Navigating Your Strip-Till Equipment Options: Buy or Retrofit?

Like most farm equipment, you have the option of buying new, buying used, or upgrading the equipment you already own.

If you fall into the group of already owning a strip-tillage toolbar, but looking to add an upgrade for better guidance, performance, or monitoring, then retrofitting is an economical way to get these upgrades without buying brand new.

Are you exploring the idea of adding strip-till to your farm operation, but don’t yet own a strip-tillage toolbar? Keep in mind the retrofit upgrades you’d like to add to your new or used piece of equipment before you make the purchase for manufacturer’s compatibility.

Of course, borrowing or leasing is also a possibility, but make sure the toolbar you’re using is set up with the upgrades needed to achieve your goals and efficiently utilize your input spend.

Retrofit Upgrade: Blockage & Flow Monitoring

When it comes to maximizing yield potential, even distribution of fertilizer is key and early detection of blockages and flow variations in your strip-till system is required – imagine going an entire pass or more with a blockage! Blockages can cause inconsistent fertilizer distribution, ultimately reducing crop performance. Retrofitting your equipment with advanced blockage and flow monitoring systems like ReconBlockage and Clarity can help you stay ahead of these issues.

ReconBlockage gives you visibility to blockages and flow changes across your machine so you can act before it's too late. The system's acoustic sensors function like a stethoscope, instantly detecting blockages or reduced flow anywhere on the implement.

Clarity offers high-definition visibility into your strip-till bar in real-time. The Clarity system from Precision Planting displays and maps blockage variability and product blockage metrics, row-by-row, on the 20|20 monitor in the cab. Instead of just red or green lights, you'll see numbers and statistics tied to the performance of the product delivery system, giving you more accuracy than standard systems on the market. Then with Panorama^™ you can see all your 20|20 maps, input summaries, and agronomic data on your phone, computer, or platform of your choice.

Retrofit Upgrade: Guidance Systems

Accuracy is key in strip-till farming, which is why GPS guidance systems play an essential role in strip creation. When you retrofit your strip-till setup with a guidance system, you're not just improving your pass accuracy, but also setting up the next phases of your crop cycle for success. For instance, the maps created during the strip-till operation are needed for aligning the planting operation, ensuring seed placement and any at-plant application happens directly in the strips.

Trimble^® CenterPoint^® RTX is a correction service for farmers looking to retrofit their strip-till equipment. When used as part of a comprehensive autoguidance solution – including a display, steering system and guidance receiver – CenterPoint RTX offers real-time, centimeter-level accuracy, providing significant input savings by minimizing pass-to-pass overlap. Its versatility makes it suitable for not just strip-tilling, but also for planting and spraying. With these retrofit options, you're equipped to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and maximize the performance of your strip-till operation.

PTx, the leading precision agriculture brand of AGCO, offers solutions for every season and every pass, no matter the color of equipment. Paired together under PTx, both PTx Trimble and Precision Planting have a similar mission to serve farmers no matter what brand or age of equipment they use. PTx is for the farmers who want to buy new from certain OEMs as well as those who want to retrofit the equipment they already own.