Are you dreaming of warm spring days and open fields? Don’t let the excitement of getting in the field this spring provoke planting mistakes. In no particular order, here are some things to remember, consider or learn about prepping planters for this year’s spring season.
Check your tractor’s hydraulic flow capacity.
If you’ve traded planters since last year, be sure your current tractor has enough hydraulic flow for your new planter. If you’ve added more hydraulic vacuum fans, or more hydraulic motors for variable rate drives, talk with your local dealership to confirm if your tractor’s hydraulics can handle the new planter.
Search for machine shed gremlins.
Often an army of machine shed gremlins gleefully mess up planters in the winter. Planters that were planting “just fine” can mysteriously develop broken disk scrapers or excess clearance between disk openers and gauge wheel tires. You’re also liable to find mouse nests in vacuum units.
Match your vacuum to your seed plate type.
If you’ve switched to a more “precise” type of seed plate, you’ll have to run more vacuum, probably in the 20" range. Some older tractors can’t produce enough hydraulic flow to create that much vacuum. Make sure the vacuum gauge on your planter reads beyond 25" of vacuum. The gauges on many older planters top out at 15".
Turn on the planter’s flashing amber lights.
Do this to see if the planter’s seven-pin connector is working properly. Problems with folding planters not unfolding often start with that connector. Check for greenish corrosion on the electrical pins under the rubber boots, especially on the tractor side of the connection.
Check and calibrate your GPS guidance system.
Spend a half day driving down the road to check if GPS systems are calibrated — and if you remember how to operate the system. Practice setting A-B lines and curved lines. It’s awkward to test with big planters but worth the time.
Ensure your software is up to date.
Even if you didn’t change planters or tractors, mysterious things can happen to GPS systems that are best fixed by software updates. Work with your GPS/guidance provider to determine if your systems have the best software.
Check your inner disk scrapers.
If you replace the disk openers, don’t forget the inner disk scrapers. Those are the cast, pointed pieces that dangle between the front edges of the disk openers. If you compare the width of an old inner scraper with a new one, you’ll see they need attention.
Run a test pass.
Some of you are fanatics about preparation. Others simply throw seed in their planter and start planting — or try to start planting. I advocate throwing a test sample of seed in to test plant a small field. There’s no substitute for running machines under field conditions to identify first-day problems.
