John Deere ST18
Drawn Strip-Till Solution

ST Drawn model with coulters

ST Integral model with shanks

Overview

Strip-till is a growing minimum tillage solution that clears residue and tills 203 mm (8 in.) to 254 mm (10 in.) strips, leaving the rest of the row undisturbed. This allows operators to till where tillage matters, produce a nutrient-rich welcoming seed environment, reduce input costs, maintain yield, and maximize profitability.

Benefits

Whether an operator prepares ground in the spring or fall, just one pass across the field with the John Deere strip-till tool will complete compaction management, nutrient application, and seedbed preparation, all in one pass. In many situations, producers moving from conventional tillage to strip-till have reduced trips across the field by as many as four passes. By only making one pass across the field, sustainability is at its peak. Strip-till reduces soil erosion, minimizes nutrient run-off, and conserves moisture, all while reducing input costs for the customer. Maximizing the efficiency of every liter or gallon of fuel is critical for boosting the profitability of farming operations.

Additional details

John Deere ST Series Options

Customers can choose between dual coulter or shank tillage. Coulters will allow earlier field access to accelerate seedbed preparation. Shanks will increase soil fracturing in tough field conditions and allow for anhydrous ammonia application. Four bolts per row unit allow for simple change over between shank and dual coulter configurations. More ST Series options are listed below.

The importance of planting into the strips

• Planting the seed into a residue free strip allows for quicker and more uniform plant emergence
• Placing the seed into the nutrient zone allows plant roots to fully access and utilize nutrients

How does precision technology enable accurate seed placement within the strips?

With so much at stake, getting it right is not an option. Utilizing the suite of precision guidance tools, executing perfectly placed strips has never been easier.

John Deere Active Implement Guidance™ system

Utilizes integrated steerable hitch on drawn units to steer the implement to the guidance line provided by the StarFire™ receiver. Without Active Implement Guidance, implements can drift due to varying soil conditions and sloping terrain. Order as Active Implement Guidance Ready to include the required hydraulic cylinder, sensor mount, receiver mount, linkage, and hardware. The StarFire receiver is not included. A tractor-installed Application Controller 1100 is not included; order separately as needed.

Hydraulic control on the front of the integrated steerable hitch

Steerable hitch pivot at the rear axle

AutoPath™ system

Uses data from the first strip-till pass to automatically create full-field guidance lines for the secondary passes such as planting, spraying, and harvest.

Shared signal

Enables StarFire receivers to share information when paired using implement guidance. This allows an implement’s StarFire receiver with lower accuracy to take advantage of the higher accuracy used by the tractor receiver.

StarFire 7000 Receiver on implement

AutoTrac™ system

Increases productivity in subsequent crop passes by reducing overlap and maximizing inputs.

Boundary fill

Creates guidance lines from the dimensions of the exterior boundary and track spacing. Allows the operator to work around fence lines and field boundaries with boundary track mode.

Integrated fertilizer tanks on drawn model

Overview

Applying fertilizer with a strip-till tool is becoming more common as customers seek to reduce compaction, increase efficiency, and improve profitability. The ST Drawn models have two integrated fertilizer tanks which have a capacity of 200 cu ft (160 bushels) each. The tool can carry up to 9,072 kg (20,000  lb.).

Benefits

The ST Series fertilizer delivery system is equipped with stainless steel meters, integrated scales, and other technologies that enable optimal reliability and durability in the customer’s operation.

Benefits growers with rolling terrain, contours, or other field conditions that may affect implement drift. It ensures consistent strip alignment when making headland turns.

Enables plug and play functionality with the John Deere Active Implement Guidance™ Ready option.

The table below identifies which hitches are compatible with the integral and drawn models.

NOTE: Order as Active Implement Guidance Ready to include the required hydraulic cylinder, sensor mount, receiver mount, linkage, and hardware. The StarFire™ receiver is not included. A tractor-installed Application Controller 1100 is not included; order separately as needed.

Hydraulic control on the front of the integrated steerable hitch

Hitch pivot point at the rear axle

John Deere ST Series offers the option of coulters or shanks with the ability to switch between them in changing field conditions. 

Dual coulters

Two vertically mounted blades spaced 127 mm (5 in.) apart with a maximum working depth of up to 152 mm (6 in.). There are several benefits to utilizing dual coulters such as:

• Industry exclusive in-cab depth control
• Productivity enhancement with working speeds up to 16 km/h (10 mph)
• Uniform fertilizer distribution over the entire width of the strip, preventing hot band of fertilizer
• Minimal soil disturbance and residue cutting capabilities

508 mm (20 in.) 13-wave blade

508 mm (20 in.) 13-wave front and 13-wave rear dual coulter

508 mm (20 in.) 18-wave blade

508 mm (20 in.) 18-wave front and 13-wave rear dual coulter

508 mm (20 in.) 8-wave blade

508 mm (20 in.) 13-wave front and 8-wave rear dual coulter

Shanks

Shanks have 13-mm (1/2-in.) NH3 tubes and two to four vapor knives. A shank is preferred for deeper nutrient banding and fracturing compacted soil layers and can be used for anhydrous application to place the nutrients in the upper area of the root zone. Operating depth is adjusted on shank equipped row units with two pins. The shallow setting is approximately 230 mm (9 in.), and the deep setting is approximately 280 mm (11 in.).

Shank located between the lead coulter and containment coulter

Overview

The row-unit tillage depth is set based on achieving the desired outcome of the following factors: compaction management, fertilizer placement and berm creation. Depth settings vary between dual coulter and shank tillage options.

To enable consistent operating depths across the machine, the downforce system is split into two circuits: one for row-units that are running in wheel tracks (blue airline) and one for the remaining row-units (black airline). This allows for independent control of the rows running in a potentially more compacted portion of the machine. Operators can observe the parallel linkage position across the rows while operating and adjust the downforce as needed.

Air regulators for row unit downforce

• Yellow: Row cleaner lift pressure
• Green: Row cleaner down pressure
• Black: Row-unit down pressure (rows not running in wheel tracks)
• Blue: Row-unit down pressure (rows running in wheel tracks)

Dual coulters

Operating depth is set using the air pressure regulators mounted in the cab. These control the amount of pressure in the downforce airbag(s) located on each row-unit. Operating depth can be set from 5 cm (2 in.) to 15 cm (6 in.) by varying the downforce pressure.

Shanks

Pin-adjust depth on shank equipped row-units

Operating depth is adjusted on shank equipped row-units with two pins. The shallow setting is approximately 23 cm (9 in), and the deep setting is approximately 28 cm (11 in.).

Row cleaners

Optional floating row cleaners equipped with pneumatic cylinders are available. They are easily adjusted with the cab mounted air regulators to adapt to varying residue conditions.

Overview

In-cab controls and adjustable air regulators

Several functions of the strip-till tool can be controlled and regulated from the cab using a switch box that houses the following functions:

• Fold: Folds and unfolds the toolbar; enables lift wheel, inner wing, and outer wing switches
• Tilt: Tilts the toolbar in the fold section
• Scales: Turns on the scales for the dry fertilizer system
• Hydraulic drives/AC: Turns on the power to operate the fertilizer drives and air compressor
• Row cleaner lift: Raises and lowers row cleaners