Late-model used planter supplies improve

You know that old observation that some people see the glass half empty while others see it half full. When it comes to late-model 24-row planters, we think the glass is half full.

Planter supplies are certainly not what they were five to seven years ago, but they are a heck of a lot better than the previous two years. Machinery Insider was surprised at the number of year-old planters available in dealer lots when we looked at used inventories at press time. But we had low expectations about the inventory at the start of our search.

The recent shortage of planters coming out of factory doors means "farmers weren't trading in much used equipment," says Brad Hershey of Hoober Inc. (hoober.com), a Case IH dealer network in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. It's been difficult to put a value on used equipment, he points out, adding that dealers had been offering trade-in premiums to attract sales equipment.

Planters Appeared On Dealer Lots

That situation started changing last fall, when late-model planters began showing up on dealers' lots with the advent of more new seeders. Planters are not as dependent as tractors are on computer chips, which are still in short supply for manufacturing.

This Price Guide provides a snapshot of the most popular planters on the market: 24-row seeders set at 30-inch spacings.

The most noticeable difference among these planters is the huge range in dealer asking prices. Note the Deere 1775NT out of North Dakota with an asking price of $245,000 and the planter out of Illinois with a price tag of $525,000.

This value difference speaks to the considerable number of options available on planters. We did a quick check and found planters are one of the most highly accessorized pieces of equipment in agriculture.

Now, in the case of that Illinois planter, a set of tracks contributed greatly to its price. Other features — such as liquid fertilizer systems, row cleaning attachments, closing wheel variations, and pneumatic or hydraulic down pressure systems — also contribute to asking prices. The North Dakota planter also was rigged with MaxEmerge metering, whereas all but one other planter came with Deere's high-speed ExactEmerge system.

Another popular option is a weight distribution system. Research has found that if the majority of a planter's weight is on the center tires, the seed in the middle rows won't grow as well. This can slash yields by as much as 60 bushels per acre between the middle and wing sections of the planter.