Tomorrow's Tech Today

If new equipment isn't in the budget, smaller updates can provide new tech without breaking the bank.

Eight years between nearly any two pieces of equipment whether cars, trucks, combines, or tractors normally means two completely different machines. Technology changes fast, and manufacturers constantly update what they bring to market.

But if you visit Stoller and Klein Farm in Illinois, you'll see a 2014 and a 2022 planter sitting side by side, both equipped with virtually identical technology, allowing the farmers to stay on the cutting edge of production efficiency while keeping an eye on their bottom line.

In the early 2000s Stoller and Klein Farm started adding Precision Planting products to their planter, a little at a time.

"We started with finger meters, and then when the 20120 monitor came out, we saw the capabilities it had to help us operate our current planter better," says Chris Stoller, who grows corn and soybeans in the central Illinois counties of McLean, Livingston, and Woodford. “The only reason we changed planters was because we needed to go to bulk fill." Stoller stripped down that bulk fill planter -a 2014 model bought new on auction in 2016- and retrofitted it with Precision Planting products, including DeltaForce, CleanSweep, and more, creating one of America's first highspeed Case IH planters. He says those upgrades increased efficiency and reduced labor costs.

"We've since added a 2022 model year planter, but the older one has all the same technology," he says. "I can take either one out and do the same job." Agriculture technology has vaulted into the future with an array of autonomous and artificial intelligence features coming to new machinery. If you're not ready for the bleeding edge but still looking to bring your machinery closer to tomorrow, here are a few ways you can upgrade your fleet.

These retrofit options work on a variety of machines from different manufacturers going as far back as 20 years — and even older in some cases.

PLANTERS