Horsch is making its first foray into the mounted row crop planter market.
Earlier this month at the National Farm Machinery Show at Louisville, Kentucky, the North Dakota-based manufacturer rolled out its all-new Maestro RC series mounted row crop planters.
In this video, Horsch product manager Jeremy Hughes notes that the Maestro RC features new technologies specific to the mounted planter market, including an innovative folding toolbar, a unique weight transfer system for maintaining row unit stability, and a forward-mounted seed tank for better weight balance to help eliminate pinch rows.
The Maestro RC series introduction will start in 2019 with two models: the RC1230 (12-row, 30-inch spacing) and the RC1630 (16-row, 30-inch spacing). It features a new vertical flex fold toolbar concept, which Hughes says gives users several distinct agronomic and maneuverability advantages versus traditional stack fold planters. (Story continues after the video.)
Hughes notes that the Maestro RC design includes the greatest wing flexibility of any mounted planter – 10 degrees up 10 degrees down – for maximum terrain-following performance on rolling land. The geometry of the toolbar design also allows the Maestro RC’s 64-bushel seed tank to be moved closer to the tractor linkage point, shifting the weight of the implement to the tractor.
With the new toolbar concept and seed tank moved closer to the tractor linkage, rear lift-assist caster wheels have been eliminated to fight pinch rows and maneuverability issues, says Hughes. Eliminating the rear lift-assist caster wheels also makes maneuvering much easier on ridges, headland areas, field entrances, and during road transport.
Other Maestro RC standard features include hydraulic row unit down pressure, electric meter drives, curve compensation and a weight transfer system, which is designed to address the common concern of seed depth control on mounted planters.
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