Time For A Planter Tune-Up

Mar 18, 2015

Maintenance, repairs and adjustments now can save time later in the field.

Now that the snow is melting we are all eager to get a start on the 2015 growing season. Rather than hopping on the tractor and heading out into a wet field, save some time now by making some annual adjustments to your planting equipment. Achieving picket fence stands begins with a good chain, free of kinks and if lubricant is needed, be sure to use a dry lubricant so that dust from the seed treatments do not gunk up the chain.

Tighten bushings or replace if needed to remove any play from the parallel links. Clean out the meters and change the finger pickup brushes every year. Be sure that everything inside the meter is smooth. Even a little rust can catch seeds causing skips. Check seed tubes to be sure they are in good shape. The end of the tube should be flat to ensure the seeds placement in the row. The disk openers should touch for 2 to 2 ½ inches. This can be checked by attempting to slide a business card in front of and behind the disks, marking where the disks touch and measuring the distance.

Source:psu.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.