2026 John Deere Precision Upgrades for Planting

Follow the Agriculture Technology Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

You can find past podcast episodes and view show notes by visiting our podcast website .    

Tony Kramer: Hi, I'm Tony Kramer, your host of the Agriculture Technology Podcast, and I'm sitting down with agriculture technology and equipment experts to help you enhance your operation for today, tomorrow, and into the future. In this episode, we talk with Taryn Fischels about some of the new John Deere Precision Upgrade Kit offerings. With that, let's dive into the show. Like I said, we are sitting down with Taryn from John Deere to talk about some of the new Precision Upgrade offerings that are coming to market here in the month of June. So, Taryn, before we get started, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, and how you got to where you are today.

Taryn Fischels: Thanks, Tony. First off, I wanted to say thank you for having me here on the show. I've listened to many episodes over some of my long work drive, so I'm very excited to be here. Like you said, my name is Taryn Fischels, and I'm a product marketing manager for Precision Upgrades at John Deere, particularly our planting and air seeding precision upgrades. I've been with John Deere for almost eight years now, which is pretty hard to believe, but come from Northeast Iowa, Denver in particular, we call it the mile-wide city, not the mile high, like Denver, Colorado. But like I said, I've been with Deere for eight years. I come from what I say is the John Deere family. My dad is actually a production worker at the Waterloo Tractor Factory, and my uncle and my cousin work for Deere, too, so it's near and dear to my heart and to my family, but my journey at Deere started after college, and I've had a lot of really cool experiences, I'll say. Anything from precision ag, so you as a dealer or even a farmer troubleshooting some ISD and precision ag equipment, when you need to call John Deere, you might've gotten me on the phone at one point in time, and after that, I went into a training role where I helped create some videos for Operations Center there on YouTube, and then after that, went and did some time with our cotton harvesting business, which, growing up in Iowa, was super cool to learn about, and then most recently, I've been in our precision upgrades organization, so worked as a sales specialist in the field with dealers in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, and then most recently, moving into my product marketing role with planters and air seeders, so it's been a wild ride, and I'm so grateful for it, and I'm happy to be here today.

Tony: Yeah, and again, welcome. We're very excited to have you here. It's kind of neat to hear that you've got that family tie to the John Deere company and working within the business. Let's get talking about these precision upgrade kits, so before we jump into the new model year '26 upgrades and everything that John Deere has coming with this season, let's take a step back and let's just review what is a precision upgrade kit?

Taryn: A precision upgrade kit is really a way for growers to bring the latest technology, think about that technology that's on brand new equipment that rolls off the line at a factory. It's a way for growers to be able to put that technology on the equipment that's already on their farm today. Let's say that planter that's from 2014 or the 2022 sprayer that's on the farm. It's really a way for growers to access that technology at a lower upfront cost and really just a more flexible way and really tailor it to their operation. You're getting the same experience, that same quality of something that's rolling off the line there, but bringing it back, retrofitting it basically right back to your equipment that you already have.

Tony: John Deere has some great new offerings that are coming in the planting and seeding world. John Deere is adding to that portfolio to make even the precision upgrades even more accessible to different customers, different farmers, different industries, so the precision upgrade kit that we have had in the past when it comes to planters. Now, the way I understand it, we still have that kit, but there might be a new name associated with it. So let's talk about that one first.

Taryn: Yeah. Yeah. Tony, what you're referring to there is what we call the ultimate planter upgrade today. We've offered a full, it's basically a full row unit upgrade, right? Everything from the bar back on your planter, we can totally rebuild and basically make it a brand new planter, and we've been doing that for a few years now, and we can put those kits on planters all the way back to 2005. But when you do that, you can get new parallel arms, a new downforce system, like individual row hydraulic downforce, your electric drive meters, of course, whether that's ExactEmerge or MaxEmerge 5E, and then from there, you can really spec it out how you want your planter to be, whether that's new closing wheels or row cleaners or things of that nature, really giving you the ability to design a whole new planter with the frame you already have, and I would say, you know, where the ultimate piece comes into play and why we've put a lot of thought behind this name change and rebrand is to really call out the fact that you're really basically getting an entirely new planter, whether it's the row units, but thinking about a fully updated electrical system too. So when we do this ultimate planter upgrade, we're also bringing SeedStar 5, the latest monitoring system to that planter, you're getting a G5 display in the cab, Interactor Implement Ethernet, making the data flow between the planter and the display in the cab that much faster, which is so important for new technology like ExactEmerge and FurrowVision down the road, but we really wanted to just try to capture that you are getting an entirely new planter basically with this ultimate planter upgrade.

Tony: This is the upgrade solution that we've had for years past. Now it's just, it's the same solution, you know, the parallel arms, all that, the full row unit, but it's just a new name kind of referring to it or calling it the ultimate upgrade. And that's really, really for the customer that's looking for that overall refresh, maybe we have a, an older, tired planter that, you know, it's ready for new parallel arms. It's ready for new gauge wheels. That ultimate upgrade I think is, is what fits the bill there. When we have that offering, we always had the question come up, it's only a couple year old planter, but when I bought it, I wasn't ready to dive in, you know, headfirst and get all the technology, I don't necessarily need a full rebuild, what do you guys have to offer? And I'm really excited for what's coming now. You guys are now coming to market with what we're calling the meter only upgrade. So let's talk a little bit, start with the MaxEmerge 5e and tell us a little bit about that upgrade. You know, what comes in the kit, what planters are compatible and really who that upgrade is targeted for.

Taryn: With the MaxEmerge 5e planter, I'm just about as excited, probably, hopefully maybe even more excited than you are here, Tony, no offense there, but I did spend some time in the field working with dealers in Iowa and beyond. And it was just a common request, you know, phone calls like almost every day of wanting to just be able to do this kind of incremental upgrade. But we didn't need a whole new shank or we just added a new down force system to the planter a couple of years ago. We really just want the option to upgrade the meter and that's really, but you know, between both MaxEmerge 5e and ExactEmerge, it's pretty similar stories there, but with the MaxEmerge 5e meter upgrade, we can take a MaxEmerge 5 planter, so that MaxEmerge 5 shank. We can take that, whether it's hydraulic or mechanical and turn it into an electric drive planter. So with that, you'll get the MaxEmerge 5e meter and that single electric motor that's in there, that powers the meter and then those kind of traditional style seed tubes where we can run it about five miles per hour. And we can take this upgrade back, like I said, to MaxEmerge 5 planters all the way back to 2015 on this one. If you have something that's older than 2015, that's when we'd point you to our ultimate planter upgrade.

Tony: And this is again, meter only. So we are not doing anything with the shank, nothing with the W bracket or the parallel arms, anything like that. It's just the meter.

Taryn: Yeah, it is just the meter. And in this case too, you'd also get a SeedStar 5 upgrade because, because that, you know, that ME5 planter, MaxEmerge 5 planter is on an older monitoring system, so we bring you up to the modern times with the SeedStar 5 and an all new G5 in the cab as well. So you're getting a new meter and a new monitoring system.

Tony: You know, this planting season here, SeedStar 5 is amazing, the clarity, the high definition of the data that's coming into the display, everything we're  getting into the operation center, that's kind of a cherry on top, getting one of these upgrades, whether it be the ultimate upgrade or one of these meter only upgrades, getting into SeedStar 5 is definitely going to increase the performance of your planter. The next one I want to talk about is the, again, a meter only upgrade, but it's going to be ExacEmerge. So tell us a little bit about, you know, what we get with that kit and some of the compatibilities there.

Taryn: With the ExactEmerge meter upgrade, we can take a MaxEmerge 5E planter and turn that into a high speed ExactEmerge planter. So in that kit, you're getting the ExactEmerge meter and you're also getting the brush belt delivery system. So we can carry that seed all the way through the brush belt and into the trench and with a dead drop, have that highly precise seed placement. And part of what makes that all happen is the dual electric motor. So you get two motors for each row in this system and one motor powers your meter and one more motor powers your brush belt and that's how we get the ability to be able to plant at high speeds, up to 10 miles an hour, but still maintain our highly precise singulation and seed placement.

Tony: There again, this is a meter only, so we are not touching any of the iron, any of the green paint. We're not touching any of that. This is just going to be a meter only upgrade.

Taryn: This is just a meter only upgrade. It's really, I would say in both cases, ME5E meter or the ExactEmerge meter upgrade, really intended for that customer that has probably a planter that's in pretty good condition, pretty good shank, and they don't need all of those, maybe replacement of some wear components. They're really just looking to upgrade their meters and maybe nothing else.

Tony: From an ExactEmerge perspective, maybe a customer got into an ME5E, you know, say three years ago, because at the time they were unsure of the ExactEmerge technology, or maybe they just weren't sold on it yet. And now they say, Hey, you know, I really believe in that. I really wish I had that. We can now get them into that technology without completely rebuilding the planters. So these meter only upgrades really open the door for more customers, more solutions, and more offerings.

Taryn: I would say too, over time, ExactEmerge, both solutions have really proven themselves, but ExactEmerge over the many years it's been in the market has really proven itself. And that's what you're leaning towards there is those customers that are ready for that next step.

Tony: Absolutely. So whether it be one of those ultimate planter upgrades to completely refresh your planter, or one of these new offerings for a meter only upgrade, there are definitely solutions out there to get your planter up to speed where you want that to be with this technology wave that we have out there. Last one on the list here, I'm really, again, just as excited as the meter only upgrades, but we're going to dive into the world of air seeders and you guys are bringing to market a new precision upgrade kit for some air seeders that I know are, at least in the territory that I work in, there are many, many of these out there. Taryn, let's talk a little bit about the 1910 Air Seeder Air Cart AccuRate Meter Upgrade.

Taryn: Yeah. So the 1910 AccuRate Air Seeder Meter Upgrade, really, if we think back to last year, model year '25 was a big year for us at year two. I know that was an episode you covered in the past, and it's really being able to bring that brand new air seeding technology that you can find on our model year '25 and newer E-Series Air Carts that we've revamped last year, being able to take that technology, that metering system, and take it all the way back to the 1910 cart that's on the farm today. That machine that might be all the way back to 2005, we can take that and completely revamp it with an all new accurate metering system.

Tony: Tell us a little bit about what this kit includes, what we're changing, what we're adding, and some of the technology we get with these accurate meters.

Taryn: The first piece and the biggest piece is stainless steel. So everything from the tank down is completely and 100% corrosion resistant, and it's all composite material. And the big win there, one of the big wins there is lowering that overall maintenance cost and time put into maintenance. We know that that costs thousands of dollars every few years for customers. So that's a huge win. And then, you know, there's a win with some of the plastic chutes and that anti-static that's in these meters. And then in the chute, really just being able to minimize some of the buildup and things that can happen in there with the nature of some of the products we run through the air seater. Another thing we talked about electric drive on planners earlier, we're bringing electric drive to the air seater with individual electronically controlled meters, so eight of those electronic motors across a meter that bring us quite a few benefits and they've really proven themselves in the planning space over many years, but with, with the electric drive meters, we're getting the ability to run, you know, what we say is high resolution or high fidelity prescriptions. So before, you know, during air seating, when we were running prescription, it was basically the width of our drill, right? We were limited to the width of our drill. And now with, with being able to control each motor, each rate at the primary independently, we can, we can be so much more accurate with our prescriptions that we're running during air seat while we're seating and really eight times more accurate with the introduction of these, these electronically controlled meters. We're also bringing a section command pro. So similar to section command, which we've had on air seaters for many years now, but section command pro brings us the ability in conjunction with those meters to be able to shut off each, each meter independently, instead of using gates, really important when we think about eliminating seed, you know, potential seed damage or dumping that might happen when those gates would open. And then of course, similar to what goes on during planting curve compensation. So really just trying to be as accurate as possible with our rates all across the tool, so especially on curves and turns where, where traditionally maybe we would have over or under seated before. Now we can, we can have the most accurate rate possible across the entire tool.

Tony: This is giving us the ability to take, you said back to a 2005, 1910 air cart to be able to upgrade it. And one of the things I really think stands out about these accurate meter upgrades for the 1910 air carts is that it's not just the technology. We're also the, the stainless steel meter housing is huge. And the, the primary being plastic or, or, um, not, not metal, not corrosive. There, uh, there's more benefits than just the technology with this upgrade.

Taryn: You're basically getting an entirely new cart, um, new, new metering system on, on your 1910. Not, not just the technology, but there's iron there too.

Tony: Yeah. So similar to that ultimate planter upgrade, if you're, your 1910 air cart is just tired and ready for a refresh, this new accurate meter upgrade is, uh, definitely, uh, a solution for you. So very excited that you guys are coming to market with this air seater solution.

Taryn: Tony, I, I failed to mention too, um, in addition to, you know, some of the benefits we get with the electric drive, there is another technology piece there, and that's, that's EZ-Cal and the G5 display. Been really excited and had a lot of good feedback from the field with the C-series and you also get that on the 1910, so really hitting the easy button with, with calibrations and making sure that every time you start up, you have the right, right meter displacement values and really just making calibration faster and easier than it's ever been in air seating.

Tony: We've got a little demo, a show display stand that, uh, we can run EZ-Cal and show customers at clinics and events. And it's funny when you, you essentially walk through a calibration scenario. And, uh, of course, everybody has that, that dreaded bag calibration with air seaters, they, they got that in their head going, oh, I gotta climb around, climb under there, whatever, and you show them the EZ-Cal process and, and their eyes just like get huge, wide open going, that's all I have to do. And my air seater is completely calibrated. And, and we put a smile on our face and go, yes, it's that easy. So yeah, great call out there that, that, that comes with that 1910 Accurate Meter Upgrade. So those were just some of the new offerings when it comes to planting and seating that I wanted to touch on. Now, is there anything else, Taryn, that you would like to leave our listeners with in terms of Precision Upgrade Kits?

Taryn: Yeah, Tony, again, wanted to say thank you for having me on the show and, and just wanted to leave you and the listeners with this, and it's, it's that here at, at Precision Upgrades at John Deere, we're, we're just so excited. We, we feel like this year, more than any model year, we have been, uh, more positioned or better positioned than ever to offer farmers, more farmers than ever, um, technology options all across our equipment. And just, we feel like we have the most beefed up portfolio we've ever had and, and the ability to help more customers, more farmers than we've ever had before. And so we're excited by that and we're grateful for it. Um, whether it's across planters and air seaters that we talked about today, but, but, you know, our portfolio extends beyond that to sprayers and combines and interactors. And I know you've covered a lot of those different options in past episodes, but we're just, we are so excited to have as many solutions as we do today and excited to bring them to the farm.

Tony: Yeah, I know from a dealer perspective here, we are very excited what you guys at John Deere continue to bring to the market and just more solutions, more offerings, and you're absolutely right. The portfolio that you guys have, have given us, uh, and the customers to work from is, is definitely a robust one. So, uh, very excited to, to continue adding to it. Now, again, like you said, whether it be the planters, the air seaters, or any other of the Precision Upgrade Kit offerings, Taren, if people are interested in learning more about any of this stuff that we've talked about today or in past episodes, where can they go? Who can they talk to, to learn about this?

Taryn: I would recommend it's visit us at deere.com slash upgrade. That's going to be a great place to, to do a little reading and, and we have some, some nice compatibility tools for planters and sprayers where you can actually plug in the serial number of your piece of equipment, or even just to make in model year and, and see what upgrades are eligible for, for your piece of machinery. So that would be the first place I'd recommend to go. And then, um, always, uh, check in with your, your local John Deere dealer. You guys have the experience, not only selling, uh, the brand new equipment out of the factory, um, but you have a lot of experience selling pucks too. And so, um, Precision Upgrade Kits that is. So, uh, given your local John Deere dealer, a call is always a great next stop to learn more and, um, see what's, see what's available for your equipment.

Tony: Well, Taren, I want to thank you just one last time here for taking the time out of your day to chat with me about these new precision upgrade offerings you guys have very exciting in planting and seeding, but very exciting all around with the precision upgrade kits that John Deere is bringing to market.

Taryn: Thanks, Tony. Happy to be here.

Tony: Please take a moment to subscribe to this podcast. If you haven't already, you can subscribe to the show on the many different podcasting apps that we're streaming this out to, such as Apple, Google, Spotify, as well as many others. While you're out there, drop us a review. We'd love to hear what you think about the show. And finally, make sure to follow RDO Equipment Company on Facebook, Instagram, X, and catch all of our latest videos on YouTube.