Ready Or Not, It’s Planting Time

Apr 13, 2016

9621368465_b09a0f90ca_o

15-point checklist to make sure your equipment is ready to roll

Spring is a time of growth and renewal in nature. For farmers, it is also a time to take to the shop, or the barnyard, for some equipment maintenance before the demands and urgency of planting season take over.

“Good maintenance is key,” says Steve Hayes, director of training for Evolution Ag, a farm-equipment supplier in Ohio. “You can’t find everything, but you can get a catch a lot of stuff with an inspection to prevent breakdowns in the field.”

Common problems that dealers see every year during planting season typically involve calibration, monitor settings and unforeseen part failure. And with the increased use of precision technology and sensors, there is even more to go over.

“The last four or five years, there’s been a pretty healthy increase of people doing more and more precision,” Hayes says. “With precision farming, a lot of times, people have a misunderstanding that it’s all about yield. In reality, it’s more about handling your input costs. If you can control inputs better, there is still profit in the end, and that’s huge.”

Many dealerships offer to send a technician to the farm and go over the equipment. Often times they will spend an hour or more checking for areas of wear and potential problems and then discuss their findings with the farmer. From that point, the farmer can decide where to take action.

For the do-it-yourself farmer, Hayes recommends the following preventative measures to catch minor issues before they become a major breakdown.
Start with an inspection:

Check all ground-engaging components and look for excessive wear
Spin all parts with bearings and make sure they turn freely
Check that all firming points for seed trenches are to specifications
Check and adjust all chains
Inspect all tires and check for optimum air pressure
Ensure adequate lubrication on all parts of planter

Double-check technology:

Update precision farming maps and add any new fields
Make sure all monitors are set up correctly
Inspect all parts of seed meters, look for any wear or damage
Install correct seed disc and make any needed adjustments
Periodically dig up seeds when planting to check rate and depth

Click here to see more...

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.