New planter picks up speed: Kinze Manufacturing plans 2021 rollout

GIFFORD, Ill. — The latest high-speed planter will be unveiled at the Feb. 12-15 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kinze Manufacturing developed the high-speed planting technology that features a new high-speed meter and seed tube to provide an accurate seed placement at speeds up to 12 mph.

The new planter technology, called True Speed, will be available for the 2021 planting season.

The system was developed with support from Ag Leader Technology, which will market it as SureSpeed. The two companies will distribute the technology through their respective dealer networks.

Gene Warner of Warner Farm Equipment, Rantoul, provided a preview of the new planter at his company’s Midwest Ag Expo booth Jan. 29.

“The competitors go up to 10 miles per hour and Kinze has decided they can plant at 12. The 4905 planter will have up-force and downforce in each row unit to keep it level with the ground conditions at all speeds,” Warner explained.

The new 4905 also will include:

• Row unit double parallel arm bushing with impregnated lubrication and double row bearing disc openers for extended wear life.

• High-efficiency vacuum fans that run quieter with less hydraulic demand, utilizing 1.5 inch diameter vacuum hoses.

• Redesigned bulk-fill seed delivery system that works with more crop types and at higher planting rates.

• Variable displacement piston PTO pump, which provides a simpler planter operation and higher efficiency to reduce tractor horsepower demands.

• Simplified hydraulics on the model 4905 planter improves serviceability and decreases planter lift times.

• Firestone IVF radial tires on planter model 4905 for reduced compaction and a smoother ride.

The planter will offer numerous options. “You can get just about anything you want on them,” Warner added.

The new system uses an electric meter and delivery tube that operate accurately at planter speeds from 3 to 12 mph, allowing farmers to plant at any of those speeds without compromising singulation accuracy or spacing. The result is precise seed spacing at various speeds with multiple seed shapes and sizes.

Kinze’s meter, and its unique orientation on the row unit, allows seed to move seamlessly between the meter and seed tube, resulting in superior accuracy at all speeds. This enables farmers who have appropriate field conditions to increase the acres they can plant in a typical day.

Additionally, Kinze’s meter eliminates the need for singulator adjustments, which allows for quick seed type changeover and the ability to handle a variety of corn and soybean seed shapes and sizes.

True Speed is controlled by Kinze’s Blue Vantage display, which is optimized for planters and offers a highly intuitive user interface that displays all the information farmers need on one screen.

It also features a comprehensive diagnostics screen, high-definition mapping and graphs, and a quick setup enabling farmers to go from turning on the display to planting in just three clicks.