Engineering association acknowledges innovation of planter with advanced options that provide agronomic flexibility
Every year, the American Association of Agricultural and Biological Engineers picks approximately 50 new products and machines that its judges rank highest in “innovation, significant engineering advancement and impact on the market served.” This year, Agco took home a few of the 2025 awards, including one for its Fendt Momentum planter.
Last June, Agco held a Tech Day event in Salina, Kansas, to demonstrate the technology built into the Momentum planter, a few months ahead of being selected for the award. For the 2025 model year, the Momentum will be available in 30-, 40- and 60-foot working widths with 12 to 48 rows.
Here’s a look at some of the features that impressed the AE50 judges.
Read Also
Manitoba Parkland research station grapples with dry year
Drought conditions in northwestern Manitoba have forced researchers at the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation to terminate some projects and reseed others.
First, the Momentum toolbar has up to 52 inches of vertical contouring ability to handle uneven terrain.
“We have what we call the vertical contouring toolbar,” said Agco marketing manager Mark Brungardt.
“We can go over contours and make sure our seed placement remains at two inches or wherever we have it set. If you have the correct placement with each seed, you’re going to have more even germination.
“We have three sensors on each wing and three in the middle. So as we go over a hill or through a dip, the parallel link arms (on the row units) are moving up and down. If our inner one is up higher and the outer one is down lower, then this bar is going to move up or down to try to get them back to centre so we have maximum travel out of our parallel link.”
The Momentum has two 65 bushel seed tanks and an 800 or 1,000 gallon liquid (125, 130 or 175 cubic foot) dry fertilizer tank, depending on the working width.
To efficiently handle all the weight of the implement with those tanks and minimize compaction, the planters have the Load Logic weight management system.
“With our weight management system, it automatically will measure the weight on the spindles,” said Brungardt.
“We have a smart spindle on each axle, It’s going to maintain the (same) weight on the wings as in the centre. So we reduce compaction. We have two cylinders on each wing that push down to put more weight there.”
The main frame rides on a central inline tandem axle that eliminates pinch points on the adjacent rows. As well, the tires have an adjustable inflation system to increase pressure for road transport and decrease it to widen the footprint in the field to further help minimize compaction.
Another tech feature is Precision Planting’s EMHD system, which controls liquid row-by-row fertilizer delivery. Brungardt said Fendt aims for a maximum delivery variation of no more than five per cent, rather than the industry’s generally accepted average of 10 per cent.
“For 2025, we’re adding Precision Planting’s EMHD system that they’ve had for several years as a retrofit,” said marketing product specialist Kirby Woods.
“We’re adding it at the factory. It’ll be an upgrade.
“For 2025, on all Momentum planters we will have EMHD row-by-row control. On each row we have a module that I’m monitoring how much fertilizer is going to that row, and I have a control valve to make sure I have the right amount across the width of the planter.”
All the operator has to do is set the desired rate. The modules on each row make sure that amount per acre is delivered evenly across the planter. It includes turn compensation and individual row shut-off.
Agco’s marketing reps believe the Momentum planter can also take the place of an air drill in some operations.
“We can plant more than just corn and soybeans,” says Woods.
“We can plant canola. We can plant wheat. So we want to show the versatility of the Momentum planter. There’s times when we could show a competitive air drill, but maybe the grower only needs one piece of equipment. That’s what we want to showcase.
“From the beginning, the Momentum has been about research — how do we improve the farmer’s bottom line? We’re seeing five to six bu. advantages from the toolbar features alone, year after year.”
