When it comes to measuring performance, Chuck Fulk maintains the seed meter on your no-till planter is comparable to the beating heart in your body. Without exceptional seed meter performance, you can’t expect to harvest a top-yielding crop.

The Platte City, Mo., no-till innovator, seed monitor expert and unofficial no-till planter paramedic says striving for equal-distance plant spacing and uniform emergence normally requires the same total commitment as making the initial decision to move to no-tilling.

Check out his answers to typical questions that he’s asked regarding no-till planter performance.

Q: Where should I start?

A: Since you can’t address every no-tilling problem at the same time, get the seed meters tested on your no-till planter as a first step. The more you focus on what you’re doing when no-tilling, the more control you have over the total seeding situation.

Q: When’s the best time to make sure that my no-till planter is working effectively?

A: Do it before you go to the field. Once you get to the field, 99 percent of no-tillers will simply want to plant and not take the needed time to test their planters.

Q: So why is it so important to test these seed meters on no-till planters?

A: The basic function for a seed meter is to singulate seed, which means placing one seed every so many inches while eliminating skips and doubles. If you want no-till corn plants 7 inches apart, you can’t just drop seed anywhere within a 7-inch range. It…