The first thing to evaluate is the condition of your tires. Does the tire still have a square lip that contacts the opener blade to… Read More »Do I Need a Different Gauge Wheel Tire and/or Tire & rim on My Planter or Drill?
Yes, whether you call it a tab, strap, deflector or tab, preventing seed bounce is most definitely necessary and here is why: All John Deere… Read More »Is This “Flapper Thingy” Necessary?
What are the most important items to repair and/or replace when the budget is tight? While Exapta has a multitude of solutions to completely rebuild and… Read More »Ballin’ on a Budget: What to Replace on JD 50/60/90 Openers When Grain Prices Are Low
If you notice a lot of wear on the depth-adjustment mechanism (the plate with the notches in it, as well as the knob), it’s probably… Read More »‘Cover-Plate’ Wear on JD 60/90/ProSeries Drills
We’ve been waiting decades for Deere to come out with improvements to their 90-series no-till drill openers. Now that it’s finally happened, it’s mostly a yawn.… Read More »Deere ProSeries NT Drills: Worth It?
A nuanced topic. First, let’s look at gauge wheels on planters, then drills. (Your drill isn’t a true gauge-wheel design? Maybe it’s time to upgrade).… Read More »Gauge Wheels In No-till
Looks like it’s going to be a very soggy spring season for nearly all of North America —are you equipped to do a good job… Read More »No-till in The Mud: JD 50/60/90/ProSeries Drills & Case-IH P-500
One important reason why the Forges de Niaux 200s stay sharp longer: The Niauxs start out with ~3/4″ of bevel, vs ~5/8″ on the Ingersolls… Read More »Forges de Niaux 200 vs Ingersoll (Blades for JD 50/60/90 Drills)
One of our competitors touts their use of SeedXtreme bearings. Are they in fact better? The SeedXtreme bearing uses six seals per side (12 total), versus… Read More »Peer SeedXtreme Bearings
At Exapta, we take performance very seriously. We spend a lot of time analyzing what needs to be accomplished and how best to accomplish it.… Read More »DuraLok vs Competitors & OEM (Firming Wheels on JD 50/60/90 Drills)
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.
