Planting

When I drove home last Friday from work I saw a lot of farmers out in there fields, many planting corn. It makes me think of the changes over the years. I started farming with a Super 88 Oliver and a 4 row planter. Those days are over. Today you have to be up on so much technology. The 16 tp 36 row planters, and monitors that give you tons of information. Thank the Lord for monitors. My John Deere 495A planter didn't have a monitor, and I was off the tractor checking all the time to make sure nothing was plugged. 40 acres a day was a good day for me. With today's monitors there is no reason to go digging for kernels of corn. The monitor will tell you kernels per acre, how many inches apart the corn is, how many acres planted, and this is for each row, and much more. Once you get use to it, you wonder how you ever got along with out it. It takes all the guessing out of planting. Moving from field to field. I didn't have to worry about transporting my 4 row. Now we have front-fold, wing-fold, vertical-fold, and stack-fold. We also have conservation, no till, and minimum till. Now for the type, air,vacuum, and finger pickup. Believe me I am not knocking all the changes. Technology is fantastic. For today's farming, it is nuch needed. The old saying, "If you don't put it in the ground in the spring, you're not going to harvest it in the fall". So for cost reasons alone, it is very important to put it in the ground the right way the first time. I am only touching on a few of the changes in a planter. We haven't talked about the difference in markers, and disk openers, and packing wheels, etc,etc,etc! I think it is good to compare today to 20 - 30 and 40 years ago. My Grand Father, and my Father farmed with horses. My Father started with horses, and ended with tractors. That's really aging me. I was never around horses, and nevr did check row planting. I have heard about it from my Dad. I can't imagine planting with a wire from one end of the field to the other. Not even sure how it is done. Get off the tractor at each end to move the wire so you can plant back to the other end? WOW! And how many acres can you plant in a day now? I love techhnology!