High Speed Planting Soybean Study

Photo of high-speed planter equipped with SpeedTube technology from Precision Planting

Key Points

Ideal Speed to Plant: There was very little variance in yield when high-speed planting utilizing SpeedTube^® in this study. Our 2021 data suggests that 8MPH was the optimum speed at 56.2 Bu/A.
Potential Losses: Planting at or above 12MPH showed the most significant negative impact on yield.
Planting Speed and Planting Date: Planting speed and planting date really go hand-in-hand. When we are able to plant faster, we have a greater chance of hitting our planting window and increasing overall yield potential.

Can you plant soybeans at higher speeds without sacrificing yield?

The speed at which you can plant is important because it will allow you to more effectively cover the acres per day needed to hit your planting window. As we’ve seen in other studies, like our soybean planting date study, hitting this window is vital to achieving your maximum yields and profit.

Chart showing yield optimization when corn planting occurs in the optimal planting window

We evaluated yield response at planting speeds of 4MPH, 6MPH, 8MPH, 10MPH, and even 12 MPH utilizing SpeedTube^®. This high-speed planting technology takes the place of conventional seed tubes and consists of a flighted belt that takes gravity out of the equation. By carefully delivering each seed to the furrow, there is no opportunity for seeds to ricochet into the trench. Even at twice normal planting speeds, seeds arrive safely at the bottom of the trench, spaced evenly, every time.

Using this technology, we discovered there was very little variance between planting speeds and yield. Looking across multiple years, there was only a 0.8 Bu/A difference between planting speeds of 6-10MPH. Our data across 2019-2022 suggests that growers can plant at significantly higher speeds with SpeedTube technology without sacrificing planter performance.

We also found that being able to plant at higher speeds makes it more likely you will hit your ideal window for planting, leading to increased yield.