Planting no-till soybeans behind small grain is one of the toughest seeding tasks we ask our planters and drills to perform. Here are some key concepts to keep in mind when setting these machines in the field:

• Adjustments
  Most of your adjustments can be done without planting seed. Only plant seed when everything else is adjusted and you only have the seed depth and rate left to check.
• You must maintain control over seed depth
  Test this by stopping the drill or planter in the ground and checking to be certain you have enough weight on at least one of the depth gauge wheels so that you cannot turn it by hand. If you can turn all the seed depth gauge wheels on a row by hand, then the row unit is not all the way in the ground and your seed is being planted too shallow. It may be right at times but at other times, it will be too shallow.
• Use enough down pressure to maintain control over seed depth
  Start with a small amount of down pressure and do the test mentioned above until you have control over depth, then increase it a small amount more.
• Don't use too much down pressure
  This can result in the main frame raising up, which can cause drive slippage problems and also reduces the amount of down pressure available for other rows. The procedure mentioned above will help you get just the right amount of down pressure.
• You have to cut the straw, not just shove it in the ground
  Your opener blades can't form a proper seed trench if the straw is hair pinned in the ground by the no-till coulter. If you are having trouble cutting the straw, try a bubble coulter on a row or two as it has proven to do the best job of cutting the straw in the worst of conditions.

When you have any type of seeding question or problem that you'd like help with, contact your local Atlantic Tractor ag branch and ask for some help. Helping people like you is what we are all about. We live it, just like you do.