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: Is China Buying US Soybeans + USDA Nov 14th Crop Report could be “Game Changing”

After a week of a U.S./China trade truce, markets/trade is skeptical that we have not seen a signed agreement nor heard much from China or seen any details. There are rumors that China is buying soybean futures & not the physical. Trust in Trump?
12 MMT of U.S. soybean purchases by China by year-end is better than 0 but we all need to give it more time and give it a chance to unfold. China did lower the tariffs on Ag and is buying U.S. wheat and sorghum.
U.S. supreme court could rule against Trumps tariffs, but the Trump administration does have a plan B.
U.S. government shutdown is now the longest in history at 38 days.
But despite a U.S. government shutdown we will be getting a USDA November crop report next Friday and it could be “game changing.” If the USDA provides a bullish surprise with lower U.S. corn and soybean yields and ending stocks that are lower than expected both corn and soybean futures will break out above their ceilings at $4.35/bu and $11.35/bu respectively.
The funds continued their selling in live and feeder cattle futures on continued fears that the Trump administration want to lower U.S. beef prices. The fundamentals have not changed, only market psychology has.
Stocks markets continue to worry about a weak U.S. job market, but you can blame ChatGPT for that. In the future, we will have a more efficient, productive and growing economy with a higher unemployment rate until we have more skilled AI workers.
After 34 new record highs in the S & P 500 and 124 new records in the NASDAQ in 2025 we are back to a correction and investor profit taking as AI valuations may have gotten too stretched near-term ahead of NVDA’s 3rd quarter earnings announcement on Nov. 19th. But this is not an AI bubble.
75% of Tesla shareholders approved a $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk!
It has rained in South America in the last 7 days, but both the American and European models agree that Central Brazil remains dry in the next 14-days!

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