A good harvest begins with accurate planting. On the Mokkens’ family farm, Lijani, the blue, white, and red of their Monosem planters have stood out beautifully against their green fields for years.

Jan Mokken’s father taught him about the accuracy of Monosem and he passed this knowledge on to his sons, Heinrich and Jan Junior.

Jan Mokken joined his father in 1989 on their farm at Tarlton, near Magaliesburg. His eldest son, Heinrich, joined him on the farm in 2019 after he obtained his degree in Mechanical Engineering, and the youngest son, Jan Junior, also recently became part of this formidable team.

Heinrich Mokken and his father, Jan, from Lijani farm.

Initially, the Mokken family mainly cultivated grain and vegetables, but over the years they began to focus more on grain and nowadays it is their main crop.

Jan remembers when his father bought their first Monosem planter in the eighties.

In 1992 he bought his first six-row Monosem towed model. From then on he never looked back, and in 2016 he purchased another eight-row model.

“When my father bought the Monosem in those years, it was the only precision planter compared to the other planters available on the market. He was the first farmer to own a Monosem in our area, and everyone was curious to see how this planter worked. Monosem’s accuracy was unprecedented in those years,” says Jan.

After Heinrich started farming with his father, he convinced Jan to also purchase the twelve-row Monosem Wing-Max planter.

The increase in yield that the planter offers compared to all other brands means that it basically pays for itself.

At first his Jan was reluctant to add such a large implement, but within one year the planter paid for itself through the increased yield that the additional Wing-Max provided in terms of saved time.

“I did my final year’s project on a Monosem planter and did a lot of research on planters. The data I collected, convinced me that the Monosem just stood out head and shoulders above the rest,” explains Heinrich.

He was specifically looking for a precision planter for accurate seed and fertiliser placement. For him, it was an added benefit that the large Monosem planters are also mechanically available. If something broke on the planter, they could fix it right there in the field without having to wait for technicians to come and sort out electronics, which would cost them valuable planting time.

According to Heinrich, the Wing-Max’s fertiliser placement is excellent – last year, after around 800 hectares, the Wing-Max was only out with 4% of its accuracy.

The Mokken farmers needed a twelve-row planter and because of the layout of their farm, they needed a planter that they could move from one farm to another quickly. What makes the Wing-Max so beneficial is that it folds up, is compact and can be moved comfortably.

The Wing-Max turns very tightly and makes it possible to turn around and continue planting right next to the previous row.

However, they didn’t expect the Wing-Max to be able to turn so tightly, and Heindrich says that you can turn right next to the row you just planted and continue planting.

The planter only needs a 160 kW tractor to tow it, but Jan believes that the better your hydraulics are, the smoother your planter runs.

An easy, fast and accurate planter is certainly an asset, but the father and son team say that the service they get from Carrotech and Monosem ensure that they will buy from them again and again.

The Wing-Max’s planter units are in front of the fertiliser hopper.

They believe the Monosem is a sturdy planter for South African conditions; it is not a complicated implement that causes problems, and it is easy to operate.

“For me it is the quality you get for the money you pay that stands out,” says Heinrich.

“Their after-sales service is excellent . Monosem is a very good planter, and we shall definitely recommend it to other farmers and friends,” Jan adds.

If you want to see how Monosem can make your planting easier and increase your harvests, visit their website at www.monosem.co.za.