13 replies to this topic

[ChrisNY]

Does anybody have a name and number for somebody that is very well versed in setting up a planter for a no-till and what is the best way to go?

Trying to set up our planter the best way possible to handle a varying range of conditions from full conventional tillage to minimum till to no-till and would like to talk to someone with alot of experience in planter setups that isnt just trying to sell you something. Every salesman you talk to has the best thing since sliced bread..until you talk to the next guy. It gets confusing and would like some unbiased input.

Planter is a Kinze 2600 if that makes a difference.

[Cliff Neubauer]

There are alot of options and they all work under certain conditions. What we are running and have been since '01 on Deere planters is row cleaners (have ran Martin and Dawn, Case IH gauge wheel tires, Keeton seed firmers and Marting spade closing wheels followed by a drag chain. I don't see alot of difference between the Dawn and Martin row cleaners but I think the Dawns are slightly better built and they do use a better bearing setup. If starting from scratch today I would probably use the Dawn Curvtine closing wheels instead of the Martins because the Dawns use a double tapered roller bearing while the Martins use a ball bearing and we've had some minor issues with them. We run alot of no-till to conventional tillage, sometimes in the same field and so far have not seen conditions where this system has not worked well.

Sidewall compaction is a major problem in our soils if the ground is a little bit wet but going from no-till coulters to row cleaners and spade closing wheels and taking off most of the down pressure has helped that problem alot.

[ChrisNY]

Cliff, we thought about going to a spade closing wheel and drag chain, but everyone we talk to says to stick with the rubber closing wheels because we would not be happy with the spiked in conventional till ground?

We do run Keetons and have PP Airforce 20/20 on the planter.

We had same concern about sidewall compaction with no-till coulters. We would not be planting into high corn stalk residue, mostly bean stubble and sod and some corn stubble that was chopped for silage. We had Martin row cleaners on previous planter and were not real happy with them and ended up taking them off, they tended to wrap in sod ground and had problems with rocks wedging in them.

[ihfarmer1586]

In Michigan, Bob Kietzman is well respected for his no-till expertise. He also makes bolt on coulters, row cleaners, etc. His # is (616)642-9759

[1967806]

Just something to keep in mind in the closing wheel options...... I tried a martin wheel last year, one wheel with a rubber beside it. On our sidehills you cant keep the spike wheels out of the seed trench becasue the planter drafts one way or the other. I am going to try these slagels this year.
http://schlagel.net/pw.html
Im pretty sure they will help my issue and I got enough to do all 12 of my rear units. You dont need a drag chain with them they say either and also you dont have trouble with them if they are right on top of the trench. This appears to be something that addreses my problems. Hopefully Im not disapointed. Also am trying 2 martin floating row cleaners on two units this year and taking off the no till coulters. Im also set up with keetons and have the liquid tails to put in furrow fertilizer on corn.

I just got the slagels installed today and the points almost come completly together so I think they will do a good job closing.

[SMOKER 1]

Chris - My advice to you is to only get ideas and then try them yourself. Every farm and operator is different and has a different opinion on how to set up. I went through what you are going through about 15 years ago. Look to other farmers in your area and don't listen to the so called experts. Those guys are usually backed by a chemical company or an attachement company and the more product they sell, the more free poop they get. It may take a couple sesons to figure it out but in the long run it will turn out for the best.

my 2 cents - jerry

[ChrisNY]

I agree Jerry, not very much no-till around here so not alot to compare to and every salesman we talk to has the best product, thats why I was kind of looking for somebody that has had alot of experience with different set-ups. We are going to experiment with different setups on 4 rows this year to try for ourselves before outfitting the whole planter.

[SMOKER 1]

I agree Jerry, not very much no-till around here so not alot to compare to and every salesman we talk to has the best product, thats why I was kind of looking for somebody that has had alot of experience with different set-ups. We are going to experiment with different setups on 4 rows this year to try for ourselves before outfitting the whole planter.

Smart move, IMO. I'm not going to try and tell you what I did because it probably won't work in your soil conditions.

jerry

[TP from Central PA]

We are running the shorty yetter row cleaners on the 7200, Yetter Vipers for N, and Totally tubulars for pop up.........Deeres adjustable down pressure springs, Slagles for closing wheels, and just put some drag chains on from Yetter. We run everything from worked ground to 100% heavy residue no-till and this seems to be the best for all worlds. I've heard alot of complaints on the yetter shortys, but they have held up well for us, and we pin them up for convential till, the vipers work good, just back the spring off for conventional till. The slagles are about the best option(IMO) for what we do, spikes were horrible in conventional till, Cast worked well, but junk for no-till...........These were are about the best compromise.

I personally would scrap a no-till coulter and go with cleaners..........All they do is hair pin heavy residue in my experience...........We had some sidewall compaction last year, but I blame that more on Deere's "Push the gage wheel" setup............It was a land roller in the wet, I think things would have been different with an early riser row unit.

[ChrisNY]

The Slagles do seem to be a good option in closing wheels