Apr 8, 2020 | Newsletters, Planter Setup
Our customer in Eastern Nebraska shared side-by-side comparisons of Valions and OEM guards on a John Deere XP 24-row and a Kinze 3000-series 16 row. The differences in wear are undeniable. Photo 1 : John Deere, 24-row 1) Valion (top and left) measures 3/4” versus OEM...
Apr 3, 2020 | Newsletters, Planter Setup, Seedbed 'Preparation'
Laying to rest the negativity towards Seed Firmers Struggling to get good emergence with your planter in no-till? Inadequate seed firming is often the culprit. Seeds should be securely embedded into the bottom of the furrow. You might be pleasantly surprised at how...
Mar 4, 2020 | Newsletters, Planter Setup
Here at Exapta, we field lots of questions about closing wheels and whether they affect yields. It’s easy to start with the closing wheel when trying to improve the planter because it’s the first thing you see when you walk behind it. However, closing wheels are part...
Jun 25, 2019 | Newsletters, Planter Setup
by Matt Hagny The Exapta crew has gotten quite a few questions from our customers as to Precision Tillage Tech’s STP/Sabre-Tooth opener blades, so we tested them this spring [2019] on a JD 1770 planter with XP row units in central Kansas in 25-year no-till on mellow...
Apr 15, 2019 | Agronomy, Planter Setup
This no-till cotton field was planted with 2 different planters, 2 operators. The arrow is the dividing line. The planters were both equipped with Keetons + Mojos, new opener blades, etc. The one on the RH side had Thompson closing wheels with toe-out wedges, the...
Apr 3, 2019 | Newsletters, Planter Setup
by Matt Hagny If you have new blades on a Deere planter with the depth mechanism set as shown in this photo, the furrow being cut should be 2” deep consistently. If it’s less than that, you don’t have enough downforce on the row unit. (For corn, sunflowers, and...
