Improve Deere Grain Drill PerformanceImprove Deere Grain Drill Performance

Indiana farmer David Hoar says that installing the UniForce™ hydraulic down pressure system on his 43-ft. Deere 1690 CCS drill resulted in positive and consistent down pressure across the full width of the drill and uniform planting depth. “Before installing the UniForce, the drill openers with the OEM springs looked like a piano board being played, with a lot of up and down movement.

"UniForce is a hydraulic system made by Exapta Solutions of Kansas that fixes a design flaw on Deere drill models 50, 60, 90 and 2510H. It uses single-action hydraulic cylinders on each opener to keep pressure constant even while the implement is traveling over steep terraces or through swales. Exapta says their system fixes the problems associated with the big coil spring on the drill openers. Those springs relax when the opener goes into the slightest depression, so there’s less down pressure. Disk openers then fail to cut straw or stalks which leads to hair pinning, uneven seed placement, uneven germination, and lower per acre production.

The UniForce system plumbs in to existing drill hydraulics so raising, lowering and down pressure can all operate on one remote. Two remotes can be used to keep the down force separate. Flow requirements are 4 to 8 gpm. Options include an in-cab adjustment to lighten or increase pressure when field conditions change and an on-board accumulator to store pressure in terraced fields.

South Dakota grain farmer Mike Arnoldy says the UniForce system on his drills put wheat seeds into hard and dry bean stubble, giving him more uniform emergence and slightly more uniform stands. He now has the UniForce on a 43-ft. 1690 and a 60-ft. 1890.

Oklahoma farmer Scott Arthaud says the UniForce system was a big advantage for him in marginally dry conditions. He adds that the row units held the depth better and it was impressive to see them uniform and not bouncing like they would with the OEM springs. Karl Davis of Iowa says the UniForce on his drill eliminated all the bounce and kept the openers in the ground in all conditions.

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