Frequently Asked Questions

It depends. It's not always the most economical to buy a new planter when you can fix what you already have.

• Emergence and singulation can be resolved by addressing maintenance issues on your existing planter.

• Adding technology to monitor/control seeding and fertilizer rates can have a great impact on your yield.

• Upgrading to high-speed planting can increase the efficiency of your existing planter, replacing the need to upgrade to a larger size planter.

However, even with the latest technology, improper setup, or operational mistakes can negatively impact planter performance and yield potential.

Contact Trevor to discuss planter maintenance and have personalized on-farm review. 

Planting 34,000 seeds per acre with a 16-row planter at 5 mph costs $3,861 per hour. This is based on a seed bag price of $375 for 80,000 seeds and covers only the seed costs.

An additional but less obvious expense is the potential yield loss, influenced by factors such as inadequate maintenance, improper setup, and failure to meet target rates for seed and fertilizer application. Despite the busy and often hurried nature of the planting season, it remains essential to optimize your planter’s performance to mitigate these costs.

Take the time the first day in the field to get the planter set correctly!

Trevor can give your planter a personalized inspection but here are some of the items that will be covered at a planter maintenance clinic:

• Closing Wheel Spacing & Alignment

• Meter Drive System

• Meter Performance

• Levelling the Planter Bar

• Bar Height

• Furrow Monitoring

• Row Cleaners

• Parallel Arm Bushings

• Correct Downforce

• Disk Openers

• Seed Tubes

• Keeton Seed Firmers

• Depth Adjustment Linkage

• Gauge Wheel Shimming

• General Items

Sign up for a planter maintenance clinic

Row cleaners are the starting point to clean the trash, preparing the soil for the seed trench. 

Trash wicks moisture away from the seed, and delays the soil temperature warming in the spring for germination.  Trash also decays, excreting toxins and competing with the seed for oxygen in the soil. 

Check the row cleaner by spinning to check for loose bearings, and check for tight pivot bushings. 

There are many options for row cleaner styles and mounting, such as fixed, floating, cab-controlled, and toolbar mounted.

Talk to Trevor about the advantages of each style to see if your row cleaners are meeting your needs.

Tillage serves several purposes:

• weed removal

• fertilizer and crop residue incorporation

• soil aeration

• increase soil temperature

• compaction management

• seed bed preparation

Various tillage methods are available, such as conventional, vertical, strip, and no-till.

Discuss your tillage method with Trevor, and explore how to set up your planter specific to your tillage practices.

Consistent emergence is crucial.  A one collar delay in emergence means a yield reduction of about five bushels to it’s neighboring plant. A plant lagging behind those around it essentially becomes a weed.

Flag testing your field is an accurate way to determine whether you have a problem with uniform emergence.

1. Measure off 1000th of an acre/per row (for example, on 30-in spacing you need 17'5'').

2. Place a “DAY 1” flag next to first visibly emerged plants in row and record the total number of Day 1 flags placed on your worksheet.

3. Come back to your row test plot 24 hours later and mark any new emergence with "DAY 2" flags.

4. Continue this process for DAY 3 and DAY 4+ to complete your flagging.

This will give you a visual representation of issues and you can look for the root cause, as suggested in the question below.

Contact Trevor for a free emergence flag kit

Several factors!

• One reason could be inconsistent planting depth.  This could be caused by many factors, including bar height and level, as well as wear in parallel arm linkage.

• Worn disc openers will create wear on the seed tube guards, creating a narrow seed trench. Seed firmers in good condition will help ensure consistent seed placement depth.

• The condition of the gauge wheel and closing wheels are also important for the structure of the trench to ensure the seed starts out in an ideal environment.

• The seed trench is very important for consistent emergence. Improper downforce can play a major role. Too little downforce causes poor seed wall integrity and too much can create compaction. Adjusting downforce pressure depends on the type of downforce you have – spring, air bag, or hydraulic.

• Every seed placed in the furrow starts at the meter. The meter performance plays a role in singulation and spacing. The meter drive system should be inspected to help eliminate skips and doubles. Check your chain & sprockets, tensioner & idler pulleys, and your hex shaft bearings.

Contact Trevor for guidance on setting up your planter for proper downforce suggestions and bring your meter in for testing on the test stand to verify its performance.