Do Newer Model Planters Improve Corn Yields?

Using a unique subset of National Corn Growers Association yield contest data, we evaluated whether newer planter models lead to higher corn yields in situations where producers follow high-yield management practices. Results indicated that using newgeneration planters increased yield by up to six bushels per acre relative to recent planter models. Although a six-bushel yield increase is significant for farms planting several thousand acres, small-acreage farms will not generate a return on the yield increase alone to justify the cost of trading in an earlier generation planter. Farms with less acreage may consider precision upgrade kits to eliminate some of the yield drag associated with owning an earlier planter model. A research limitation is that planter upgrades are unknown. We avoided a “brand conundrum” by grouping planter models into year ranges according to when a model was first introduced.