>I must admit I was working bees in another county when the corn was planted and I really do not understand the difference between a finger planter and the old style.
>Maybe a farmer on BEE-L could explain the difference and why the neonic treated seed seller thinks going to the John Deere finger planter might solve the problem of bee kill at planting?

I'm not an expert, but in simple terms, planter types are named after the system used to meter the seed.

The 'old-style' planters are plate-planters, made from the late 1800's until the late 1960's.  In the bottom of the seed hopper for each row, a plate with slots spaced at even intervals rotates. A seed drops into each slot, then into the seed tube which conveys the seed into the trench/furrow.  Different plates are used for different seeds and for different crop spacing.   
Finger planters arrived in the early 1970s and replaced the plate with a sprocket-like finger mechanism that pick up individual seeds from the hopper.  More accurate than plates and can handle a wider variety of seed sizes.  They are still made and popular, but are being replaced rapidly by air and/or vacuum planters.
Since the early 2000's, air and vacuum planters are favored due to their versatility and precision.  They operate similarly to the old plate planter, as they use a disk with holes/slots to capture the seed.  Instead of relying on gravity and the size of the seed for distribution, the hole in the disk is smaller than the seed, but air or vacuum is used to 'suck' the seed onto the disk, and a 'knocker' drops it into the seed tube.


The issue for bee enthusiasts (I really like that term Bob!) is related to the air/vacuum planters. 

Nearly all modern seed is treated with various 'cides. Some of these treatments increase friction between seeds and may interfere with flow, so an inert substance (such as talc) is used to lubricate the seed. As the air/vacuum blows across the seed, some of the talc (and according to recent reports, some of the 'cides) gets in the airflow and creates dust as it escapes out of the seed tubes. Supposedly, if the planter is set-up properly, this dust is minimal.  

Both plate and finger planters rely on gravity in the hopper to meter the seed, so the only time there is a dust issue with them is when filling the hoppers.

What Bob's farmer is essentially telling him is that by using a finger planter, there is no 'cide laden dust clouds for the bees to fly through.

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