by Lucas Veale, Assumption, IL

Planting is nearing the end in Central Illinois.  Many customers have wrapped up planting all together, while others still have only a few acres remaining.  On the other hand, Southern Illinois is much wetter and still has a ways to go.  I have seen and heard of corn that is leafing out underneath the soil due to a tough top crust.  Hopefully recent rains can allow the crop to emerge.  I did see a few beans emerged not far from Assumption late last week.

Large soybeans seem to be causing issues with feeding in CCS planters from the main tank to the mini hoppers.   It is important to remain diligent in talc usage.  Some customers have reported that higher than normal tank pressures have helped to alleviate the problem.  Others have reported that it only marginally helps.  Smaller beans don’t seem to have much of a problem.  Sometimes removing the elbow in the mini hopper will also help.

I had the opportunity to walk a field that had side by side planting with a conventional JD 1770 planter and the Exactemerge high speed unit.  Passes of 5 mph, 7.5 mph, and 10 mph were made side by side.  You could definitely tell the difference at the higher speeds.  Once in a while you would find a double with the high speed planter but could not find any skips.  The spacing was really great as well.  I look forward to seeing some yield comparisons this fall.  Operator comments have also indicated that a higher hp 8R tractor will be required to operate this planter.  Most of the acres it has planted have been on flatter ground so it will be especially true for more rolling terrain.  Also the performance of Autotrac with a 4wd at 8-10 mph will likely be less than satisfactory for planting.

Here’s a video of the 1775 Exactemerge planting corn at 12 mph near Monticello, IL.