Midwest Corn Maze Planted with Precision Planting vDrive

Rader Family Farms and its owners, Lynn Rader and sons Adam and Arin, have always been progressive farmers, looking for new ways to do things. They began growing and selling pumpkins in the early 1990s and opened their Agritainment business in 2009. Since then, their fall business, including nearly 40 acres with corn mazes and a variety of agriculture-related family activities, have been a draw for approximately 50,000 visitors across the Midwest. 

They normally plant their 10-acre plot of corn and then have a company come in and mow the corn to match the mapped-out maze. According to Adam Rader, this wastes at least a bag of seed. “This is a very real cost to us. If we could do this every year, saving a bag of seed, there will be no waste… we felt like it would pay for itself in a very short amount of time.” 

Adam’s Precision Planting Premier Dealer Jason Kieser, who has been working closely with their family farming operations, suggested planting the maze to the map, instead of cutting it out. Adam believes they are the only farm in America to successfully achieve this. 

“With electric drive, using vDrive, on every row, instead of having one 24-row planter, it now feels like you have 24 one-row planters. The automatic on and off will achieve that perfect maze, and with swath control, they won’t overplant and waste seed,” Kieser explained during planting. “This is a fun way to use it, but the value is there for all farmers.” 

“This is the real story in prescription farming,” Adam said. 

Precision Planting LLC / 309-925-5050 / www.precisionplanting.com