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“We had air bags on the planter before this,” Erikexplains. “And our biggest problem with thosehad to be with corn-on-corn. It wasn’t uncommonto find seed laying on top of the ground andalmost never at the depth that I wanted.”section reading 300 poundswhen the outside ends were at80,” says Erik, who does mostof the planting. “Other times,it would be under 100 poundsall the way across. I think 385pounds was as high as I ever sawit go and 80 was about as low asit ever went. But it was almostalways the center section, wherethe tires ran, that required themost down pressure.”Ironically, Erik says the hydraulicdown force system alsoincreased the value of his threebushelseed boxes, which arean optional replacement for thestandard 1½-bushel boxes.“We originally bought the largerboxes so we could run longerbetween stops,” he explains.“But then you go to these cropseminars where they tell youthat you shouldn’t fill them allthe way, because when they areclose to empty, you’re not goingto be planting at the right depth.That seems to be true, whetheryou have springs or the air bags.As the boxes near the point ofbeing empty, there’s definitelyless down pressure.“Well, with this system, you don’thave to worry about it becauseit accounts for the weight of theseed in the box,” he adds.Grudle says that even thoughthe air bags can be adjustedfrom the cab, it’s hard to knowwhere to set them. Plus,there’s no variation across thewidth of the planter.“Having seen how the hydraulicsystem is constantly changingas I was going across the field,I can’t imagine how bad of a jobI was doing with the air bags,”Erik says. “I had to be greasingthe sidewall in a lot of places.”Grudle says he can’t help butthink the hydraulic down forcesystem will have a positive affecton yields. Through the use ofminimum tillage, better hybridsand variable-rate fertilizer, theGrudles have already boostedaverage corn yields to around185 bushels per acre, withsoybeans averaging around50 bushels. He sees the abilityto control planting depth asanother tool.“Actually, we probably saw abigger impact from the hydraulicdown force system in soybeansbecause of conditions than wedid in corn,” Erik adds, notingthat soybeans are also plantedin 30-inch rows. “It was so drythis spring that a lot of farmersin this area had to replantsoybeans. Others were lucky toget a 60 percent stand.“Thanks to Ag Leader’s hydraulicdown force system, though,we got our beans consistentlyplanted in moist soil; and didn’thave to replant anything. Weprobably had a 90 to 95 percentstand on all the soybeans.”Of course, most farmers don’tface the differences in soiltypes that the Grudles haveto deal with, either. While theLoess Hills near their homefarm consists of light soils thatwere deposited by the windover several million years, theriver bottom fields some 10miles away are flat as a boardand consist of heavy, black soil.“We already variable-rateboth our dry fertilizer and theanhydrous ammonia,” Erik says.“I want to variable-rate my seedpopulation, too, but I’m just notthere yet.”Of course, when that timecomes, Grudle will most likelyturn once again to Adam Gittins,precision ag sales manager forHTS Precision Ag Solutions.Not only has Gittins workedwith customers like the Grudlesto test and market Ag Leaderproducts, but as a farmerhimself, Gittins often uses whathe sells. That was certainly16 | Insights Magazine | Summer 2012
the case with the Ag Leaderhydraulic down force systemwhen he installed a test unit onhis own 16-row Kinze planterwith bulk fill.First-Hand Experience“Ag Leader has a number of testunits out on John Deere planters,but mine is one of only two onKinze planters,” Gittins relates.“We had a few issues, butbecause I’ve tried and workedwith these systems myself, I’vegot an in-depth knowledge ofthe products and when I go tosell them, I’m very comfortableknowing that they will do what Isay they will … because I’ve seenit on my own farm.”Gittins says the biggestsurprise on his part wasdiscovering how poorly he hadbeen adjusting the springs onhis row units in the past.“I’d just set the springs for anaverage and leave them there forthe rest of the planting season,”he admits. “As I would watchthe display with the hydraulicsystem, though, I discovered thatI often had the pressure set tooheavy or too light, and often inthe same field.“Ag Leader does a fantasticjob of testing products prior toputting them on the market,which is why we as a dealer havealigned ourselves so closelywith them,” Gittins continues.“They’ve got really innovativeideas and are continuallybringing products like thishydraulic down pressure systemto market. But they’re doing itthe right way,” he concludes.“Instead of just throwing it outthere and expecting it to workin all the various conditions,they’re running a small,controlled number of trials thatwe can follow and perfect. I’malready getting a lot of questionsabout hydraulic down pressure,so I’m looking forward to beingable to sell it.”“Ag Leader doesa fantastic job oftesting productsprior to puttingthem on the market,which is why we as adealer have alignedourselves so closelywith them,” Gittinscontinues. “They’vegot really innovativeideas and arecontinually bringingproducts like thishydraulic downpressure to market.But they’re doingit the right way.”Summer 2012 | Insights Magazine | 17
Page 8 and 9: Investing?in the FutureChoosing Bet
Page 10 and 11: The Dirton the Benefits ofSoil Samp
Page 12 and 13: The DirtOn The Benefits of Soil Sam
Page 14 and 15: Leveling thePlaying FieldConsistent
Page 18 and 19: Trash or Ca$hAs the market forbioen
Page 20 and 21: Trash or Ca$hat the Bradford Resear
Page 22 and 23: The Future of Precision Agriculture
Page 24: Preparefor aNext year’s profits s

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