Now is a great time for planter maintenance

As we start a new year this is an excellent time to pull those planters in the shop and get them ready for the upcoming planting season this spring. Planters that are not operating well can create uneven spacing within the row and/or uneven depth of the seeds. Both of these factors can greatly reduce your yields. Studies have shown that yields can be reduced from 7-15 bushels per acre by poor planting. As you can see this possible reduction in yield potential makes a few parts you may need to increase your planting efficiency very economical. One additional thought. As you check these parts have a grease gun and oil can in hand and make sure all moving parts are well lubricated.

The main areas to check when servicing your planter are bushings, bearings, and openers. Walk around your corn planter and first take a hold of each row unit. Attempt to sway the unit from side to side. If the unit moves side to side your bushings are worn and will need replaced. Additionally, make certain the units do not have a lot of play up and down. This will cause bouncing across the field and thus uneven seed depth.

Next check and make sure all moving parts such as gauge wheels, coulters, and press wheels move freely with no play. If these are not freely moving or they have play in them you may need to replace bearings and or bushings depending on the part.

Lastly on the external check look over your double disc openers. Take two business cards and slide one in between the front side of the discs and one between the back side of the discs. These cards should be 'pinched' with about 2-3" between them (see picture; photo credit John Rowehl). If they pass through or are very close to each other the openers need to be replaced.

Once your ground engaging parts have been checked other areas to pay attention to are seed tubes and your pick-up mechanism on appropriate planters.

First make sure your seed tubes are clear of any obstructions and cleaned so now seed treatment residues exist. Also make certain that the bottom of the tube does not have any wear that would change the path of the seed when being dropped. You will also want to pay attention to where the seed tube is aimed.

Lastly open up your pick up unit (if your planter has one) and check that the motion is smooth and little to no residues are on the plates (this is a good time have someone turn the shaft that powers your chains while you are watching the pick ups).

After all of this is done it is a good time to calibrate you planter to make sure everything is operating properly. A good factsheet is available on line from Perdue that will take you step by step through both the maintenance and calibration of your planter. With a little foresight now you will be ready to go as soon as the soil is warm enough to plant.