Corn Champ Switches Planters

Corn Champ Switches Planters PLANTERS Planters 25-6-16 Case-IH's Farm Forum magazine recently reported on Francis Childs, Manchester, Iowa, in its fall 2001 issue. He's the well-known four-time national champion in the National Corn Growers Association's (NCGA) non-irrigated class. His highest yield has been 394 bu. in 1999. For years, he planted his crops with an IH 800 Cyclo Air planter. However, last year he switched to a new Case-IH 1200 series 8-row trailing planter. He compared the new planter alongside the 800 Cyclo and liked what he saw. "I had been running my old planter at about 2 1/2 mph to get good uniform in-row seed spacing that varied by only an inch or so. But the 1200 series planter is so close to perfect, I can't believe it. Because the in-row spacing was so accurate, I planted at 4 1/2 mph with the planter and still saw the consistent in-row seed spacing I want. "Overall, the 1200 series planter is very user-friendly. Its patented All-Seed Meter (ASM) can handle a wide range of seed sizes without requiring any adjustments. That's a good feature. I also like the in-cab monitor that displays actual seed rates rather than a range or percentage." Even though Francis plants in a fairly clean seedbed, he uses trash whippers ahead of each planter row unit and recommends them because they also flip aside clods that can affect planting depth and seed-to-soil contact.

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