The seven-plex folding air drill seeder, part of the Saskatchewan-based company’s eight-year-old Quantum line, is scheduled for a full market release in 2027.

Garth Massie, director of sales for Morris’s parent company, Superior Farms Equipment (SFE), says the new seeder is aimed at enhancing productivity for crop producers working around 9,000 acres.

WHY IT MATTERS: Larger equipment generally allows crop producers to work more acres in a relatively short period of time.

“Canadian farmers probably have the shortest seeding window of anyone in the world,” he says.

“They’re trying to get a lot of work done in a very short amount of time. So there’s been this continuous push on the machinery development side to help farmers get more acres planted every day.”

Aside from increased width (the largest Quantum on the market today is 80 feet), the machine also features an extra six inches (48 inches compared to the previous 42) of spacing per rank compared to smaller Quantum models.

This spacing improves residue handling relative to the seeder width, said SFE director of marketing Melissa MacLean.

“That’s going to maintain the flow without bunching up or plugging so you don’t have to sacrifice any of that by going to a larger machine.”

The decision to go with a fully mechanical seven-plex fold with a single pivot design was based on grower feedback favouring a “traditional” folding machine, says Massie.

The machine’s travel profile — at 28 feet, three inches wide and 18 feet, four inches tall — was designed to be low and narrow in the interest of operator safety.

“Transport underneath power lines … is your key consideration there,” says Massie.

Fertilizer use efficiency was another major consideration in the seeder’s development. The machine uses a high-capacity air system with a smooth, three-inch primary hose to allow easier passage.

“It doesn’t have that rough interior that can restrict airflow,” says MacLean, adding the smooth primary — based on testing — delivers 18 per cent better air flow compared to a rough interior hose.

It’s also paid off in delivery power, says Massie.

“In our testing, we’re able to deliver up to 500 pounds of fertilizer per acre at five m.p.h. (eight km-h). So that’s a really impressive number to hit.”

MacLean also touts the seeder’s independent opener system with “consistent depth control and proven seed/fertilizer separation across the full working width.”

Other specs are much the same as previous Quantums. One exception includes frame depth (96 inches centre to centre compared to 84 inches).

The official launch of the Quantum 100 foot will take place at Ag in Motion July 21-23 near Langham, Sask. It will be paired with the Morris 10 Series 1,440-bushel air cart.

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WHY IT MATTERS: Bourgault’s addition of a new drill model and another opener, along with greater functionality in its proprietary BiC control system, provides buyers with more options to configure seed drills to their exact needs and specifications.

The Bourgault Intelligent Control (BiC) system, which the company introduced about a year ago, gets feature upgrades.

“When we introduced it in Phoenix in 2024, we weren’t ready to release what we call the stand-alone version,” says Jordan Henderson, North American sales manager.

“What we had up until this point was what we call the task controller version, where it works in conjunction with the tractor monitor.”

However, that changes in 2027.

While BiC will now be compatible with John Deere’s G4 and G5 monitors as well as recent versions of the New Holland and Case IH systems, it will also be able to work on its own through an iPad without needing a tractor monitor at all.

“This year we’re releasing BiC with stand-alone features … which means we don’t use the tractor monitor for anything,” says Henderson.

“Everything is being controlled by the BIC system. Now everything is done through the iPad.”

BiC will be capable of seamless integration with the John Deere Operations Centre and CNH’s FieldOps for automatic data streaming.

The enhanced system will also be able to support the upcoming Bourgault Connect offering, a cloud-based solution designed for simplified data management.

Growers will be able to import field boundaries, variable-rate prescriptions and agronomic data directly from a number of farm management tools without the need for manual transfers.

A new 50-foot drill, the CDi50, with a mounted product tank, will also hit dealers’ lots for 2027. It will be available with 7.5-, 10- or 12-inch row spacing and fitted with PLW or PLR openers.

The drill is designed for growers who need maximum maneuverability in the field and a compact transport configuration.

“It’s kind of a next step for us in our emerging markets, especially down in Kansas, Colorado, Eastern Canada,” says Henderson.

“In areas we traditionally haven’t been strong, we’re bringing out this new frame-mounted seeder that is bigger than anything else out there.

“The big sellers right now for that market are the 40- and 42-foot drills with 110- to 140-bushel single tanks. Ours has 200-bu. tanks and 50 feet, but transport widths are still in line with what we’re seeing in the industry right now.”

The drill also sports a new look, with a livery based on the limited edition models built for a while in 2024. It has black rims and white tanks, and that look will eventually become standard across the brand’s line.

In addition to the new drill, Bourgault adds yet another opener option to its portfolio, bringing the total number of opener choices available from the brand to six.

This one builds on the the ParaLink, Dual Shank design used on the PLDS, which the company has been offering. However, the new PLDX uses a more responsive 1:1 linkage configuration for improved ground contouring in the most uneven field conditions.

“This is our next evolution of the dual shank (opener),” says Henderson.

“It’s going to perform really well on uneven terrain.

“We’re still going to continue to use our PLDS. This is just another option for customers who want more consistent seed placement in uneven terrain. We need to provide an opener for all of our customers. Every customer is just a little bit different.”

With the wide range of configurations now on offer, Henderson notes the brand relies on dealers to point customers to the right opener for their needs.

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“We wanted to focus on the openers for model year 2026,” K-Hart’s director of engineering Erron Leafloor says.

The openers will be available with a new floating carbide scraper design.

“It’s an upgrade from the traditional carbide edge scraper,” he says. “That (edge scraper) works in most soil conditions. But… in heavy clay or really light soils where the blades might not have much traction, we found a lot of advantages to that low contact pressure scraping.”

The double disc openers can be fitted with an optional stone guard to keep debris out from between the blades and protect the seed tube. That is particularly useful in fields with gopher mounds or other uneven terrain features the openers have to run through. It can be installed just on the front rank, or on both.

“It actually acts as a battering ram to blow through those mounds and keep mud from potentially plugging the seed tubes,” says Leafloor.

Behind the discs is an new packer tire option, which has a chevron lug pattern like a tractor tire. The lug pattern can keep water from running down the rows on hillsides and eroding the seed trench. It also provides what Leafloor describes as pinpoint packing, leaving soil less compressed between the lugs.

“This is important in wet clays sometimes, where you can have crusting where you overpack,” he explains. The packer wheel design also sheds mud a bit better than a smooth wheel.

“A real customer request we’ve worked hard on is getting rid of the greasing regimens on our openers,” he adds, “especially on the disc bearings.”

K-Hart, which manufactures its products at two plants in southern Manitoba and at Elrose, Sask., has moved to maintenance-free bearings with just a single grease point on each opener.

The company has also taken a close look at how the drills deliver seed, adding an optional package to extend the life of product lines on drills that seed a very high number of acres annually.

“We’re going to offer a premium air pack,” says Leafloor. “That’s going to include premium stainless steel pipes. It also includes higher-grade hose. This should give extra life to customers who are really trying to push this machine to its limits.”

The Spyder drill is available in 60-, 66- and 74-foot working widths that use the five-plex design. K-Hart also produces a 40-foot, three-section model.

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That problem has led some to look for different opener knives for their air drills that provide more seed-to-fertilizer separation.

“We had customers come to us and ask if we had anything with more separation on the Seed Hawk (drills), because they were seeing some seed burn with the factory setup,” Dutch Agriculture territory manager Connor Bohachewski says.

“The last two or three years have been on the drier end of growing seasons. With that there’s been a risk of seed burn and fertilizer toxicity.”

That customer feedback led the Pilot Butte, Sask. company to develop the UHS (Ultra High Separation) opener knife, designed to fit Väderstad’s Seed Hawk air drills.

“At Dutch we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and what they want (and) what they’re asking us for,” Bohachewski says. “And that’s exactly where that came from.”

The UHS knife maintains the same three-quarters-of-an-inch vertical separation, but adds an inch of horizontal distance, increasing the horizontal space between the seed and fertilizer to 2-1/2 inches from the stock distance of 1-1/2 inches.

The UHS design has undergone field trials over the past two seasons on a number of different drills. Bohachewski says the results have been very good.

“We’ve been getting the separation we want without any more soil movement than any other type of knife. We haven’t run into any mud plugging issues yet. It’s been a really good success story for us.

“We haven’t seen more draught or a slower seeding speed. We haven’t seen any issues with trash flow. If anything, it’s actually been a little bit better.”

The new openers were released to the market in October, and the company expects to have roughly 30 sets available for the next growing season.

Besides the UHS, Dutch Agriculture is also introducing the Razor Series of knives, which fit several drill makes and models and allow for different vertical seed-to-fertilizer separations.

“It’s a design that we knew was going to interact with the soil well,” Bohachewski says. “This project has been going on for a couple of years already. At the top end of the opener, where it fits to the drill, we made it fit a bunch of different models.”

The company has also added new heavy-duty knives designed for SeedMaster, John Deere P600 and Bourgault drills to its product line. They use bolted connections to make replacement easier.

Bohachewski says all of the new designs have been subjected to extensive field trials to make sure they are capable of good performance in all soil types.

“This year we prototyped with about 25 different producers. So it’s not like we’re just trying them with one guy. We’re getting different guys in different areas to try stuff for us to make sure it’s going to work everywhere. We want to put this stuff through the wringer off the start and make sure it’s good to release to everybody.”

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That included a stop at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show at Woodstock, Ont., where it won an Environmental Sustainability Award.

It impressed judges with its ability to provide what they considered to be significant environmental benefits in grain growing operations.

The seeder was also included in the field demonstration portion of the outdoor show, so growers could get a look at the benefits it might offer on their farms.

“The Solitair DT is a seedbed prepping seeder,” Lemken’s marketing manager Ivor Bernatsky says. “The first thing about Lemken is people think of us as being a tillage manufacturer, but we also make planters and seeders. This machine is a hybrid of tillage and seeding.”

That makes the Solitair DT stand out from much of the seeding equipment on the market today. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the old Morris Seed-Rite, which also combined extensive tillage and seeding into one unit, but with different ground engaging and seed delivery methods.

“We start with discs up front, then we have an option of fertilizer coulters to place fertilizer between each row,” Lemken product specialist Matt Amey says. “Alternatively, you can have it without the fertilizer coulters and have fertilizer mixed in with the seed in every other row or each row. That gives you the option of having a double or single tank.”

There are two different sizes of onboard seed tanks: 4,100 litres (116 bushels) for the single tank, and 5,100 litres (145 bushels) for the double tank.

Related: Check out the full specifications at AgDealer.com

There are sectional control capabilities with separate meters, and seed is delivered to the openers through an air system.

The Solitair DT combines portions of Lemken’s Heliodor high-speed disc at the front, which is capable of incorporating stubble up to four inches deep. Soil packers behind that create a firm seedbed. Seed is then placed into it through double-disc openers.

The openers are mounted on a parallel linkage to allow them to follow uneven contours. There is the option for mechanical down pressure, using a spring that develops 45 kg of pressure, or a hydraulic system that can increase that to 75 kg.

“This is what we call our OptiDisc Coulter system,” says Amey.

Including a tillage function during seeding gives growers one more tool to tackle weed resistance mechanically. By doing it in the seeding pass, it avoids losing too much soil moisture.

“It will take out ruts” Bernatsky adds. “It will take out early emerging seeds as well and create a nice, compact seedbed right before seeding. So, just in time. You can’t tighten the interval between tillage and seeding more than what we’ve done.

“(It) reduces the risk of soil erosion because you’re not doing tillage months before you seed. You’re doing it seconds before seeding. There’s also moisture conservation: we’re compacting the soil after tillage to reduce moisture loss. Killing weeds mechanically gives them (growers) another option outside of herbicides. Finally, by doing everything in a single pass, we’re expecting it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Solitair DT is available in four-, six- and nine-metre (13-, 20- and 30-foot) working widths. It has its origins in Europe, but Lemken believes the same factors that created a market for it there are in play here in Canada, too.

“We looked at the markets developed in Europe and tried to figure out is there a market (here),” says Bernatsky. “We look at our responsibility as bringing out innovations and tools that are proven, that farmers can use. They can figure out the agronomy. We just have to make sure they know that the machine is here and can bring those benefits.”

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“More capacity” was the big news from Vaderstad’s staff at their Seed Hawk seeding equipment display during Ag in Motion this past July. The centrepiece of the company’s exhibit was the introduction of a brand new PD 1350 air cart, with bushel capacity to match the model number.

“The PD 1350 is an extension of our already proven cart line,” Vaderstad’s business development manager Chris Bettschen says. “We already have a PD 400, PD 680, PD 820, PD 1000 and now the big brother to all of them, the PD 1350. It’s exactly what it sounds like, 1,350-bushel capacity, four bins, with our proven Fenix III meters underneath.”

VIDEO: Seed Hawk PD 1350 air cart a big deal

Included in those four bins is a larger canola tank mounted at the front, accessible from the forward catwalk.

“The canola bin on this one is actually quite large,” he adds. “It’s a 93-bushel bin, still at the front of the cart. But this way customers can use it for any product.”

The PD 1350 is the first Seed Hawk cart to include brakes on the rear axle, which isn’t surprising given its weight and the energy required to bring it to a stop when full. To carry that weight, the cart rides on dual wheels on both the front and rear axles.

“This cart, on the front, actually has lower ground pressure than the PD 1000, because of the duals,” Bettschen says. “There’s no track option and no other tire option. You get 900s on the back and 710s on the front.”

To get the extra capacity, the bins on the PD 1350 are wider than on the brand’s smaller tanks, but they don’t add anything to the overall road width of the cart at the outside of the tires.

“We’ve changed the orientation,” Bettschen says. “You’ll notice the bins are quite a bit wider than our originals. So we didn’t add height, we added width. But it’s contained within the tires, so road transport doesn’t change, but capacity got a lot larger.”

The Fenix III metering system can route the contents of any of the tanks into either the seed or fertilizer air streams, allowing growers to place starter fertilizer with the seed. And the electric meters provide individual control for each 10-foot drill section.

“It’s a double shoot system,” Bettschen says. “The carts are configurable. You can put everything down the seed knife, everything down the fertilizer knife or any combination in between.”

To get seed and fertilizer into the cart, an AGI conveyor is an option, which should be able to completely fill the cart within 30 minutes.

“The AGI conveyor is an option, which we developed along with them and made some tweaks to,” he says. “And their performance in 2024 has been excellent. On this cart, under the right conditions, you should be able to fill in under half an hour, start to stop.”

Seed Hawk continues to use the side-banding, dual-knife opener that has been a hallmark of the brand for decades.

“The Seed Hawk dual-knife opener was one of the original two-knife systems on the market,” Bettschen says. “Fertilizer in the front, seed in behind, nice and close to the packer tire for good depth control.

“We do have a few packer tire options, but our original leaves the cupped furrow you’re looking for to give excellent seed and fertilizer placement while maintaining separation. Dual beams on the opener give it structural strength as you’re moving across the field; whether you have rocks, curves or anything else you can throw at it, these openers will stand up.”

PD 1350 carts will be available in limited quantities for the 2025 season, with full production available for 2026.

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When it enters production later this year, it will be the third SeedMaster opener design buyers can choose from when spec’ing out a drill.

“From SeedMaster’s founding more than 20 years ago, it was a dual knife opener system that really was at the core and foundation of the business,” SeedMaster’s global sales director Tim Criddle says. “Today, we actually have three different openers.”

SeedMaster’s original opener design is a dual-knife configuration with an offset shank for side banding fertilizer. It has already added a dual-knife, inline design to its product offering. This second dual-knife configuration allows for better seedbed utilization. It also improves flow in heavy trash conditions.

“We have a prototype that we’ve been running successfully, and it’s a single knife. We’re actually going to be marketing a handful of (single-knife) units for 2025,” Criddle says.

VIDEO: SeedMaster serves up prototype seed opener

The single knife design also has another new feature: it uses what the company calls an “independent trip” system, requiring two hydraulic cylinders on each opener. One is mounted vertically where the opener mounts to the tool bar to controls down pressure.

“The second is all about controlling trip force,” Criddle says. “When trying to do both on one cylinder, it was really difficult to find the sweet spot. It allows you to fine tune the packing pressure. It allows you to fine tune the trip.”

SeedMaster will be offering a limited number of the new single knife opener drills for the 2025 growing season, with full production to follow after that.

“We’re in the process of finalizing what our preproduction is going to be on this, he adds. “getting pricing to the dealers and taking a slight number of orders for 2025.

“Today our product offering is all about listening to customers and giving them a choice. It’s part of our evolution at SeedMaster and our approach to opener offerings.”

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But the company now gives buyers a much broader choice of options when configuring a new drill.

“If you can’t find the (opener) that fits your operation, you haven’t looked hard enough at our company, especially since the last four seasons,” says Bourgault sales territory manager Curtis Hinrichsen. “You should be able to find an opener that fits your operation, because we have a broad selection. There’s a reason for that. Every farm wants to put their fertilizer down in a different manner. And we offer all the different types.

VIDEO: Bourgault openers designed to fit your operation

“The product we come from in our history is a single knife opener, narrow tipped with a mid-row bander for fertilizer, says Hinrichsen. “That’s what everyone seems to know Bourgault for. That one we refer to as a PLS.”

Now, the brand has two other opener designs in its portfolio — so farmers can tailor a new drill to better match what works best for their soil types and farming practices.

“The second type of opener we came up with in 2012 is the PLX. Its heritage comes from the XTC, which was an extreme terrain contouring opener, a para-link extreme. That one is meant more for ground that contours a lot, hilly, washouts, ditches, that kind of thing. It’s a one-to-one opener with very good depth control. It’s typically used with a narrow opener.”

A few years ago Bourgault began offering the dual-knife PLDS model, which is capable of side-banding fertilizer. That style has been very common offering across the industry.

“A lot of the industry uses that style of opener,” Hinrichsen says, “and we know it has some benefits. But like a single-knife it has some drawbacks too. That’s why we let the customer decide which one fits their operation, depending what they want to do fertility wise and with their farming practices.

“Each of these openers lends itself to different farming operations. That’s why we feel there’s a need for all these different styles of openers.”

The dual knife design puts fertilizer placement closer to the seed row than mid-row application. It offers quick emergence, but it doesn’t perform as well in fields with heavy trash, when compared to a single knife opener.

“Trash clearance with a single knife and banders is significantly better than a dual knife for residue clearance,” he adds. “But if you manage your residue properly, you’re fine with a dual knife, even on a ten-inch spacing.”

To add even more options for fertilizer placement, Bourgault has introduced what it calls its TriMax opener arrangement, which is dual knife openers paired with mid-row banders. That offers growers a lot of choice as to where to place fertilizer separately or in combination and works well in one-pass seeding operations, even with heavy rates of fertilizer application.

“If you’re going to put very high rates (of fertilizer) down with the seed, that’s where we feel mid-row banding or TriMax offers some benefits,” he adds.

“Some soil types can’t handle as high a rate as close to the seed as others. Maybe a dual knife in a heavy clay soil that’s predominantly wet can get away with a little higher rate of fertilizer than one that’s a little drier and loamier.

“In my mind (the Trimax) is the pinnacle for agronomic reasons. You can put your seed and fertility wherever you want.”

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With more than a few Ultra SRs already out working in Prairie fields for the past several years, CEO Don Henry says growers have found no yield difference in cereal crop yields with that limited seedbed utilization.

“Narrow spacing (in cereals) has traditionally been better, and research has shown it to be better,” Henry says. “But that’s old data. Whether it’s because varieties have changed or gotten better, I don’t know.

“We’ve had number of these (Ultra SRs) out since 2020 and the guys that have them have said, ‘You know what, we’re not seeing any disadvantage in the cereals.’ We’re seeing it’s working very well. Not only in canola and pulses, but in wheat.”

The unique Ultra SR toolbar uses a single rank of openers separated by residue managing wheels to keep the drill from plugging up in heavy trash conditions. It debuted at the same time SeedMaster pulled the wraps off its autonomous DOT prototype, which was fitted with that type of toolbar. However, the Ultra SR has also been also offered as a toolbar option on its own. To accommodate the single row of openers it needs that 15-inch row spacing.

“The 15-inch SR is kind of a revolutionary product, being the only single rank out there with a system for helping pull the residue through it,” says Henry. “It has only been offered on 15-inch spacing.

“Guys will say, ‘Yeah, that would be great for canola and pulses, because it would help with disease, spraying and fungicide. But in cereals, I don’t know.'”

That general attitude has been a barrier to increasing sales of the Ultra SR.

So to help convince potential buyers that the Ultra SR with its wider row spacing can plant a wheat crop that will yield as good as any other, the company is offering a unique incentive. SeedMaster is calling it the Ultra wheat yield guarantee for western Canadian growers seeding wheat using a 2025 Ultra SR.

Growers can participate in the guarantee program by setting aside a quarter section of land (160 acres), seeding half with the new Ultra SR drill and the other half with another drill of their choice. If the wheat yield per acre on the Ultra SR-seeded side is less than the other half at harvest time, SeedMaster will pay the grower for the yield shortfall difference.

“How do we prove to people that it works,” says Henry. “We came up with this idea. It’s pretty gutsy, but I think it gives a representative sample to someone who wants to experiment and try it. We think side-to-side it will do fine.”

The offer applies to the first year of drill ownership. The Ultra SR can be pitted against a drill of any brand applying the same nutrients, seeding a crop treated the same way through the season. SeedMaster will send out a representative to monitor the seeding and harvesting operations to ensure it’s a fair comparison.

As one other added incentive, because of the more compact design of the single-row Ultra SR, it has a lower sticker price than a conventional multi-row toolbar.

“It is a bit less expensive, so that’s been a positive as well,” says Henry. “There’s 750-bushel tank capacity. We’re using the UltraPro meter, so it’s really accurate from a metering perspective.

“They (owners) love the compact nature and maneuverability of it, and the ability to go a little bit faster, because you’re not worried about (soil) thrown on the front two rows. The guys that have them love them.”

The offer is in place until the end of February for the 2025 growing season.

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It came to pass much as predicted — but what made it happen was work in farm workshops, mostly in Saskatchewan where the need for zero till was the greatest. Openers were needed that would get seed and fertilizer into the soil with almost no soil disturbance.

One of the early ones out of the gate was Jim Halford at Indian Head. My late brother-in-law David Wilson helped with welding, et cetera. Even before air seeders they were modifying ordinary hoe drills with openers that were ridged and would seed straight into established grass. David showed me that system when we were there for a family visit.

By and by, Jim Halford’s Conserva Pak zero-till air seeder sported seed and fertilizer openers that would do the job with minimum soil disturbance. The Conserva Pak even found its way to Australia.

Members of the Beaujot family, from Langbank, brought the Seed Hawk and Seedmaster to market. The Seed Hawk unit would lift up a section when a headland came along, and this avoided overlap. It was built with a light frame and would fold up nicely for road travel, although the light iron meant that a welder had to be handy as the years rolled on.

My renter at the Dundurn farm uses an original Seed Hawk and it does a great job. You can see a photo from the 2022 crop here. His most recent canola field had seed spaced as if it had been placed by hand with tweezers and produced a very uniform crop.

The Bourgault family at St. Brieux and the Morris family at Yorkton developed two other Saskatchewan zero-till seeder companies.

Over time, almost all of the Saskatchewan farm family zero-till seeder manufacturers have been bought out by big companies such as John Deere in the U.S. and Vaderstad in Europe.

Blow dirt in the air in May is now a piece of history. To see that, one needs to visit a city construction site with bare soil that can drift.

The Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association (SSCA) had a big role in spreading the word about zero till. In June each year it held field days at farms with various models of seeders making passes to demonstrate what they could do. There were often so many half-ton trucks at those field days that parking was an issue.

Why Saskatchewan?

Manitoba mostly has adequate rain and grows big crops with big straw left behind, requiring special vertical-tillage implements to deal with the straw without plugging. Corn is a special challenge.

Alberta irrigates much of its dry area, but does need special attention in some dry areas that are not irrigated. The majority of cropland needing zero till, though, is in Saskatchewan.

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