When the weather gets good, planters get going. It’s easy to hit the turn rows running and not look back. But taking time to ensure that everything is working as it should can save money.
First, ensure closing wheels are properly aligned with a scribe test. Stop with the planter in the ground, lift it up and then drive forward. If there are uneven marks on either side of the slot, or the closing wheels are off to one side of the furrow, there’s a problem.
“If they’re not centered, one of them is doing all the work, and the other one’s just sloughing off the sidewall, and we’re creating an air pocket,” said Levi Powell, research manager at Iowa State University’s Digital Ag Innovation Lab, during a planting workshop.
Check downforce
Next, gradate downforce from 50 to 275 pounds to determine the optimal load. Poke the furrow’s sidewalls to see which setting is best. If it’s too light, the sidewall will crumble easily. If too much, it won’t break. The optimal setting should create a firm sidewall that can easily be broken apart.
“It’s a really great way to learn what you need to set your planter for the conditions on the day that you’re there to plant,” Powell said.
Soil types and moisture dictate downforce settings. And every field is different.
“For clay, we’ve really got to pay attention,” Powell said. “It’s kind of like a light switch. You want to flirt at the edge, but if we crossed the line, now all of a sudden we’ve got sidewall compaction. [Conversely], I can’t make compaction in sand. It just won’t pack. Why put all that extra wear and tear on my planter by running a higher-force setting when it’s not really gaining me anything?”
Check it again
Even if checks have been done in the lead-up to planting, Powell said it’s a good idea to do it again right before the seeds go into the ground because bolts can loosen. Adjustments might shift. And just because a machine is new doesn’t mean it’s correctly set up.
“I’ve seen brand-new planters come from the dealership with crooked closing wheels. Five out of 16 rows on a brand-new 16-row planter had crooked closing wheels from the factory,” Powell said.
Double-checking a planter’s setup is particularly important when switching crops and planting at different depths. Otherwise, the closing wheels might push seeds higher or lower in the soil.
“Factory shimming is set up for planting depths between about 1¾ to 2½ inches. If you’re consistently planting shallower than that or deeper than that, you might need to adjust your shimming,” Powell noted.
For shallow planting at 1½-inch depth, Powell advised moving the spacer from the inside to outside, widening the closing wheel spacing. For 2½- to 3-inch planting, use a narrower spacing to make sure soil converges at the right depth, preventing air pockets below the seed.
Adjustments don’t end when the tractor gets rolling. Monitoring ride quality is a constant process, directly impacting both spacing and depth. Powell said to aim for 94% ride quality across all row units, and 97% to 99% ground contact. If 100%, the rows will never lift, causing unnecessary compaction and excessive wear.
“You paid a lot of money for this planter,” Powell said. “They set it up for you. It’s field-ready. I’m not trying to knock the dealership. They’re doing the best they can. But at the end of the day, you’re the last person to touch the machine before it puts your livelihood in the ground.”