Tru Count Makes Every Seed Count

High-priced seed was reason enough for Ames, Iowa, farmer Dennis P. Smith to add Tru Count Air Clutches to his 24-row White planter.

When Tru Count approached Dennis Smith with the opportunity to be among the first farmers to beta test the company's air clutches more than two years ago, he eagerly accepted.

"For farmers who are going to stay in this business, technology is the wave of the future," says Smith. "I use new technology like Tru Count and RTK guidance to save on input expenses including seed and fertilizer. Why waste valuable seed and other inputs if we don't have to? These technologies pay for themselves quickly."

Smith runs the Trimble® AgGPS® Autopilot automated steering system on four Case IH tractors. Vetter Equipment in Nevada, Iowa, provided and installed the systems. "Brett Saddoris, the AMS specialist with Vetter, did a really nice job setting up the RTK guidance systems for us. It was a really smooth process that had us up and running quickly," says Smith.

Smith pairs his Trimble RTK with a Soil Warrior® (www.soilwarrior.com) zone tillage implement that allows him to incorporate phosphorus and potassium at a 9-in depth in the fall, then come back in the spring in the exact same zone to put down liquid or granular nitrogen and seed in the spring. "To do this kind of zone tillage, I really need sub-inch, repeatable accuracy, and the Trimble RTK has never let me down," says Smith.

As for the Tru Count Air Clutches, Smith wouldn't want to farm without them. "It's not just seed I'm saving; time is an important input I think too many farmers underestimate the value of. With this system, I don't have to slow down at the end of the field. That means I get more acres planted in a day, and more of my crop gets planted on time."

Iowa Farmer Dennis P. Smith says his Tru Count Air Clutch® system pays for itself in efficient seed use, such as not overplanting on headlands.