Planter Makeover
Whether a new one fresh from the dealership lot or a 20 year old buried in the shed since spring, every planter takes proper preparation to make the Perfect Planter Pass.
Follow our progress as we do the Project Fresh Start - Planter Makeover and prep a 14 year old planter for its best planter pass yet.
Project Fresh Start - Planter Makeover
We are excited to team up with Farm Journal to offer this planter makeover for the upcoming 2011 planting season. Consistent with our mission to help farmers improve their seed placement and planter performance, this is an excellent opportunity to share our experience and what we have learned working with different planters. This winter we'll take this planter and go through it with a fine tooth comb finding where parts need replaced, repaired, or updated. In the end, we hope to have a planter that plants better than it ever has before.
We will document our process, sharing what we find and what we are learning about planter wear and maintenance. Our goal is to make this informative, educatonal, and fun. Follow along on our Facebook Page where we will be documenting the process and updating our progress.
The Planter
Meet "Maria"!
This 1780 John Deere planter was selected by the Farm Journal staff out of hundreds of applicants. It is a 1996 12/23 row planter. he planter has been used to plant approximately 800 acres of corn and soybeans per year. The operation is a fairly traditional half corn and half soybean rotation in conventional tillage. For the corn acres about 10-12 gallons per acre of starter is also applied with the planter.
The planter has been the Goessling's planter since it came from the factory. Named "Maria" by it's owners the first day in the field, the name has lasted for 14 years, and we will continue that tradition with this makeover.
Where to See It
The finished planter will be on display at the Commodity Classic trade show in Tampa, FL March 3-5, 2011.
Attendees at the 2011 Precision Planting Winter Conference will also be able to see the makeover in progress January 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2011.
Check back here for updates on more ways to see the finished planter.
The Goessling Family
Luke Goessling from Whitewater, WI is the owner/operator of Maria. Luke was nominated by his mother Robin after the 2010 planting season was his first year running the planter. Luke's Dad and Robin's husband, Ralph Goessling had purchased the planter new in 1996 and had always taken to the task of running the planter every spring. Unfortunately, on New Year's Eve 2009, Ralph passed away from a sudden heart attack.
In 2011, the Goessling family, led by Robin and Luke, is making a great effort to maintain and grow the family farm. They have taken advantage of an opportunity to rent additional acreage, and, with a year of planting under his belt, Luke is ready and anxious to approach this spring with a sleek, fine tuned planter.