Deere Introduces New Planter Technologies

John Deere announced new planter technologies designed to make planting more efficient, helping farmers get the crop in during tight windows due to weather and other conditions. Three new technologies: seed-level sensing, fertilizer-level sensing, and active vacuum automation, give farmers more information needed to keep planters running. 

Seed-Level Sensing 

This logistics feature provides farmers 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 remaining seed. Seed-level sensing places a tank sensor that measures the volume of seed left, which is then provided to the operator in the cab and the John Deere Operations Center. This new feature provides more accurate information on when and where to have seed tenders available for tank refills. It is available on model year 2026 planters or as a precision upgrade for certain models back to model year 2022. 

Fertilizer-Level Sensing 

Similar to seed-level sensing, this feature focuses on enhancing planting logistics by providing the operator with better information on remaining fertilizer levels. 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 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 

To help farmers ensure they are getting the most out of their seed, Deere has 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. 

“Working with farmers and John Deere dealers, we have found solutions for ways our customers can keep rolling during planting season,” said Anthony Styczinski, product marketing manager at Deere. “These solutions help farmers more accurately and efficiently complete the most critical part of the production cycle, helping get the crop off to an optimal start.” 

For more information on John Deere planters, contact your local John Deere dealer or visit deere.com.