Precision Planting invests in planter retrofit

After 4 years of operation in Brazil, Precision Planting is betting on the potential improvement of the planting process to effectively boost the productivity of Brazilian grain crops. In the case of soybeans, for example, the potential increase can exceed half a ton per hectare when the company's devices and actuators are installed in planters. The company draws rural producers' attention to the concept of plantability, or the identification of problems at the beginning of planting, for a better productivity result at the end of cultivation.

“When planting, the efficient execution of the planter is essential so that the seed, when it comes into contact with the soil, is able to make the best use of the available resources for full germination and subsequent emergence of the plant”, explains Giancarlo Rocco, manager marketing department at Precision Planting in Brazil. “The entire planting process is complex and the more information there is about it, the better the producer’s control over this activity”, says Gian. “By reading the process, it is possible to make an immediate correction, if necessary, and thus avoid “blind planting” obtaining better potential from this stage”, explains Rocco.

To promote improved equipment performance and, consequently, better plantability, the producer must pay attention to the following aspects:

These problems are common when the planting process is not monitored and there is no way to avoid losses caused by these initial failures. Sensors and monitoring serve to correct and prevent irreversible errors, expand planting potential and ensure that it will occur under the best conditions.

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In 2015, Precision Planting announced its first portfolio of products available to Brazilian rural producers. Since then, the company has worked with a focus on meeting the particularities of each producer's planting in different Brazilian regions, understanding that each micro-region presents a different challenge to farmers.

In this context, in addition to developing new products with partners in Brazil and South America, Precision Planting offers specialized technical service that accompanies producers and helps them identify problems with their planters and their planting in search of new levels of productivity.

This service also helps educate producers to avoid future problems in future harvests. Raising awareness about the possibility of avoiding errors in planting, or at least identifying them in time to correct them, is a goal of Precision Planting. “The producer usually invests in a good planter, however, when he understands that he can expand his productive potential with Precision Planting sensors and actuators and is able to see a significant gain in productivity, a consequent profitability, he retrofits his equipment. ”, explains Giancarlo Rocco.

Precision Planting offers the market its devices that can be adapted to used planters and also works in partnership with the agricultural machinery industry to install the equipment on implements that leave the factory. “We have partnerships with most brands on the market”, says Gian. “Our technology allows farmers to reach the limits of their equipment without losing the quality of the planting”, adds the leader about the differences of the company's products.

“The producer starts to monitor all critical aspects of the planter's performance during planting, so he can make decisions at the right time and correct problems found in time to see the results during the harvest”, concludes Gian. The various sensors capture information every second, and make it available in real time and in a simple way for the Farmer to manage. 

The availability of accurate and real-time information is essential to help farmers make the best decisions at the right time. As important as measuring the indicators is the art of mastering the variables that impact the indicators in order to obtain more significant results. And Precision Planting offers the means of diagnosing (sensors) and correcting (actuators) problems, leading the farmer to results he never obtained – This is Agriculture 4.0, and the era of automation reaches Agriculture”, concludes Giancarlo Rocco.

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The company's portfolio is made up of the planting monitor 20│20, by the seed distributor vSet, by the seed population controller vDrive, by the ground force management device DeltaForce, by harvest productivity sensor YieldSense – one of this year’s launches – and through the sensors WaveVision, SmartFirmer, LoadPin, and FlowSense, the latter two, also released this year.

The 20│20 monitor provides and manages all information in real time at the time of planting. It is equipment designed to translate the concept of plantability into several indicators. Information on population, singulation, spacing, quality of the furrow, row trepidation, strength in the soil, are arranged precisely and signal, through a color scale and maps in real time, the planting conditions, allowing you to specify which are the necessary adjustments to the machine to avoid operational problems and losses.

The uniqueness of a crop is important. By singulation we mean the effect of making a seed singular, unique – without flaws or doubles. Ensuring the best singulation is the main function of the vSet seed meterer. With it, farmers can experience singulation rates greater than 99%.

To control the dose of seeds applied by the vSet doser, Precision Planting also has the vDrive. With vDrive, the farmer can control the seed population applied per hectare in real time, and obtain even more perfect spacing between plants. By using high-resolution maps, with hundreds of pieces of information per second, the application is identical to what was planned in the application map, controlling each of the lines as if it were an independent planter.

Precision Planting also has specific sensors that allow the farmer to manage various information about the crop, such as WaveVision, SmartFirmer, YieldSense, LoadPin and FlowSense.

SmartFirmer is a furrow quality sensor, generating information about furrow cleanliness, temperature, humidity, organic matter and uniformity. And WaveVision is a seed sensor that can accurately measure the mass of seeds, differentiating them from other materials, such as clods of earth or even graphite.

“With the readings provided by Precision Planting sensors, the producer has access to high-quality maps and indicators in real time, and when combined with actuator products, they lead to process automation. This is what happens with the integration between LoadPin & DeltaForce.

The first is a ground force sensor. DeltaForce is an actuator, a device that allows the application of correct force, every centimeter, in each planting line. While mechanical or pneumatic springs obtain up to 85% contact with the ground, Delta Force reaches 98%, controlled by LoadPin, exerting sufficient pressure on the ground to guarantee the best quality of the furrow. The contact between soil and seed, which directly depends on the treatment of the furrow, is a fundamental factor for regular, precise germination and without loss of productivity.

Two more launches this year complete the extensive line of Precision Planting products: FlowSense and YieldSense. The first is a sensor for applying liquid solutions in the planting furrow, which can alert the farmer about product losses due to the application of wrong doses, which in turn lead to significant financial losses.

YieldSense, this year's commercial launch at Agrishow, is the company's first product for the harvest stage. It uses sensors to measure precise productivity information with spatial precision in any operation. The high definition maps generated by the device, stored for planting management, lead to better decisions about future harvests.