It’s important to make sure you set your planter bar height so your parallel arms run level with the ground. When your parallel arms run uphill to the bar you limit the amount of travel that you have for the row-unit. As you start to go over any sort of terrain your row-unit may bottom out on that stop and you'll be planting shallow.
On most planter makes you’re looking for clearance of about 20 to 22 inches from your frame to the ground. On a Case IH 2000 series planter that should be roughly 26 inches from the frame to the ground. If your bar height is too high it doesn’t matter what kind of a downforce system you have or how much downforce that you’re applying. If you’re sitting against your stop, you’re going to be planting shallow if you go over rough terrain.
You also need to stand behind the planter and make sure that your planter bar is level. The center can be a different height than the wings which can cause some issues as you travel through the field. You may have to make a change on the wings, independent from the center, to make sure you level everything up.
If you have a 3 point mounted planter with a pneumatic gauge wheel out front you may need to lift or lower that and make sure it’s the same as the one on the other side. For your particular make and model of planter check the owner’s manual to see how to make these changes.
Watch this video about parallel arm linkage.
A Premier Precision Planting Dealer is your partner to help you achieve a picket fence stand this spring and steer clear of the regret that comes from avoidable yield loss caused by lack of maintenance. Find your local Precision Planting Premier Dealer at PlanterExpert.com.
To watch videos of all recommended annual maintenance checks, visit PrecisionPlanting.com/Maintenance.
Download the free Planter Maintenance Guide. Included in this guide is a 1-sheet checklist, links directing you to the corresponding videos, and an overview of 15 key maintenance areas on your planter.
The Planter Maintenance series is brought to you by Precision Planting.
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