Happy planting season! We’re always asking you guys for suggestions at the end of every episode because this is your show. I’ve gotten a few requests for more planter talk. Let’s go with a little viewer’s choice to kick things off — Here’s Jackson, Wis., no-tiller Ross Bishop sharing some keys to success with his Case IH planter.  

“These are the areas where I put the nitrogen (N), the ammonium thiosulfate because we need sulfur. That’s dribbling right alongside each side of the row. This is where I’m putting a 9-18-9 starter with zinc and molasses. That’s falling right down into the seed trench. I learned this from the guys who plant sweet corn — I’m planting corn at 2 inches or better. We’re getting better emergence, rather than having one come out of the ground today, another one comes out tomorrow. They’re all coming out within 12 hours because of that 2-2.5 inches, it’s a much more even emergence. You don’t have that corn that comes later on that becomes a weed. You’re not wasting that seed. I’ve slowed way down. I used to plant at 5.5, now I’m more at 4.8-5. Maybe I should slow down even more because the more accurate we are, the better the emergence of the corn.”

That was filmed at one of the Cedar Creek Farmers field days.

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.