🌿 Acres Per Hour Planting Calculator
Calculate your planting rate, field coverage, and hours needed for any equipment setup
| Width (ft) | Speed (mph) | 75% Eff. | 80% Eff. | 85% Eff. | 90% Eff. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 4.5 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 |
| 20 | 5.5 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| 30 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
| 30 | 6.0 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
| 40 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.1 |
| 60 | 5.5 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 9.2 |
| 60 | 6.5 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 10.2 | 10.8 |
| 120 | 6.0 | 16.5 | 17.6 | 18.7 | 19.8 |
| 180 | 6.0 | 24.8 | 26.4 | 28.1 | 29.7 |
| Crop | Typical Width | Speed Range (mph) | Typical Eff. % | Ac/Hr Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn (8-row) | 20–30 ft | 4.5–5.5 | 78–82% | 3–6 |
| Corn (16-row) | 40–60 ft | 5.0–6.0 | 80–85% | 8–18 |
| Corn (24-row+) | 60–90 ft | 5.5–6.5 | 82–87% | 16–35 |
| Soybean | 20–60 ft | 5.0–6.5 | 78–85% | 5–20 |
| Wheat / Drill | 20–40 ft | 5.5–8.0 | 80–88% | 5–17 |
| Air Seeder | 40–80 ft | 6.0–9.0 | 82–90% | 12–40 |
| Canola | 30–60 ft | 5.5–7.5 | 80–87% | 8–25 |
| Cotton | 20–40 ft | 4.5–5.5 | 75–82% | 4–10 |
| Vegetable Transplants | 4–12 ft | 1.0–2.5 | 65–75% | 0.3–2.2 |
| Sunflower | 20–40 ft | 4.5–5.5 | 78–83% | 4–10 |
| Field Size (ac) | 4 Ac/Hr (10hr day) | 8 Ac/Hr (10hr day) | 15 Ac/Hr (10hr day) | 25 Ac/Hr (10hr day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 acres | 1.3 days | 0.6 days | 0.3 days | 0.2 days |
| 100 acres | 2.5 days | 1.3 days | 0.7 days | 0.4 days |
| 250 acres | 6.3 days | 3.1 days | 1.7 days | 1.0 day |
| 500 acres | 12.5 days | 6.3 days | 3.3 days | 2.0 days |
| 1,000 acres | 25.0 days | 12.5 days | 6.7 days | 4.0 days |
| 2,000 acres | 50.0 days | 25.0 days | 13.3 days | 8.0 days |
| Imperial | Metric Equivalent | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 acre | 0.4047 hectares | ac × 0.4047 | 100 ac = 40.5 ha |
| 1 ac/hr | 0.4047 ha/hr | ac/hr × 0.4047 | 10 ac/hr = 4.05 ha/hr |
| 1 mph | 1.609 km/h | mph × 1.609 | 5 mph = 8.05 km/h |
| 1 foot | 0.3048 meters | ft × 0.3048 | 30 ft = 9.14 m |
| 1 acre | 43,560 sq ft | ac × 43,560 | 1 ac = 43,560 sq ft |
| 1 hectare | 10,000 m² | ha × 10,000 | 1 ha = 10,000 m² |
Planting speed is important in the farming world. It affects how seeds lay in the soil and how many crops you harvest at the end of the year. Traditional planters go usually around 5 mph That long was the custom, but modern machines alter the situation.
In most rural circumstances 8 to 9 mph give nice balance between bigger amount of work, good spacing of seeds and their precise placing, together with few problems because of bounce of the unit or bad contact with the ground. Some ranchers prefer to however stay in 4 mph. In that speed some plant, because more quickly the plate planter simply do not follow.
Best Speed to Plant Seeds
Planting in 9 mph improved the accuracy and reduced the multiples by means of precise planter. Above that speed the corn yield did not adjust. Tests with John Deere ExactEmerge showed good results until 14 mph on smooth and flat soil.
In no-till or worse conditions most planters well operate in 7 to 8 mph.
Planting times commonly limit because of rains in spring. When you must expect good soil conditions, it maters to cover as many acres when the moment comes. Fast planter help to expand the skill and the number of seeds laid in the ideal period.
Also the yield depends on the planting date.
In 7.5 mph with average seed tubes the intervals of plants are not equal. Old systems cast every seed from the tube top, what allows bounce during the fall. New models have air tubes, that pushes the seed according to the tube precisely.
Because of the pressure in the tube disappears the bounce. You believe wrong, that high speeds it is possible not with old planters because of that tube problem.
Prior exploration gave different conclusions. For every inch of error in the intended interval the yield declines in 2.5 bushels for acre. Winners of national yield contests commonly say, that slow planters help uniform interval of plants and form part of their secret.
But with new fast machines the precise placing stays good until 10 to 11 mph.
Rather than buy big planter with expensive payments and transport problems, you can modernise the current to accomplish the needs. Like this more acres get covered in hour reliably. Also the draft force grow with the pace, so pulling bigger planter quickly require much horsepower.
The ideal for single coulter is lay it in half of the planting depth, and wavy coulter moves more soil in high speeds than bubble type.
