For high-yield corn grower Randy Dowdy, a successful harvest doesn’t start with the combine; it starts with a ratchet strap and an open furrow.
While many growers rely on high-tech in-cab monitors to guide their planting process, Dowdy argues the most critical data they need is found in the dirt behind the planter. By using ratchet straps to hold closing wheels up and out of the soil, he creates an “open furrow” that allows for a level of diagnostic evaluation he believes covered seeds cannot provide.
The Depth Deception
The logic behind this unconventional start to corn planting is rooted in the physical reality of soil settling. Dowdy, based near Valdosta, Ga., notes that even when a grower sets the planter for a standard two-inch depth, the final result often differs from what they were trying to achieve.
“Whenever the farmer goes back and looks at the plant, once it’s emerged, they find the germination depth is not the same depth as they planted,” he says. “Why did they not look at it and set it appropriately in the beginning? Chances are they can read that popsicle stick and measure depth. They know how to do that. But one thing I’ve found is that ground, when it’s been worked... it just settles.”
Whether a field is under conventional tillage, strip-till or no-till, the act of moving soil creates a “fluff” factor that can deceive even experienced corn growers. To compensate for this tendency, Dowdy advocates for planting slightly deeper in tilled or loose ground so the seed remains at the desired depth after the soil settles.
Open Furrow Diagnostics
To verify seed placement depth, Dowdy likes to use an open furrow for evaluation. He says this method allows growers to see exactly how the row unit is interacting with the soil environment without guesswork.
“I don’t like to stand on top of my head and scratch for seed and all that garbage,” Dowdy says. “The first thing I want to do is make sure the row cleaners are set properly. I can do that better with an open furrow. I can look at spacing that way. I’m not standing on top of my head scratching, spending all this time trying to find it.”
The open furrow provides a clear window into the planter’s performance. Beyond spacing and row cleaner settings, it allows the grower to inspect for sidewall smearing—a problem that can severely limit root development if the soil is too tacky when the opening discs pass through. The visual check of an open furrow also tells the grower whether the down pressure is sufficient to maintain a consistent planting depth.
The Centering Challenge
Once the open furrow confirms that the row cleaners, meters, and depth settings are dialed in, the focus shifts to the closing system. Dowdy warns that even the best closing wheels can fail if they aren’t perfectly aligned over the seed.
He says standard V-press wheels are known to drift off-center. If they aren’t tracking directly over the seed trench, they don’t just fail to close the furrow—they actively change the planting depth at the final stage of the process.
“It doesn’t matter whose system it is, V-press wheels just do not like to stay centered,” he contends.
When the wheels drift off-center, they often pinch the furrow, leaving a raised ribbon of soil in their wake. This misalignment can create a less than desirable environment for the seed than what the grower intended.
A Systematic Start
Dowdy’s systematic approach—checking gauge wheels, setting opening discs, inspecting the open furrow, and finally calibrating the closing wheels—is designed to eliminate the variables that lead to uneven emergence. For Dowdy, the goal is to ensure that every seed is given the exact same opportunity to start strong, leading to the “picket fence” stands required for high yields.
By starting with an open furrow and systematically lowering the closing system only after everything else is verified, he says other corn growers can eliminate the guesswork that often leads to costly mistakes at planting.
“We’re not done, but this is the process of how we get started,” Dowdy says. “Next, we’ll let the closing wheels down, close that trench and see what we got.”
