Precision Ag
Pushing the limits in precision planting

May 22, 2014
By Janet Kanters

May 20, 2014, Picture Butte, AB - Väderstad / Seed Hawk recently demoed a Väderstad Tempo 8 high-speed corn planter on a farm in southern Alberta. The Tempo 8 did four passes, at speeds of five, seven, eight and 10 miles per hour.

According to Gustav Nilsson, market developer Canada/Seed Hawk with Väderstad, most corn planters go at five miles per hour. The demo, he says, was to show the accuracy of the Tempo's seed placement at higher speeds.

"We are proving we can double the speed with equal or better accuracy," he says.

The companies will host a field tour of the demo plot in southern Alberta sometime in August.

In early April 2014, Väderstad took part in a 24-hour race with a Tempo R 12 high-speed planter. Near Pleven, Bulgaria (just north of Sofia), a Tempo R 12 high speed planter planted 306 hectares (756 acres) of sunflower at an average speed of 19 km/h (11.8 mph).

The record attempt began at 1:45 pm on April 3, 2014 and finished 24 hours later. Four drivers planted a total of 306 hectares (756 acres) of sunflower at an average speed of 19 km/h (11.8 mph) on the Agrotrade Commerce estate near Pleven.

The field was planted at a seed rate of 62,500 seeds per hectare (25,300 seeds per acre), placed at approximately a 5 cm (2") depth.

More information on Väderstad Tempo high-speed planters.

Tempo's innovative seed meter allows high-speed Väderstad Tempo is setting a new standard for precision planting at high speed.