By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Cotton Commission and the University of Georgia (UGA) Extension Cotton Team implore the state’s producers to be prepared for planting season now so to avoid unnecessary trips through the field later.
UGA Extension cotton agronomist Camp Hand said with input prices soaring, growers need to plan ahead to save money.
“We don’t want to overlook the small stuff. Diesel’s expensive and inputs are expensive. We want to make sure that everything is primed up and ready to go whenever we do decide to start planting,” Hand said. “Simer (Virk) and Wes (Porter) put together a really good planter checklist. I think that’s a good way to control the things you can control and make sure your planter’s dialed in before you enter the field.
“You want to cut down on the number of mistakes so that you don’t have to make a second trip over the field. That’s more diesel that you’ve got to spend money on. In a year like this where inputs are already high, we need to reduce that number as much as we can from the start.”
The checklist includes everything from ensuring the planter toolbar is level to adjusting the row cleaners so that they are barely touching the soil surface.
Click here to learn more from the row crop planter checklist.