Competition among the world’s leading agricultural machinery manufacturers is intensifying in a strategic segment for broadacre farming: large-scale seeding equipment.

Recent moves by John Deere, Fendt and CNH reveal a common trend toward machines capable of operating longer, covering larger areas and reducing interruptions for seed and fertilizer refilling.

The race combines wider working widths, high-capacity air carts, precision agriculture and automation, with one central objective: increasing the number of acres that can be planted within a limited operating window.

CNH Turns to Bourgault

One of the most significant moves comes from CNH, which has partnered with Bourgault, a specialist in high-capacity seeding equipment.

The Canadian manufacturer will produce machines to be marketed internationally as Case IH by Bourgault and New Holland by Bourgault.

The future portfolio will include precision seeding systems, air drills and high-capacity air carts, initially targeting North America, Australia and other high-potential seeding markets.

The alliance allows CNH to rapidly incorporate an established range of equipment and strengthen its position in a segment where capacity, autonomy and technology are becoming increasingly important.

Fendt Reaches 24 Meters

Fendt has also increased its ambitions with the introduction of the largest planter developed by the brand to date at Farm Progress Show 2026.

The new Momentum offers a 24-meter working width with 32 rows.

The machine provides approximately 4,600 liters of seed capacity and nearly 4,000 liters for fertilizer, extending operating autonomy for large-scale farming operations.

The launch also has strategic importance for AGCO.

The company sees North America as a key growth market for Fendt, where the brand is seeking to expand its presence with a strong focus on high-technology agricultural machinery.

John Deere Moves Beyond 50,000 Liters

In the air cart segment, John Deere has taken capacity to a new level with the C1450T.

The model provides approximately 51,500 liters (1,460 bushels) of capacity, making it the largest air cart developed by John Deere to date.

It features five compartments, allowing operators to manage different combinations of seed and fertilizer during planting.

The increase is significant even compared with recently introduced John Deere equipment.

In early 2025, the company launched the C1100T, offering approximately 38,700 liters of capacity across four independent tanks.

In little more than a year, John Deere has increased the maximum capacity of its air cart range by approximately 33%.

More Acres Between Refills

Behind the increasing scale of seeding equipment is a fundamental operational challenge: the amount of time available to plant a crop.

Large farming operations need to cover extensive areas within limited agronomic windows. Every stop to refill seed or fertilizer reduces the effective field capacity of the entire seeding system.

For this reason, increasing autonomy is not simply a matter of making planters and seeders wider.

Seed and fertilizer capacity, refill speed, product metering and precision agriculture systems are all becoming part of the same productivity equation.

A larger seeding machine also requires an input logistics system capable of supporting its field capacity.

A New Race for Scale

The latest moves by John Deere, Fendt and CNH show that large-scale seeding equipment is becoming another major area of competition among global agricultural machinery manufacturers.

But the race is not simply about building increasingly larger machines.

The real objective is to increase effective planting capacity per day by combining working width, operating autonomy, precision and lower non-productive time.

In broadacre markets such as North America and Australia, where farms can cover vast areas and planting windows may be narrow, that combination could become an increasingly important factor in determining the productivity of seeding operations.