(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A crop report shows four percent of corn was planted last week as farmers slowly got into the fields. Some farmers attended I-S-U Extension’s “Planter University” earlier this year where field agronomist Meaghan Anderson says they learned how to best use their equipment. “Talk about more of the theory behind some of the technology and differences between them as well as really in-depth into the maintenance aspects that are going to be across all colors of planting equipment,” Anderson says. She says planter technology has advanced along with tractors through the years — leading to changes in things like speed across a field.

“Typically it wasn’t unusual for people to be planting anywhere from maybe three and a half to five or so miles per hour in the past and now there’s technology that allows people to plant more in the maybe eight to 10 are slightly faster miles per hour,” she says. Anderson says issues with the planter can cost farmers money when it comes to harvest time.”There’s certainly some changes and how we need to make sure we’re maintaining them and paying attention to changes in those planters as the season goes on to make sure that that seed gets planted where it needs to be when it needs to be,” Anderson says. She says having the planter ready to go at the start is only part of planting success.

“But in addition to that, being able to make appropriate adjustments on the fly, as farmers move perhaps across fields, as they move from one week to the next during the early part of the growing season when we know that rainfall can be variable and soil differences and residue differences can make such a change in how the seed actually enters the ground,” Anderson says. The Planter University team moves across the state in February so they can offer hand’s-on training in preparation for planting. This is the third year for the program.