Crop Emergence near White Hall, IL and Autotrac Tips
by Josh Thornton, White Hall, IL
Planting is on the downward slope. Most guys are done or will be shortly finished with soybeans. We only had 4 tenths of rain here at WH. At Greenfield, we only had a tenth, but we needed more. There are some reports about corn leafing out under the ground. The soil is crusted over and it is pretty hard, but emergence begins to improve daily. Some guys have even gotten out the rotary hoe buried in the back of the shed.
One thing I have noticed on Autotrac performance is a slight wandering of the tractor. The soil profile is very loose and working the best it has for several years. Guys that consistently lock in their front wheel assist and use their differential lock are seeing a lot straighter row. Adjusting the sensitivity helps, but locking the MFWD and dif lock make the most impact.