Mark-I agree w/your views also. I notice that very few posters question what they do....whatever practice they use is probably best. It may be. I've noticed thru the yrs that it seems to be a locale/regional thing, re. row width. I'm guessing where I'm at is primarily 15" rows now...with drills being 2nd, 30" last obviously. If you drive 30 mis west of here....it's a whole different story. Dirt & climate aren't that much different, but driving down the road sure shows the edge to 30"

If you're purchasing a new/used planter...you pay pretty good for 15"-ability. Regardless of the brand, I note it takes more than a few minutes to switch over from corn to beans when using 15" splitters. Unless you have really skinny tires, running 15" rows in wheel tracks sometimes causes trouble also. Yes-I know which crowd is going to jump in now, but I could probably sneak out & get some photos of a yellow-tracked tractor that pulled a Kinze splitter. The tracks are there too. Yes, a lot has to do w/soil conditions & planting time. Early planted beans here really show any type of compaction....unless you've got a hovercraft set up. But-they'd be terribly dusty most times.

Spraying would be big plus to 30". Resprays here are usually groaned at due to bean damage when you spray bigger beans. Yes, I know, an 11 or 13 inch tire should go down 15" rows OK. They would if it weren't for the bean leaves. Spraying for bugs or fungii would also be easier & less questionable re. crop damage in lieu of benefit.

I'm sure this could go on & on. It's also very hard to get side-by-side results that can be perceived as reputable.