Corn, soy growers get new Deere stack-fold planter

Corn and soy growers now have more options to hitch their tractor to a new John Deere stack-fold planter.

Deere on June 1 announced the rollout of a new 1725C CCS (Central Commodity System) 12-row/30 stack-fold planter, along with four 1725C non-CCS planters that include 12-row/30, 12-row 36/38, 12-row 38/40 or 16-row/30 configurations.

Each of the new 1725C planters has an enhanced John Deere-designed frame with convertible hitch, which the company said will give farmers more compatibility options between various tractors fitted with a Cat 3 or 4N hitch.

The new planters come factory-equipped with ExactEmerge or MaxEmerge 5e row units, pneumatic row cleaners and closing wheels and individual-row hydraulic downforce, for an agronomic suite Deere said will help to improve seed-to-soil contact and crop emergence.

The 1725C model with CCS also features a 55-bushel tank, with which farmers “can plant more acres between refills and finish fields in less time,” Deere said.

For the non-CCS models, growers can choose a hopper size such as a 1.6-bushel hopper for MaxEmerge 5e row units and on ExactEmerge row units (except for 30-inch rows). A 2.7-bushel hopper is available for ExactEmerge row units, and a three-bushel hopper is available for the MaxEmerge 5e.

The new 1725Cs will include electric drives providing individual row control versus the groups of rows seen on hydraulic-drive planters; Deere said that will provide “more accurate” planting population control. It could also reduce maintenance requirements, Deere said, compared to hydraulic-driven planters with “wear parts” such as chains and sprockets.

Farmers wanting to apply liquid fertilizer in-furrow or off-set while planting can add an optional John Deere ExactRate fertilizer system to any 1725C planter, Deere said. It bills the ExactRate system as providing up to 20 per cent more accurate nutrient placement in a turn compared to “non-turn compensating systems.”