varying cropping systems. The information provides suggested guidance practices for consideration.

The 4R program has been based on western Canadian research and scientific principles to develop practices for uniquely different cropping systems. For example, “right” varies with the agro-ecological area in which a farm is located, the cropping system used, the equipment available to the farmer, and fertilizer products available to the farmer. A farmer working with an agronomic advisor will select the best management practices to consider and balance agronomic, economic and environmental considerations along with the equipment the farmer has.

We must also keep in mind that the 4R principles are very interdependent. Developing practices for one of the “rights” will impact the other “rights.” Best management practices are really a suite of practices that are interactive and work together to improve fertilizer nutrient use efficiency and minimize nutrient losses.

Each farmer starting the process of developing a 4R plan will be at different starting points. Most farmers in Western Canada are already using reasonably good fertilizer management practices. But these are often lots of opportunities for improvement. For example, fewer than 20 per cent of Prairie farmers routinely soil test. Having reliable soil testing information greatly expands opportunities to work with a well-qualified agronomist to interpret the tests’ results.

My suggestions

I strongly support the efforts of Fertilizer Canada to promote the 4R principles to agronomists and farmers in Western Canada. Prairie farmers should consider shifting toward improved 4R fertilizer practices. Here are some of my suggestions to move forward:

• Hire a well qualified agronomist with 4R training.
• Develop a comprehensive soil sampling and testing plan for the farm.
• Use a soil testing laboratory that uses the recommended analyses for your province.
• Working with your agronomist, develop a good basic 4R plan to get started, by carefully interpreting soil analysis results for each field. Implement a basic fertilizer plan for the first several years to start the 4R learning process.
• By year three, working with your agronomist, build on your learning and experience, and look at shifting upward to an intermediate level of 4R practices, adopting improved practices and technologies.
• By year five to six, look at adopting advanced practices that might involve investment in new technologies, practices and/or equipment.
• Rely on your agronomist for your detailed planning each year. Become aware of new research and new technologies in your area and constantly seek out opinions from other knowledgeable soil and crop experts and researchers who could potentially improve BMPs on your farm. Maximize your learning and consider new opportunities.

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Early results from a multi-year University of Manitoba study suggest it might be possible to shave nitrogen fertilizer rates by 10 per cent or more when paired with the right products.

WHY IT MATTERS: Fertilizer costs are high, while fertilizer efficiency is continually being pushed thanks to federal emission reduction targets. Nitrification inhibitors, including best practices and their efficacy, are one feature of the conversation.

The research is led by Mario Tenuta, research chair in 4R nutrient management at the U of M, in collaboration with Manitoba Agriculture’s Manasah Mkhabela. There are four sites across different growing regions of the province, including the Prairie East Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (PESAI) in Arborg, Roblin, Melita and Carberry.

The study was launched in 2023 in response to Ottawa’s target to cut nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer by 30 per cent by 2030.

Inhibitors and greenhouse gas emissions

The team’s goals were twofold: measure nitrous oxide emissions under different nitrogen rates and test whether nitrification inhibitors could curb losses without affecting yield. Plots were set up with zero, 70, 90 and 100 per cent of recommended N rates, both with and without nitrification inhibitors. The same treatments stay on the same ground each year to track the impact as soil reserves change over time.

Rotation on the plots began with canola in 2023, followed by wheat in 2024 — the only season from which full yield and emissions data are available so far. The study is ongoing.

Rebalancing the nitrogen equation

For farmers, the takeaway may be less about adding bushels through less nitrogen loss (and therefore more nitrogen availability) than about widening the profit margin by applying less fertilizer with the same yield.

The additional cost of inhibitors has been the complicating factor in that efficiency argument. Tenuta’s own earlier work suggests the products don’t reliably boost yield on their own.

“They reduce nitrogen losses, but farmers are already applying enough N that having more in the system usually doesn’t help them,” he said.

For farmers to see a robust economic argument for inhibitors, there must be enough room to strategically trim nitrogen rates, without yield impact, to offset the extra cost of adoption. The thought is less about cutting nitrogen application so much as rebalancing overall soil nitrogen.

Results and insights

A single year of data doesn’t offer much rigous data, but there have been some initial insights.

On the emissions side, apart from an anomaly at Roblin, inhibitors performed as expected.

“At the Arborg site, nitrous oxide dropped 23 per cent when we used a nitrification inhibitor,” said Mkhabela during a July field day at PESAI this summer.

There were comparable reductions recorded at Melita and Carberry.

Yield appeared to be unaffected by the inhibitor in 2024, but results suggest the soil at that time still held significant nitrogen reserves. Wheat grown with 100 per cent of recommended N averaged 64 bushels to the acre (bu./ac.). At a 10-per-cent reduction plus inhibitor, yield held at 63 bu./ac. Even at 30 per cent below the recommended rate, yield only dropped to 57 bu./ac. Unsurprisingly, the plots without extra nitrogen fell behind on yield, at 37 bu./ac.

Lags in plant impact to applied nitrogen, however, encourages researchers to be a little careful in speculating how deeply farmers can cut.

A 10 per cent rate reduction is low-risk, Tenuta noted, but much bigger cuts are more of a gamble.

Nitrogen stored in soil continues to feed the plants long after the last application of the nutrient. The more agressively nitrogen rates are reduced, the more quickly soil reserves will be depleted.

“If we drastically reduced nitrogen by 50 per cent, we probably wouldn’t see an effect in 2026,” he said. “But by 2028 we’d really see it.”

Similarly, the respectable yields Mkhabela observed with a 30 per cent nitrogen reduction will almost certainly diminish over time.

The long-term goal is to find that sweet spot: the lowest nitrogen rate that will consistently deliver good yields.

When asked where he thought that sweet spot would end up, Tenuta was conservative. Based on wider research, he guessed it would land in the neighbourhood of 10 to 15 per cent.

That might not be dramatic enough to get producers lining up to change long-held habits, he acknowledged.

“Nitrogen management is so ingrained in us,” he said. “We always think about going up, not down.”

Perception matters

Manitoba Agriculture farm management specialist Darren Bond broadly agreed, saying the decision isn’t only economic; perception matters, too.

Regardless of what the research says, producers will ultimately be the ones to pull the trigger on a management change.

“Is there benefit if you cut nitrogen 10 per cent and add an inhibitor? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, we’re dealing with slivers,” said Bond.

He also noted environmental conditions can swing yield by 25 bu./ac. If farmers are asked to make decisions over pennies while weather can rewrite the whole outcome in a day, motivation tends to diminish.

“Mother Nature bats last when it comes to this type of stuff. That’s why producers are reluctant to cut nitrogen,” Bond said.

With a little more data, however, Bond noted the mental calculation on the issue could shift. That same nutrient-application-to-impact lag means that short trials tend to flatter aggressive rate reduction insights. For field studies like this, where changes unfold incrementally over years, longer trials are needed.

“Let’s go past three years to four, five, even 10, and start seeing what really changes,” Bond suggested.

The study’s long-term scope isn’t locked in yet, but Mkhabela told the PESAI tour crowd that the team is aiming for 10 years of funding.

Keeping it real

Current policies are adding another layer of consideration to the debate.

Government has launched a number of funding streams meant to bolster fertilizer efficiency in the wake of their 2030 emission goals. Those include subsidies and incentives through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (S-CAP) and other programs that may fund dual-inhibitor products, combining nitrification and urease inhibitors to offer additional benefits for growers.

“Urease inhibitors are like an insurance product to allow that nitrogen to get into the root zone and become more stable,” Bond explained. “The nitrification inhibitor is mainly impactful on greenhouse gases.”

Persistently tight margins could also change the outlook, he noted. When nitrogen was cheap, farmers just applied more urea to buffer against nitrogen losses. If prices rise and margins narrow further, the efficiency gains from nitrification inhibitors could start to look a lot more compelling.

Tenuta says it’s important not to over-promise with these products. Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, including nitrification inhibitors, can play a role, but farmers need a clear-eyed view of what they can and can’t do.

“I don’t want good practices, and these products, to get a bad name,” he said. “If we can show farmers they can reduce losses and maintain profit, that keeps nutrient stewardship moving in the right direction. That’s the take-home message here.”

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Manitoba’s crop experts outlined one tactic to help farmers find out at the 2025 Crop Diagnostic School earlier this year at Carman.

Farmers using a ‘nitrogen ramp’ approach will increase nitrogen rates in increments, based on soil test recommendations.

It involves taking “whatever the nitrogen recommendation was from your field based in the soil test, and then comparing that to the nitrogen ramp to see, are you actually hitting (the target)?” said Anne Kirk, cereal crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.

“When is it the greenest? And then also, considering, if we’re applying more nitrogen, is that economical as well?” Kirk added.

If you’ve tested a nitrogen ramp in your cereal crop, there are a few ways to determine if your plants are taking up nitrogen as intended.

It can just be gauged by the amount of biomass in your crop and the colour of the leaf tissue to the naked eye, Kirk said — but there’s a catch to that strategy. Changing light conditions throughout the day can trick the eye and make it difficult to gauge differences in the shades of green in the leaves.

Farmers can take the guesswork out of the process with a nitrogen ramp calibration strip, she noted. Similar to a paint colour swatch you might see in the local hardware store’s paint department, the tool can help give more concrete insight.

“It’s not to identify which one is sufficient or deficient,” but rather is a comparative measure, she cautioned.

“If you have 80 pounds of nitrogen per acre compared to 100, is there actually a colour difference, or are they about the same?”

For the more tech-savvy, a device called a SPAD meter measures the amount of chlorophyll in a leaf. To take a reading, the user presses the flag leaf between the two paddles on the meter.

Kirk noted that while these readings don’t mean much on their own and do not replace soil nitrogen testing, they can be helpful when measuring against other parts of your field or where a different application rate was put down.

Nitrogen application strategies

When it comes to fall or spring nitrogen application in winter cereals, there are pros and cons to both.

“If you’re applying all of your nitrogen in the fall, the risk is that you can have excessive leaching if you have a wet fall,” Kirk said. “You can also have denitrification (gassing off of that nitrogen) and it wouldn’t be available to the plants.”

A full burst of nitrogen in the fall could also lead to excessive top growth in your plants, which could mean a less healthy crown going into winter and perhaps more winterkill, added Kirk.

“If you apply all of your nitrogen in the spring, the risk is that it could be dry … and if it doesn’t rain, that nitrogen isn’t actually getting down into the soil to your plant,” she added.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, field conditions in a wet spring could mean a grower may not get nitrogen on the field before it’s too late.

To avoid risk, Kirk suggests using a split N application — a portion applied in the fall and a portion in the spring to reduce the risks from both of these types of potential losses.

The key is making sure that nutrient is available to winter cereals when the crop is likely to need it the most.

“We know that winter wheat takes up about 30 to 40 per cent of its total nitrogen needs by stem elongation,” said Kirk. “So we really want to make sure that nitrogen is on and available for the plant by the time stem elongation happens.”

For more information on nitrogen ramp calibration strips, visit the Manitoba Agriculture website.

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Syngenta Canada says its Envita Dry uses the naturally occurring bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus to enable plants to draw nitrogen directly from the air. The bacteria fix nitrogen inside plant cells, giving crops a steady, season-long nutrient source beyond what’s available in soil.

“Envita Dry gives plants the ability to source additional nitrogen from the atmosphere and deliver it to the right place and at the right time when the plant needs it,” said Gustavo G. Roelants, biologicals marketing lead for Syngenta Canada. “It supports nutrient-use efficiency by fixing nitrogen inside the plant’s leaves for a steady nutrient supply.”

Syngenta, which added the liquid form of Envita to its biologicals line in 2022, says the new dry formulation offers a two-year shelf life, a low use rate and a broad application window. Each 200-gram pouch treats 40 acres and can be added directly to tank water without pre-mixing.

The company recommends using Envita Dry alongside existing fertilizer programs and applying it with a non-ionic surfactant, or tank-mixing it with compatible fungicides and herbicides.

Field-tested in Canada, Envita Dry is registered for use on potatoes, canola, cereals, corn, pulses, soybeans and forage crops. It’s covered by a performance guarantee and designed to give farmers a simple, shelf-stable option for adding biological nitrogen fixation to their fertility plans, the company says.

More information and a list of tested tank-mix partners are available online.

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“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.”

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But the most common theme is greater automation and precision control of machinery from combine headers to fertilizer spreading to managing seeding and planting equipment.

Agritechnica, the world’s largest machinery show, takes place Nov. 9 to 15, 2025 in Hanover, Germany. Its awards are sought after by companies worldwide.

The two gold awards and 22 silvers were chosen from 234 innovations approved for the competition.

Gold:

Claas baler

Claas won one of two gold awards by creating a 70-tonne class baler, which can create eight-foot long bales that weigh at least 500 kg when made of straw. That way, the bales can fit more exactly onto some trailers for more efficient transportation. Typical bales from other large balers on the market range from six to seven feet.

The other dimensions of the bale are four feet by three feet.

The baler has also been designed for high throughput and optimal bale density.

Aebi and AG Maschinenfabrik Line Traction

The other gold medal was won by a joint development called Line Traction between Aebi & Co. and AG Maschinenfabrik and features a new drive system for Aebi’s Terratrac tractors that are specially designed for farming on slopes.

Parts of the traditional differential has been replaced with a hydrostatic system in the planetary final drives. Each wheel of the tractor can then follow the needed speed when turning, with drive shafts always running at the same speed, which improves traction and safety in challenging driving conditions.

Silver:

Deutz-Fahr tractor assisted guidance system

There are more and more cameras on tractors and Deutz-Fahr is aiming to make them do more valuable work with the development of its tractor-assisted guidance system.

Like many new automobiles, the tractors will be able to stay in lanes, corner with guidance assistance, and recognize people or objects in the way. For farmers who spend a lot of time on the road with their tractors, an advanced option will include adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, and road sign recognition. The concept was developed with Stereolabs and will be shown for the first time on a tractor at Agritechnica.

Claas adaptive drive train management for stepless gearboxes

Claas has created an adaptive drive train management system for its Axion tractors, which makes the large machines run more efficiently.

The system learns from the power requirement of the user, and in subsequent operations of the tractor, automatically adjusts the engine speed and gear ratios before load jumps occur.

Grimme easy cleaning for rotary tillers

Cleaning rotary tillers is challenging, which means the job doesn’t always get done between fields in crops like potatoes, increasing the risk of soil-borne disease transmission.

Grimme is introducing a new concept for easier and safer cleaning of rotary tillers.

The company changed the material of the housing to polyurethane so that less soil with adhere to it. The housing can be hydraulically opened, so the user is also provided with unobstructed access to the interior of the housing.

Lemken iQblue Fan Automation and automated fan control

On air drills, the air volume is determined by adjusting the fan speed. Speeds often have to be adjusted during seeding. Fan speeds usually don’t change when lines are blocked.

The automatic fan control system iQblue Fan Automation from Lemken now records the volume of air intake and uses this information as a control variable depending on the floating speed of the seed and fertiliser to be transported and the mass to be delivered per unit of time.

The air volume can also be optimally controlled in the case of implement combinations involving multiple fans. This enables practical, adaptive regulation irrespective of the machine or application.

Rauch Landmaschinenfabrik VarioSmart fertilizer spreading

Infinitely adjusting the spinner speed has long been possible on fertilizer spreaders with a hydraulic PTO drive, but adjusting the speed of both spreading discs or folding deflectors have so far been relied on in fertilizer spreaders with a mechanical PTO drive. VarioSmart, from Rauch Landmaschinenfabrik, now makes it possible for the first time to regulate the speed of the right-hand spreading disc on a fertilizer spreader with a mechanical PTO drive. This enables more precise distribution of the fertilizer at the field boundary thanks to more steeply descending boundary spreading patterns which reduces the risk of fertilizer granules falling on paths and other non-target areas.

Amazone AutoSpread

A self-adjusting fertilizer spreader is now available on the market for the first time in the form of AutoSpread from Amazone.

The fertilizer’s spread is now recorded via radar on the spreader, meaning testing distribution using a mat or tray is no longer as necessary.

Autonomous spreader settings generate a live-spreading pattern, validated by AI in the field.

Börger GmbH Bioselect RC 250

A new manure screw press allows greater consistency in the final product. That means farmers or custom application operators will know what type of manure will need to be applied and its consistency, including dry matter and fibre content.

The new Bioselect RC250 screw press separator from Börger also helps reduce energy consumption due to several design changes.

Einböck GmbH Smart-Hill

Mechanical weed control is challenged by hills and headlands. The tillage unit being pulled can end up off the row, damaging crops along with weeds.

The Smart-Hil system, jointly developed by Einböck and Claas E-Systems is an innovative extension of the camera-controlled Row-Guard moving frame.

A high-resolution camera analyzes colour and 3D surface models to precisely register the slope. In real time, the on-board computers move the cultivator tines to follow the row at 90 degrees.

Horsch Proactive BoomControl

The new BoomControl system from Horsch optimises the spraying accuracy by analyzing the field surface with 3D radar sensors and using the collected data for proactive boom control. This minimizes the risk of errors and achieves an optimum spraying distance even on sharply ascending or descending terrain and under difficult conditions.

Geringhoff Yield EyeQ

Geringhoff has developed the Yield EyeQ scanner technology, which uses cameras to evaluate combine grain header losses. The decision-making support system evaluates changes in the settings of the head, which can then result in recommendations and automation of the header.

Schumacher EasyCut3 (EC3) QuickFit cutting system

Damaged knife blades or guards on the grain cutter bar cause the harvest system to grind to a halt. The person carrying out the repair has to work in the danger zone directly in front of the cutter bar beneath the raised reel.

The EasyCut III cutting system offers hole-free guards and knife blades. The guards and blades are bolted to the frame (cutter bar) or the rod (cutter back) with the aid of adapter plates, resulting in increased stability. During replacement, the patented design means that the fastening nuts located on the upper side only have to be released and removal or insertion carried out from the front. This prevents bolts from being lost and does away with the need for tools to be applied from beneath, thereby increasing installation comfort.

New Holland Corn header automation

New Holland is putting cameras on corn heads to make sure that its headers can keep up with the high throughput capacity of the rest of the combine.

Loss sensors are placed where plants are fed onto the divider hoods. Sensors also keep track of other header measures.

The camera uses an AI system to register the percentage of plants and the proportion of whole cobs or grain that are fed into the combine harvester.

The result of fully automating the corn header is a reduction in pick-up losses of up to 50 per cent.

Grimme Riconda sieve with new connection system

The Riconda modular sieve from Grimme, developed together with Ricon, has elements that are connected using a newly developed locking mechanism consisting of an anchor plate, sieve web bar and two bolts. The fabric in the belt is no longer interrupted but vulcanised in loops, resulting in a more resilient and easier-to-manage belt.

All of those changes result in significantly lower wear and eliminate the need for segment-specific lock parts.

Krone OptiSet on the Krone Vendro

Adjustments on rotary tedders for hay crops are rarely used, so Krone created OptiSet, so the implement can be adjusted from the cab.

The spreading angle of all rotors can be adjusted infinitely between 13 and 19 degrees with the push of a button. This enables a consistent drying process to be controlled, particularly in the case of heterogeneous grassland growth. The technology enables automatic adjustment even in autonomous operation and contributes to ensuring the efficiency and quality of feed harvesting.

There were three innovations that all were awarded silvers, based on their similar technology for monitoring silage quality on forage harvesters. Real-time corn silage processing scores enable the operator to manage quality as they are cutting corn.

The three technologies include:

• Claas Cemos Auto Chopping
• Fendt – Agco Forage Quality Cam
• New Holland Forage Cam, developed with KU Leuven, Mebios Biophotonics

Claas Jaguar 1000 overall concept

A new forage harvester with more than 1,100 horsepower also has a large 910 mm intake channel and a new cutter drum.

Class’s Jaguar 1000 also includes a new driver assist system and a shorter distance to the crop intake on the chopper head.

Nokian Intuitu Smart Pressure Assistant for Nokian Tyres Soil King VF tyres

Systems for changing tire inflation for different field and road conditions isn’t new, but Nokian’s Intuitu Smart Pressure Assistant now give recommendations to the operator for the optimum tire pressure depending on the axle load.

This uses the latest generation of tire sensor technology, which can determine the load in just a few minutes while driving.

Another two concepts both received silver medals for their ability to make fertilizer spreader adjustments easier. Both systems use image analysis and AI to determine characteristics of fertilizer and then automatically create spreader settings without spreading tests.

• Amazone EasyMatch, which use AI to recognize fertilizer
• Sky Agriculture Fertieye, a smartphone image analysis for fertiliser spreader adjustment under field conditions

Arnold NextG Duxalpha

Arnold NextG has created a 3D mapping system that helps better plan the use of tramlines in fields to guide equipment that will be using those fields.

Elevation and obstacles are automatically considered using the Duxalpha system during planning for tramlines.

The system can also be used to coordinate the movement of multiple machines in the same or nearby fields.

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The L1230 debuts the brand’s new hydraulic fixed-rate drive system, which allows for spreading like an old-school ground drive mechanism. It combines hydraulic drive with sensors to detect actual ground speed and adjust the spreading rates accordingly.

A controlled spinner drive works with the speed sensor to allow the operator to set the spinner speed from the cab to match the desired spread. The dual stainless steel spinners can provide a spread width of 40 to 90 feet for fertilizer.

Loftness says the hydraulic fixed-rate system reduces maintenance steps and improves reliability and accuracy while preventing accidental damage as seen in conventional ground drive systems. Such damage can occur when a spreader is reversed with the drive system engaged.

For variable-rate spreading, the L1230 is available with plug-and-play compatibility for controllers from all tractor brands as well as ISOBUS systems.

The spreaders can be ordered with single row-crop wheels, which have an adjustable track width from 60 to 134 inches and offer 37 inches of ground clearance under the body. Alternatively, it can be equipped with a walking beam tandem axle setup that lowers the overall height for easier loading.

The hooper uses a 24-inch belt-over-chain design for smooth feeding of both fertilizer and lime. An integrated agitator minimizes problems with fertilizer clumps and improves material flow. The stainless steel hopper has 50-degree sloping sides with no internal gussets or braces to keep fertilizer sinking down to the feeder chain.

The L1230 can be equipped with a number of options including an integrated scale, roll tarp and/or steerable hitch.

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Developed by Crop Growth Sciences, PhoSul combines natural rock phosphate with elemental sulphur but also adds amorphous silica.

“It’s a new take on an old idea,” said Darcy Lepine, president of Crop Growth Sciences.

The silica addition is the patented component of the product and plays a key role in freeing up phosphorus for plant use.

Lepine said traditional synthetic fertilizers such as MAP (monoammonium phosphate) rely on water solubility to make phosphorus available. However, that also makes them prone to rapid tie-up in the soil, typically within 30 days.

PhoSul, by contrast, is designed to mimic natural soil processes, relying on microbial activity to create sulfuric acid as it breaks down the sulphur component. This acid releases phosphorus from the rock phosphate.

What makes PhoSul different is the silica, which binds with calcium — a byproduct of the reaction — before it can re-bind with phosphorus. Lepine said this allows up to 90 per cent of the phosphorus to remain plant-available, despite being a non-water soluble product.

Because of its low salt index, PhoSul can be safely placed near seed, even sensitive crops such as canola. Lepine said the product works particularly well in high pH or sodic soils, where synthetic fertilizers often struggle.

The fertilizer also offers environmental benefits. According to Lepine, PhoSul requires five times less carbon dioxide to produce than MAP or DAP. Since it’s not water soluble, it’s less prone to runoff or loss into waterways.

PhoSul can replace all or part of a farmer’s typical phosphorus fertilizer blend and is designed to blend seamlessly with common products such as urea, MAP or MEZ. Lepine emphasized it’s not a silver bullet; rather, it’s a tool to improve soil biology and maintain fertility over time.

PhoSul is now available in Canada, after an initial launch in the U.S. in 2024.

The company has four years of research from Montana State University and about 20,000 acres under use so far this season.

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The 4Rs of phosphorus (P) stewardship were central to the theme of my former project, as they are with my current PhD studies.

The study was initiated in the spring of 2014 at a field near Central Butte, Sask. Within that field, one site was established on a water-shedding upslope position and a second site on a downslope. Treatments consisted of combinations of P fertilizer application rates and placement methods. Monoammonium phosphate (MAP) was the P fertilizer source applied in all treatments.

Yield response was evaluated in soybeans. While soybean grain yield was not significantly influenced by the treatment, the highest yield recorded at each site was from the deep-banded treatment. Matching this yield response, deep-banded placement also resulted in the highest apparent recovery of applied fertilizer P (31 per cent), and recovery from this treatment was substantially greater than that calculated from any of the broadcast treatments, either with or without incorporation (<10 per cent).

I also investigated residual soil P following crop harvest. Following crop harvest, I used a nail board to remove a soil monolith from plots of each treatment of the upslope position. After removing the monolith, a micro-coring device extracted samples from grid points set in both horizontal directions from the seed row and at multiple depth increments. The objective of this work was to conduct a high-resolution assessment of fertilizer P movement through the soil profile over the growing season, as affected by rate and placement method. The treatment effect where P fertilizer was applied at a constant rate of 20 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 but by different placement methods is revealing.

Each image of Figure 4 shows the change in soil test P at each grid point sample location compared to what was measured from the respective grid point of the control treatment. Looking at the effect of the seed-placed treatment, a substantial enrichment in soil test P at the seed row from the soil surface to an approximate depth of four cm is evident, matching the approximate seeding depth. The increased soil test P does not extend to five cm in either horizontal direction from the seed row. Similarly with the deep-banded treatment, enriched soil test P is centred around the seed row, but extending to a depth of seven cm, which matches the depth of the deep-banded placement.

These results confirm the well-understood observation that P movement is limited in soil, particularly under dry soil conditions. Phosphorus movement in the soil occurs primarily by diffusion, and previous research has shown P diffusion distances to be influenced by soil moisture status. For example, in a controlled environment incubation study, researchers observed P diffusion distances seven days after application of triammonium pyrophosphate to increase from 18 to 34 mm as soil moisture status increased from 6.7 to 19 per cent (Khasawneh et al., 1974).

In contrast to the results from the seed-placed and deep-banded treatments, broadcast application either with or without incorporation caused soil test P to be distributed more evenly through the soil profile. For example, in both treatments, soil test P was more evenly enriched to a 10 cm distance in either horizontal direction from the seed row compared to the seed-placed or deep-banded treatments. As expected, incorporation caused the soil test P enrichment to move deeper in the profile, to a depth of seven cm compared to only four cm in the broadcast without incorporation treatment.

Beyond the agronomic benefits of deep-banded P fertilizer application compared to broadcast as noted before, placement in a concentrated band also reduces the accumulation of soil-test P near the soil surface, known as stratification. This effect may be worsened by the direct seeding management system common to the Canadian Prairies, where fertilizer bands are typically placed within the top five cm of soil every year. Soil P stratification can lead to elevated losses of P in snowmelt runoff. In this study, pre-plant broadcast application at 20 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 led to significantly greater total dissolved P losses (-40 g ha^-1) compared to the seed-placed or deep-banded application (-10 g ha^-1). Phosphorus losses from the broadcast with incorporation treatment were similar to the seed-placed and deep-banded treatments. This means it’s important to incorporate P to limit losses if broadcasting is necessary.

In summary, this work sought to evaluate the agronomic and environmental performance of P fertilizer application rates and placement methods. Generally, in-soil placement methods resulted in greater soybean yields and lower P losses in snowmelt runoff compared to broadcast applications. Notwithstanding the potential associated logistical and equipment-related challenges, deep-banded P fertilizer application shows promise as a management strategy to promote recovery of applied P fertilizer while limiting P losses in snowmelt runoff.

While this work represents a successful initial exploration, additional research is needed to assess the performance of deep-banded placement for a range of crop types as well as the optimal placement depth as influenced by conditions such as soil moisture.

References

Khasawneh, F.E., Sample, E.C., and Hashimoto, I. (1974). Reactions of ammonium ortho- and polyphosphate fertilizers in soil: 1. Mobility of phosphorus. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 38, 44651.

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