Farm Progress

A look at 2018 planting

Slideshow: The Tech@Work family - Doug Scott and his sons - are a bit delayed with planting, but are moving full tilt now.

Willie Vogt

May 16, 2018

15 Slides

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Around the country farmers are finding the #plant18 season nothing but frustrating. The same is true for following the Tech@Work family - Doug Scott Farms - which saw planting delayed a couple weeks by storms. On the recent visit, however, they were going full tilt.

The farm team was thoroughly involved in planting the cotton crop with four planters and two bed prep machines going at it. The farm hips up its ground on ridges to plant cotton and aid irrigation. In the planting images you find here there's annual ryegrass planted on every other 'valley' to hold soil in place. That ryegrass is terminated soon after the crop gets planted.

The operation uses 12-row MaxEmerge planters riding on those ridges; and row cleaners help make sure the row unit stays on track. The bed prep tillage pass loosens soil that's been sitting in a ridge since last fall.

After the crop is planted, other team members spray preemerge herbicide on the field, which will be followed later by a postemergence pass. This program helps keep tough weeds under control too.

Check out this gallery of people at work at Scott Farms and look for our later report from planting in the next installment of Tech@Work.

About the Author

Willie Vogt

Willie Vogt has been covering agricultural technology for more than 40 years, with most of that time as editorial director for Farm Progress. He is passionate about helping farmers better understand how technology can help them succeed, when appropriately applied.

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