Paying attention to little details during planting matters more than ever and is important for a good planting season in 2025.

With low commodity prices and high input costs, this will be another challenging year for growers as they try to stay afloat and focus on things they can control on the farm. Any planter issues are going to be more costly than ever and growers cannot afford not to have a good plant stand to begin the 2025 crop season on the right track.

As corn planting kicks off in the southeastern US, conversations about planter issues and/or utilizing planting technology that occurred during Extension meetings earlier this year come to mind. Most of these planter issues are very common, such as the planter not putting out the correct seeding rate, seed trench not closing properly, or a certain planting technology not working as it should. While these planter issues will occur again—or are currently occurring as planting is already underway—this year, their impact on crop stand, yield, and ultimately on farmers’ pockets is different and considerably more than in previous years. Considering that farmers can control planter setup and performance, it is imperative to pay attention to every little detail to avoid costly issues and strive to make a perfect planter pass. With current commodity prices, most can agree that the goal with the planter setup this year is not to maximize profitability but more to avoid making mistakes that can potentially take more money out of the farmer’s pocket.

Planning for Planting

Planting is a simple, yet complex job as it requires putting out the correct seeding rate, achieving the desired seed spacing and placement, and properly closing the furrow with adequate seed-to-soil contact.

There are a lot of moving parts on a row-crop planter, which are working together to perform this job. Most planter issues arise from one or more of these parts not being maintained or setup properly so paying attention to these individual planter components including seed meters, double-disc openers, seed tubes, closing wheels, etc. is important—both before and during planting. For growers who still have time (especially for planting cotton and peanuts) to get out in the field, it is important to perform a thorough planter inspection to check parts and repair and/or replace them if necessary. Some of the major planter issues can be detected and taken care of in the shop before even getting out in the field.

Field Check

While a pre-season planter inspection is a must, checking the planter in the field is equally important because it needs to be set up properly for the existing field conditions. While most growers perform some sort of general planter setup and in-field checks, the key this year is to pay attention to how each row unit is performing and address those issues as they arise during planting.

Growers with planting technology such as seed monitoring and mapping should utilize it effectively to monitor the performance of different components and make necessary adjustments for optimal planter performance. This would be a year to maximize the investment in planting technology and leverage it to attain a good stand establishment. However, growers should not rely solely on technology for planting feedback as it is only as good as the calibration and the data it provides. Thus, one of the most important considerations for every grower—whether they have a ground-drive planter with no technology or a planter with the most up-to-date technology—is to get out of the tractor more often and dig behind every planter row unit to verify seeding rate, depth, and placement. Though time-consuming and frustrating at times, this is the best way to catch planter issues and focus attention on little planting details that matter the most during challenging years like these.

Some other little details that can help in a successful planting season include the following:

• Running the toolbar level with the ground
• Using the correct vacuum based on crop and seed size
• Adjusting row-cleaners properly for strip- or no-till conditions
• Testing seed meters for correct rate and singulation
• Ensuring adequate contact between double-disc openers to form a good v-shaped furrow
• Correct seed depth setting for each row
• Adjusting and centering closing wheels for proper seed-to-soil contact
• Adjusting (slowing) the planter speed as needed for good seed metering and placement

Taking the time to make sure planting and other equipment is running correctly beforehand may mean a difference in profits during this challenging year for row crop farmers.