John Deere introduces new planter technologies in the USA, giving farmers an edge in getting the crop in during tight windows, due to weather and other conditions. Three new features give more information needed to keep planters running.
Seed-Level Sensing logistics improvement provides farmers with a more accurate look at the level of seed remaining in the tank. Currently, farmers estimate time to empty based on previous experience or general visual indicators and often have to stop and manually check the seed levels remaining in the tank. Seed-level sensing places a sensor in the tank that can measure the volume of seed left in the tank, which is then provided to the operator in the cab and the John Deere Operations Center. This feature provides more accurate information on when and where to have seed tenders available for tank refills. This feature is available on model year 2026 planters or as a precision upgrade for certain models back to model year 2022.
Fertilizer-Level Sensing is similar to seed-level sensing. This improvement focuses on enhancing planting logistics by providing the operator with better information on the fertilizer level remaining in the tank. Fertilizer-level sensing is an external manifold that includes two pressure sensors, which are used to calculate both the liquid density as well as the volume remaining in the tank. This eliminates the need for the operator to input the density value while also giving them the ability to see the tank volume in-cab and on the John Deere Operations Center. Fertilizer-level sensing is available on model year 2026 planters and is also a precision upgrade that can be added to machines that are model year 2022 and newer.
Active Vacuum Automation helps farmers ensure they are getting the most out of their seed, John Deere added active vacuum automation to model year 2026 planters with electric drives and the SeedStar 5 Monitoring System. This feature looks in real time at singulation and automatically adjusts the vacuum, helping to prevent skips and doubles. Active vacuum automation minimizes the operator interaction, helping to control actual seed population versus manual adjustment that previously had to be made.
