News
A little tractor time also provided you with a distraction from everything else going on in the world. As we near the 1st of July, here are some things I have seen and noticed this season.
We need to be prepared.
Having equipment ready and checked over is important. Through our service programs, we helped growers find planter-bearing issues, hydraulic issues, incorrect GPS measurements, stuck valves, and other issues. These relatively small things cause huge frustration when you want to plant or spray. Getting equipment out at least a week before going to the field is important to make sure everything is ready.
Planting depth and seed-to-soil contact is key for good emergence.
We have been scouting fields from the same operation that have had better emergence scores than others, and we ask "why?". Some of these fields have a hydraulic downforce system installed on the planter, and we would assume that should help, right? It does help maintain planting depth, but parallel arms and row unit bushings need to be in good working order to maximize the investment of a downforce system. Check your planter by lifting the back of the row unit. If it moves up and down more than one inch, find where the slop in the system is. Most likely, you'll find it in the bushings.
We have found some new OEM arms and bushings that have too much movement to keep the unit tight. If this is an issue, please ask us more about our solution. We have a way to insert new bushings in existing arms, or we can get you brand-new arms (see picture) to keep your downforce system working at its greatest potential.
We have kits for the following planters:
- Kinze 2000 / 3000 / 4900
- John Deere 7000 / 7200 / 17x0 / 17x5
- Case IH 12xx
- White 8000 / 9000
Closing the furrow is just as important.
Remember, the opener disk and gauge wheels are independent of the back half of the row unit, the closing system. Good seed-to-soil contact is the goal to help establish even plant emergence. We have seen inadequate closing of the furrow, and it has caused the seed to emerge 3-4 days later. That late emerging seed will be at a disadvantage to its neighbor for the rest of the season, and it will not maximize your yield potential. FurrowForce is a product from Precision Planting that provides a two-stage closing system helping to gently break the side wall and then firm the soil on top of the furrow. This can be managed row-by-row and gives a visual map of what is happening through the Gen3 2020.
Summer rebate programs and aggressive financing options are available through August! If you're interested in finding out more about these programs, please contact Scott De Jong (712) 229- 2968 or Kevin Rozenboom (712) 441-3453.