Digital Ag

Additional resources, files, and links from the Planter University workshop. 

With technology advancing all the time, it’s hard to resist the appeal of new equipment. However, there are many upgrades available that can be added to your existing planter to achieve speed and efficiency next planting season. When we talk about upgrades to your planter system, there are three main areas to look at.

As planting wraps up and crops begin to emerge across the state, data collected during planting can help you diagnose many issues in your field and determine if they were related to machine performance or agronomic factors.

Program Specialist Levi Powell with ISU Digital Ag explains a quick tutorial for checking the closing wheel alignment of your planter in the shop before heading to the field.

ISU Digital Ag Program Specialist Levi Powell explains a simple process for checking planter depth settings in the shop to increase machine accuracy before you head to the field.

Spring planting season may come with added challenges as growers continue to deal with the effects of last August’s derecho event. Many fields through central Iowa were riddled with downed corn, and while some fields were able to be partially harvested, others were damaged so severely that growers had no choice but to till them under without harvesting any grain. In either case, there will be higher than normal residue levels in these fields this spring.

In addition to conducting regular spring maintenance on your planter, which we outlined in a recent post, it’s important to adjust the settings and perform routine maintenance on other machines that will make their way to the field in the coming weeks. As you are prepping equipment for spring field work, these past news and blog posts can be helpful tools to ensure your equipment is ready to give you an efficient and effective planting season.

Levi Powell with ISU Digital Ag walks through calculating and setting downforce for your planter and how downforce affects your performance in the field.

If you are planning on conducting field trials this growing season, how you set up the field trial can determine the accuracy of your yield data at harvest. To reap the full benefits of gathering yield data to improve crop management and influence input decisions, it should be part of your management plan year-round.

Before heading to the field this season, there are some maintenance items on your planter that you should consider addressing. Some items can be done in the off-season in the shop while others should be addressed in your first field. Follow this checklist to make sure that your tractor and planter are in optimum condition to give you a successful and stress-free spring.