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Planting depth key to uniform emergence

Planting depth should be top of mind ahead of Plant 21, according to Precision Planting Product Manager Jeremy Hodel.

“It’s critical that seeds are placed into sufficient moisture but also it’s not just a question of moisture but it’s also not planting deeper than you have to, to achieve that moisture,” he says.

He says Precision Planting learned a lot from developing the SmartDepth system.

“There’s a lot of cases where we’re leaving opportunity on the table because we’re planting deeper than we actually need to,” he says. “By shallowing up in cases where moisture is abundant, we can achieve more uniform emergence because we accumulate GDUs faster at those shallower depths.”

Hodel spoke during the special edition of the 2021 Commodity Classic.