Computer signals corn planter just how much seed to drop On cold
days last winter when his son hauled grain, Dennis Carnahan was
content to sit at the desk and work on the computer. What he
accomplished was just as productive as putting in manual labor.
“I enjoy working on the computer,” Dennis says. He farms with
his brother, Ross, and son, John, near Vincennes. “Driving a
truck isn’t something I enjoy. I would much rather build
prescription planting maps for this spring.” With spring here,
whenever their planter or air seeder runs, the format Dennis
created weeks ago will tell the corn planter or air seeder how
much seed to drop at any one spot in the field. The Carnahans
farm lots of rolling land with varying soil types. They are big
believers in varying seeding rate to match soil types. • Higher
corn rates are reserved for the most productive soils. • The
highest soybean seeding rates are used on the lightest soils. •
Dennis Carnahan builds his prescription planting maps on a
computer. “We use yield infor