You Need to Be Doing Your Own On-Farm Testing
by Ethan Begle Is there one right way to do everything or are there multiple ways to arrive at the same result? Listening to opinions… Read More »You Need to Be Doing Your Own On-Farm Testing
by Ethan Begle Is there one right way to do everything or are there multiple ways to arrive at the same result? Listening to opinions… Read More »You Need to Be Doing Your Own On-Farm Testing
by Ethan Begle, Technical Service Kinze 4000 and 5000 series planter owners have a renewed option to place liquid in-furrow under the seed. The Valion seed… Read More »Kinze Planter Improvements for This Winter
by Ethan Begle, Technical Service For many farmers, this was the year in which waiting through April for warm, dry weather didn’t equal better conditions… Read More »Wet Spring? Less is More.
by Ethan Begle, Technical Service The more you can use your seeding equipment the faster it wears out. But that is not a bad thing!… Read More »Don’t be Afraid to Wear Your Seeding Equipment Out.
by Ethan Begle, Technical Service As we arrive at the beginning of another year, the same question arises of what needs updated in the machinery… Read More »Older Planters Can Be Refurbished at Much Lower Cost Than New.
By Ethan Begle, Sales & Technical Service Most of the popular seed openers used today are the same concept of using a disc to create a… Read More »Planter Opener Design and Why it Matters
By Ethan Begle It’s planting season again, which means it’s time to get back to basics. Since the planter opener is still the same design as… Read More »Do Not Trust the In-cab View; Verify in the Field
By Ethan Begle Exapta is celebrating 25 years in the business of improving planters and drills for no-till seeding. We are very thankful for all… Read More »25 Years of Exapta and the Product Innovations That Got Us Here
Since gauge wheels determine the depth at which the openers penetrate the ground (assuming down pressure is adequate), it is of upmost importance that they… Read More »Gauge Wheel Issues and Answers
If there is one part that doesn’t get replaced as often as it should, it’s the openers. When you decide to get “another season” out… Read More »Cuts Like a Knife? Opener Blades
Content of this page is copyright 2005-2025 Exapta Solutions, Inc. (reprint with written permission only).
Thompson wheel covered by U.S. Patent No. 6,907,833. Liquid delivery feature of Valion seed tube guards is U.S. Patent No. 8,978,564. Ninja seed bounce flap U.S. Patent Pending. UniForce U.S. Patent Pending. All rights reserved on other designs. Exapta is a registered trademark of Exapta Solutions, Inc. Keeton is a registered trademark of Precision Planting. Mojo Wire, Thompson wheel, Valion guard, Ninja flap, UniForce, DuraLok, No-till Seeding Explained, and No-till Seeding School are trademarks of Exapta. Disclaimer: Recommendations & page content are current, accurate, and believed to be broadly applicable as of the time of writing (Dec 2005) and last update (2005 – 2014). Because of diversity of soils, climate, crops, planter & drill models/designs marketed worldwide, combinations of attachments, etc., actual results may vary. No warranty is made as to actual results obtained. Should you encounter exceptions or worthwhile annotations to the statements made on this page, please contact us.
Derek is Kansas native who grew up in a 100% no-till farming operation. From an early age the benefits of no-till were made known to Derek by his father and by attending no-till conferences. From there he furthered his passion for soils while at Kansas State University getting his agronomy degree. He has had the experience of working in various roles and sectors of agriculture from sales and consulting to management, which have all been within production agriculture. Derek has also worked in specialty ag markets such as turf and ornamentals.
Sales & Service Representative
Prior to joining Exapta, Bob Pagel was an Agricultural Territory Sales Manager for Ritchie Brothers, serving parts of MN, WI and IA. He continues to support his family farm in SE Minnesota.
Current Product Engineer
Jonathan Zeller joined Exapta excited to return to working with no-till planting equipment. He supported research of no-till planting and other ag related projects for 7 years with Kansas State University’s Agricultural Engineering Department after getting his engineering degree. He later worked 3 years for Landoll Company, LLC. where he gained experience in a design engineering role. Jonathan grew up on a small family farm in NE Kansas working with row crops, hay and cattle. Jonathan enjoys solving engineering problems and improving or creating products to be robust and easy to install and service.