I took a short, 100-minuteish road trip to Wisconsin Dells to check out the 2025 Precision Planting Winter Conference yesterday. A little over 100 farmers and dealers from across the area gathered inside the Glacier Canyon Conference Center to watch the program, which was live streamed from the mothership in Tremont, Ill. (note to self — check out the show in person next year in Tremont).
The Precision Planting crew delivered a great show as always. Each of the sessions were entertaining and full of eye-opening data and new technologies for improving your customers' operations. I highly recommend checking out the presentations on their YouTube page (all sessions should be uploaded within the next few days). Here are a few key observations I jotted down on my notepad.
“Weed control is a multi-year war,” said Aaron Herrmann during his presentation, “Next Level Spraying.” The research agronomist shared the latest in weed management and the critical role sprayer performance plays in an operation. Herrmann explained why he thinks the sprayer pass is the most important one of the season.
WEED CONTROL: Checking in from the Precision Planting Winter Conference..."If you mess up with the planter, it’s going to cost you dearly for one year... If you mess up with the sprayer, it’s going to cost you for years and years to come. Weed control is a multi-year war." pic.twitter.com/VOyUI4YAV9
— No-Till Farmer (@NoTillFarmr) January 23, 2025
“If you mess up with the planter, it’s going to cost you dearly for one year, and then the next year you can fix it,” he said. “If you mess up with the sprayer, it’s not going to cost you that year, it’s going to cost you for years and years to come.” Of course, each session highlighted new technology from Precision Planting, and this one put the spotlight on SymphonyVision.
Another session focused on the agronomic priorities of the planter pass and broke down several research trials that shaped the foundation of the new CornerStone Planting System. Regional manager Mike Schlitt showed how plant population and singulation errors could cost your customers thousands of dollars (see image below).
Schlitt also explored the intricacies of planting depth. He shared results from a study that compared corn planting depths of 1-3.5 inches in 6 different locations in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and South Dakota.
How deep should you plant? It depends on the soil type — that’s the key takeaway. Different soil types retain moisture at different depths. Schlitt says the general recommendation is to plant at least 1.5 inches deep and at a 30% moisture level. He plugged the SmartFirmer product, which is a seed firmer-sensor that measures soil moisture and allows farmers to adjust their depth as they plant in different soil types.
Other sessions focused on data management strategies, autonomy and cutting-edge soil sampling technology from Radicle Agronomics. Overall, it was an educational day well spent out of the office and sparked several story ideas to explore before planting season rolls around. If only I had more time to enjoy one of the Dells' several indoor water parks while I was there... (shoutout to Lessiter Media's Monica Brusnahan for the image below)