Pre Planting Check List for John Deere XP Planters
It is important to make sure your planter is ready when you hit the field for planting season. Following these simple pre-planting steps will help to ensure a safe and efficient planting experience when farmers go to the field this spring.
XP Planters Pre-Planting Checklist:
- Set the planter hedge heights and keep them level. Check tire pressures. Grease your planter every day.
- Make sure gague mill depth and seed depth are set correctly and evenly across all your rows.
- make sure closing wheel down pressure is set for field conditions, whether it's wet or dry, flat field or rocky field.
- For folding planters, check that vacuum hoses and delivery hoses are free and not pinched.
- Check your down pressure settings: do a seed tube test on your monitor and check your seed tubes.
- Fertilizer pump settings: make sure all the hoses are not pinched.
XP Planters Seasonal Checklist:
- Calibrate your radar every year. This way you're getting your seed population accurate on your monitor. Check your blades. Check your seed tubes.
- When using talc, seed treatment should be dry to eliminate bridging in the tanks. There are anti-bridging rotators in the tank to catch the seed, but if it's really wet it will still bridge.
- Make sure you are using the right amount of talc.
- With CCS tanks and your overhopper for MaxiMerge™: For 1.6 bushels use 1/2 cup of talc and 3 bushels use a full cup of talc.
- For a bigger 50 bushel tank you'll need about 16 cups per tank.
- You can use too much talc. If you have a lot of talc left at the end, reduce the amount of talc you're using.. Excess talc can collect in your air system, so make changes promptly.
For additional items to check before planting this season, visit the Koenig Parts and Service Resources and download an extended Pre-Planting Checlkist
Buying a New Planter: Plan for the Future
By Kurtis Shipp
If you are in the market for a new planter this year, there are several things to keep in mind to make sure the planter is ready to grow with your operation over time.
Remember that your planter is possibly the most important piece of equipment in the entire operation. If the seed is not planted correctly we are doomed to fail from the start, so be sure to choose the planter that is right for your needs.
We have recently seen a trend of more and more growers switching from grain drills to split row planters for soybean planting. Split row planters improve seed placement by offering more even seed spacing and more consistent planting depth allowing growers the ability to reduce planting populations and save seed costs. Another huge advantage split row planters provide is the ability to plant using variable rate populations through seeding prescriptions.
When choosing a new planter, keep in mind that they are much easier to configure from the factory when the machine is built so your options are open for future capability. Extra SCVs, large lift cylinders, long augers, and larger hydraulic pumps are all common options growers elect to purchase even though they may not need the option for their current practices. Additional items to consider for the future include variable rate, row clutches, advanced monitoring, and active downforce control.
Advanced monitoring and active downforce control have been growing in popularity. Think of these two options as a type of insurance policy. If your planter is working perfectly and field conditions are ideal then these options will not be needed, but as soon as you do have a problem, these advanced tools will allow you to tell exactly where you have a problem and eliminate costly errors. How often do we have a planter that has no mechanical failures or a field that is perfectly fit? I would encourage any grower to look at the valuable information these items provide relative to the small investment they require. Just as a grower may put a 16ft door on a new barn, even though his tallest piece of equipment is 13ft, but he knows he might need it a few years down the road, a prudent grower will look at a new planter purchase applying the same pricinple.
Case Study - EZ-Pilot with Field IQ Improves Accuracy and Enhances Planter Performance
By Matt Koverman
Problem
A Miami County, Indiana customer purchased a new 1200 series corn planter with a Pro 600 display and EZ-Steer automation system. At the time of purchase the customer was not concerned with row clutches or variable rate planting; however accurate guess rows were a requirement. The customer decided to use the OmniStar correction service for their spring planting with thoughts of increasing the performance of their new technology in the future. OmniStar served them well, although the GPS convergence time, repeatability and the inability to automatically adjust their seeding rates for the varying soil types and point rows led to higher seeding cost and wasted time, which presented many unnecessary frustrations.
Solution
Since observing some positive results with the new technology and determination to enhance their bottom line, the customer elected to expand the AFS technology to their entire crop portfolio. They decided to move the EZ-Steer system to the soybean tractor and upgrade the corn planter tractor to EZ-Pilot with CenterPoint RTX correction service along with Field IQ control system. Field IQ was installed on the tractor in conjunction with new row clutches on the planter. A remote joystick was also installed in the corn tractor to allow virtual hands free operation while making menu selections. The new configurations enabled the customer to have guidance and automation on the corn and bean tractors simultaneously.
Benefit
The customer partnered with their seed provider to develop the prescriptions for the variable rate corn planter. Believing that the increase in accuracy from OmniStar to CenterPoint RTX would pay for itself was a sure bet! The repeatability increased row accuracy more than 2 inches and variable rate ensured that they were planting the exact amount of seed in the preferred soil for optimum yield. After the first full crop production cycle, the customer concluded that the automation and control systems would take approximately 1- 2 years for full amortization. This quick payback was due to an increase in crop performance as a result of precision planting. The customer also realized they could transfer the AFS equipment to new machines and/or planters and recognize future returns in the first season.
