Technology improves yields

By Lexi MooreLast fall while farmers worked on harvesting the season’s corn, Del and Bob Walraven from Wally’s Nursery in Hills were researching ways to increase profitability on local farms.While attending a Golden Harvest meeting in October, the brothers heard a lecture from Precision Planting, a Tremont, Ill., business that specializes in technology to maximize corn yield.The Walravens saw potential in these new products and signed up to become certified Precision Planting technicians.In November, a Precision Planting corn planter testing machine was delivered to the nursery. The men participated in a three-day course to learn how to use and calibrate the testing machine and parts.Testing options at Wally’s NurseryWally’s Nursery’s Precision Planting testing machine tests John Deere, Kerning and International finger or vac units for corn planters.The tester uses an Auto Pilot Data Center to count the number of skips and multiples in a test plot.Each test runs about 1,000 corn seeds through the machine. To improve accuracy the tester is calibrated to accommodate row width and tractor speed.Del encourages farmers to bring in their units to see how accurate they are before planting begins this spring.By replacing small parts of a unit, accuracy will increase by several percentage points. The goal is to have every unit over 95 percent accurate."We want to help farmers get rid of skips and doubles to get a more even and consistent crop," Del said."Every plant needs room to capture sunlight and develop its root system. That means that every plant in the row must be equally spaced. No doubles. No skips."Parts ImprovementsImprovements on the modern farm have continued to be made over the last 10 years. Improving yields is now as easy as adding a new and improved part to an old piece of machinery.The Walravens believe in Precision Planting parts because they offer practical improvements in the fields."These are inexpensive ways of improving yields," Del said. "They were developed by farmers – and really eliminate problems."The eSet vac disk claims farmers will get "every seed, every time." Del discussed many advantages to this disk over the John Deere disk.
The disk does not have a pocket or cell, which means the disk is not seed sensitive, it can accommodate any seed size or shape.
The raised platform means seeds release down the center of the seed tube, minimizing seed tube ricochet.
Farmers do not have to make adjustments. Precision Planting claims farmers will get 98.5 percent singulation on every seed type without adjusting vac or double eliminators.Improvements to the finger units include:
New springs and spring attachments to hold large rounds and small flats.
New finger cover provides better finger support to keep seeds from escaping under loose fingers.
New finger contour grabs rounds and fats and locks them under the flag for fewer skips.
Chrome coating eliminates rust and extends life.Replacement vac disks and improved finger disks can be purchased individually at Wally’s.SureFire Seed Belts have eliminated the inconsistent position of the seed on the belt by cupping the belt’s flights.The cupping design consistently funnels the seed to the center of the seed tube.The BullsEye Seed Tube fixes tube bounce and excessive wear.Tube bounce reduces doubles and skips with an offset that moves the sensor out of the way of the seed, giving the seed a straight path down the center of the tube.Wear on the tube has been reduced by the addition of tungsten carbide tips that prevent the double-disk opener from wearing through the tip of the seed tube.