How Often Should Planter Meters Be Calibrated?

Precision Planting's answer is every year: test your meters before you head to the field.

Full calibration can stretch longer on some meters. One shop publishes this schedule:

• vSet: 2 years or 250 row acres
• eSet: 1 year or 100 row acres
• Case IH: 1 year or 100 row acres
• John Deere Pro40 and 30 Cell: 1 year
• Finger meters: 1 year

Row acres are your total planter acres divided by the number of rows. A 24-row planter on 1,200 acres is 50 row acres a year, so that vSet schedule would land on the 2-year mark long before 250.

When to test sooner

Don't wait for the calendar if you've seen any of this:

• Singulation dropping on the 20|20, especially at speed
• Doubles or skips showing up after a seed change
• A new seed size, shape or treatment
• Meters that have never been on a stand since you bought the planter
• A used planter. You don't know what those meters have been through

Why a stand beats a schedule

A schedule is a guess about wear. A test stand tells you what each meter is doing right now, row by row. That means you only pay to fix the rows that need it.

Purdue's planter advice says the same thing about getting real numbers: calibrate at your normal planting speed and seeding rate, as close to field conditions as you can. Don't do it in the farm lane.

What happens to a meter at our shop

1. Tagged by row, so it goes back where it came from
2. Run on our Precision Planting MeterMax test stand
3. If the stand says so, or you ask: taken apart, cleaned, worn parts replaced
4. Back on the stand before it goes home

Sometimes calibration is all it needs, and we'd rather tell you that than rebuild something that's fine.

When to do it

Right after harvest. Meters that come in then get the fastest turnaround and the best price of the year. By late winter the bench is booked solid, and April is too late.

Sources: Precision Planting, Should I Calibrate My Seed Meters? and Purdue, Planter Maintenance.