Testimonials for Yetter Farm Equipment
- Bulk Seed
- Bulk Seed Handling
- Coulter Carts
- Coulters
- Fertilizer Transport
- General
- Markers
- Planting Equipment
- Precision Fertilizer Placement
- Residue Management
- Rotary Hoe
- Strip Till
- Yetter Planter Attachments
Bulk Seed
Bill Clemons, Macy, Indiana
As a Pioneer seed salesman, Bill Clemons owns eight Yetter 1300 Series Seed Box Partners™ that he loans out to his customers. "When I started buying them, I had good luck with them and continued buying more. I know I've had the first one for six years or more."
"My customers love them. They have improved my business tremendously," Bill said. His customers particularly like the convenience of the Seed Box Partner. The three-wheel design and extendable tongue makes it easy to use. "They can pull it out to their fields with their pickups, and if they need to run to town with their pickup, they can simply unhook it. And if someone else is drilling, he can still use the unit. It's self-contained so they don't need a truck or tractor."
Bulk Seed Handling
Lyle Bushkofsky, Iowa
"The average farm (and farmer) is getting larger, and that requires buying more seed - buying in bulk. The Yetter Seed Box Train is a big plus. It's lightweight and you just pull it along. It provides 20-second fill-time at the most, and gives you savings on the back."
Jack Powers, Laharpe, Illinois
Jack Powers, a salesman for West Central Illinois Farm Service, saves his customers a lot of back pain when planting season rolls around. The FS has three Yetter 1300 Series Seed Jet II systems on hand. "We converted dry fertilizer spreaders into bulk seed handlers by raising what was the fertilizer box. The Seed Jet is mounted underneath, the motor is on front of the buggy, and the seed goes out the back," said Jack.
Most customers use the bulk seed setup for beans, but more and more are taking advantage of the system to plant corn and wheat. "It's gentle on the seeds and easy to turn on and off when you're filling boxes," said Jack. The Seed Jet has also been durable. The three systems seed almost 10,000 acres each year. "I'd get another if I could!" said Jack.
Coulter Carts
Bob Landgren, North Dakota
"I've had great success with my Yetter 30 Coulter Cart, on which I mount 2995 Series dry fertilizer coulters in front of my 12-row semi-mounted planter. I mounted a Gandy air delivery system so I can auger fertilizer into one hopper rather than four boxes. I really like the convenience of one hopper, plus I get fertilizer placed off to the side of the row. The system is working well for me."
Coulters
Gail A. Cyr, Kansas
"I added Yetter 2930 Coulters with 17" blades to my 36' John Deere air seeder drill. With the coulters, I can no-till right into heavy milo, wheat or bean stubble. They chop up the residue and open the ground. I was concerned about our hard, dry ground this year, but the stands were great. The coulters saved me the cost of a new no-till drill plus disking and running a field conditioner."
Stan and Don Grigg, Illinois
Stan and Don Grigg of Toulon, Illinois, use Yetter coulter/residue manager combinations on their planters. According to Stan, "The combo works great in all conditions. It's so easy to go from lock down to float mode, and I love being able to disengage and raise up the Titans™ when they are not needed."
Jim Hoopes, Pennsylvania
"I grow vegetables in very hilly ground and, with the original openers on my planter - a Monosem on a Kinze frame - the fertilizer would either end up burning the seed or land too far away to do any good. Yetter helped me design a set-up with 2959 fertilizer coulters that is wonderfully accurate. Even maturity is critical, and I've got the most even green beans you've ever seen!"
Mike Homandberg, Minnesota
"We used the Yetter three coulter system for the first time in the spring of 2004. The coulter system was attached to the front of a 7200 JD planter. After properly adjusting the coulters, we were able to plant into soybean stubble, and also we were able to plant into corn residue without any broadcast tillage of the soil. The corn planted into bean residue was some of the more even stands that I have ever experienced, and even the corn-on-corn was able to recover from our early wet and cold conditions faster than other corn-on-corn in our area. We are looking forward to harvest to see the results of the three-coulter system as compared to the conventional way of doing things."
Randy Stabler, Maryland
Randy Stabler has turned his 6332 Sunflower land finisher into a multi-functional tool with vertical tillage attachments (VTAs) from Yetter Manufacturing. "The beauty of these attachments is that I only had to remove the standard teeth from the finisher and they bolted right on. The simplicity of the process was wonderful," he said. "We were able to take piece of equipment we had and retrofit it rather than spending $30,000 on new equipment."
Randy uses his finisher and VTAs each spring to chop 1,000 acres of corn stalks. The VTAs deal with the residue but leave enough ground cover for conservation purposes, an important factor in the Chesapeake Bay region. "They also provide disease control in corn-on-corn," Randy said. In the fall, Randy puts the VTAs to work again to break residue up just enough to get sufficient seed-to-soil contact for spinning his winter wheat seed.
"The VTAs work beautifully-they tear things up just enough but don't disturb too much ground." Randy was also pleased with the Yetter performance guarantee. "I knew if I wasn't satisfied, I could send them back," he said. "But these aren't going back!"
David Virgin, Indiana
David Virgin has an array of Yetter equipment, all of which enhances his operation. He uses Yetter single-blade smooth coulters and Ultra Narrow Titans® with his John Deere 1770 NT. "The depth-band wheels are very important," David said of the Titans. "They allow the Titans to float with minimal adjustment. I feel I get better seed placement." David chose his ultra-narrow unit from Yetter because its adjustment system stood out as one of the easiest to handle.
David also finishes his planting with Yetter Spike Closing Wheels and a drag chain. But David really hit the jackpot this year when he added SharkTooth® wheels to his residue management line-up. He is moving his operation to continuous corn, and the SharkTooth® wheels were just what he needed to handle the tough residue.
"In my corn-on-corn acres, they went through everything. There was no hairpinning. I've never had a cleaner row." Next year, David's SharkTooth® wheels will be put to the test again. He plans to combine this year without stalk-chopping. He doesn't foresee any problems. "Those wheels don't care if it's damp, dry, or sticky. They really clear a path."
Allan Brooks, Markesan, Wisconsin
When the need arises for a particular tool, Allan Brooks likes to know he has it available in his toolbox. That's the way he feels about his Yetter 2910 Series Heavy Duty Coulters. The coulters, mounted on a 16-foot toolbar, are ready for use when needed. He knows he can rely on the heavy duty coulters when he needs to cut through especially tough residue.
"We needed a tool to target aggressive residue situations," Allan said. "We're using no-till techniques, so we want to retain the residue and yet we still had the need to attack and size it."
"We knew from our past experience operating Yetter coulters for years that we wanted to go with another Yetter coulter for these situations."
Allan has about 2,000 acres on which he raises sweet corn, snap beans, soybeans, processing peas, and barley as a cover crop. Some of the vegetables are double crops, so Allan works roughly 2,300 to 2,400 acres each year.
Allan's workhorses are Yetter 2995 Series Coulters mounted on his John Deere planter that he uses while applying liquid fertilizer. His especially likes the springs on the Yetter coulters, which can help transfer the weight of the toolbar to the coulter.
"This will be the sixth year with that particular machine," Allan said. "We had a previous planter with Yetter coulters that we traded in. When we bought our new machine we knew we wanted to go with Yetter coulters again."
Rodney Mast, Mississippi
Rodney Mast has adapted the Midwest's strip-till fertilization process for his Mississippi ridge-farming, with excellent results for his corn and cotton crops. "We have consistency of yield from one end of the field to the other like never before," he said.
Rodney, who farms 5,500 acres with his father, Glenn, has toolbar-mounted the Yetter 2995 and 2996 Coulters. Each fall when Rodney creates ridge beds for spring planting, he uses the coulters to apply dry fertilizer on the same pass. "In Mississippi we need the ridge beds so that the seedlings have dry feet during the heavy spring rains," he said.
Previously he had been broadcast fertilizing before ridging the fields. Now he fertilizes in the same path as he is bedding, and at the same time, which saves valuable time. "I use the units again in the spring to side-dress," he added.
As Rodney began the fall 2009 cotton harvest, he said the success was obvious. "My yields were 20 to 30 bushels per acre higher in the ridged and in-row-fertilized fields!" Rodney
Fertilizer Transport
Wayne Duncan, Illinois
"Utilizing the Yetter Coulter Cart, I can transfer weight to the planter for no-till on my narrow-row, integral planter. It also enables me to use a smaller tractor, which minimizes compaction problems while lowering my costs."
Doran Zumbach, Iowa
Doran Zumbach pulls the All Steer High Capacity Cart behind his 24-row planter to apply 12.5 gallons of liquid nitrogen per acre. "We found that our starter effect came from nitrogen instead of P & K, so we cut down on the anhydrous ammonia we used and replaced it with the 28% at planting. I have had experience with two-wheeled carts and four-wheeled wagons behind planters. This cart is so much better that it isn't even really comparable."
Bob Jodts, Illinois
"The All Steer™ Cart greatly improved our planting productivity. Its capacity more than doubled what I was previously hauling in tanks mounted on the tractor. With less stops to refill, we were able to plant about 30% more acres in a day. And with its four wheel All wheel tracking steering, it stays on track behind the planter. I never noticed it running over any planted rows even on side hills."
Dan Wilson, Iowa
Dan Wilson changed from fall application of NH3 to spring application with the help of the Yetter All-Steer Fertilizer cart. He purchased the cart and used it to mount two 1000-gallon steel tanks to apply anhydrous ammonia. With the help of the cart and his 24-row planter, he plants and fertilizes approximately 50 acres between fills. "I won't put on spring ammonia unless I know the application will stay between the rows-I don't want ammonia damage on new growth," Dan said. "We plant thousands of acres of hillsides, and the Yetter All-Steer Cart stays right in the tracks."
"This process is not for the weak at heart. But, when we apply nitrogen in the spring when and where the plant needs it, we save time and money," Dan said. With the help of the Yetter All-Steer cart, he saves 30 to 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Dan also reports that 70 percent of his crop labor requirements occur between September and December, so shifting some of that labor to spring is a big plus.
John Yingst, Fletcher, Ohio
John Yingst uses the Yetter 1600-Gallon All-Steer for planting and side-dressing, and he's already pleased with the results. "The cart has definitely speeded up the planting process. Previously, I had to stop often to refill the saddle tanks on my planter. Now I can just keep going," he said. He also appreciates the all-steer mechanism. "This year, I switched to an automatic-steer tractor and the Yetter All-Steer cart, so the combination of those factors delivered improved handling in the field."
Bruce Bergman - Real World Solutions, Iowa
Bruce and Jerry Bergman have used the Yetter 2000-gallon All Steer High Capacity Cart on their family farm for the past two years. The first spring they used it behind a 24-row strip-till toolbar; the second spring behind a 24-row planter. They are pleased with the cart for their 3,200 acres of corn and soybeans. "The four- wheel steer follows the same track as the tractor and works better on the end rows," said Bruce. "And the large wheels and tires reduce compaction. It's also built very well." The Bergmans also appreciate Yetter service. Bruce said, "We use Yetter products in some unconventional ways, and when we have any questions about the products, Yetter has listened and been very helpful."
General
Jerry Baysinger, Agronomist, Nebraska farmer, and Yetter equipment dealer
"As a Yetter dealer, I maintain a close relationship with the Yetter team to stay up to date on the newest products and to discuss industry news. But when I need information quickly and a phone call is not an option, I turn to the Yetter web site. The restructuring of the product information section of the Yetter web site has made it a powerful tool. I can search for products by name or by category. Each product now displays on its own page and lists key specifications, and navigation between products is simplified. When I want additional information about the newest Yetter products, I can access the press release about that product online. I also find the information in the online publication The Leading Edge to be helpful because it provides accurate information about trends in agriculture.
I feel good about referring my customers to the Yetter web site because they can find manuals for their Yetter tools there as well. They can also check out diagrams with helpful how-to tips that illustrate how Yetter products tackle today's production agriculture challenges."
Aaron Mattern - Sales Representative for CFC Distributing, Roann, Indiana
I've been selling Yetter Farm Equipment products for 15 years, and every year Yetter has adapted its products to meet the current needs of producers. I think this flexible and progressive culture has energized Yetter for the past 80 years, making it a strong and growing agri-business.
New corn hybrids are slower to deteriorate, soYetter responded with the Shark Tooth® residue management wheel. Yetter has also moved toward products that minimize soil disturbance.
Yetter adapts products for individual growers also. When a farmer has a special need, Yetter works with the farmer to adapt products to meet that need. And I can make a phone call and receive customer service 24/7.
The Yetter Web site makes it fast and convenient to show products to farmers. As we talk on the telephone, we look at the Web site to find exactly what the customer is looking for. It is much faster for the customer than driving 25 miles—and it speeds up the purchase process wonderfully.
Its 80 years in business show me that Yetter is doing a lot of things right!
Markers
Leonard L. Bernard, Illinois
"The Yetter marker is heavy all the way to the end of the arm so it makes a deep cut. It's rugged for no-till fields. My father and I farm 1,600 acres by ourselves and can't afford any down time. The Yetter markers have a good, solid alternating hydraulic system that I can count on."
Planting Equipment
Mike Sottile, New Jersey
Three years ago, as a first year farmer with a small acreage, Mike Sottile turned to Yetter Manufacturing for the company's 71 Series Planter Units. "I went to my local equipment dealer looking for a reasonable planting setup. I wanted a custom-built, small planter. The Yetter planter units were not too large, and they were a good fit for my narrow soybean rows." This year, Mike narrowed his rows further to 15-inch spacing and increased the number on units on his planter to 11.
"I also have a single unit on a small frame that we pull with a four-wheeler," said Mike. "It's perfect for tight spots or patching and repair without running the tractor down the row. The seed placement with the Yetter planter units has been very good. So has the emergence. Once I understood how to operate them, I had very little trouble with them- especially for a first-time farmer!
Jeff Hendershot, Indiana
Jeff Hendershot, a salesman for dealership Wiatt Companies, Inc., saw much better seed placement this year because he added spiked closing wheels from Yetter to his planting line-up. "My old closing wheels were shot, and I have a customer who really liked how his Yetter wheels worked in wet soils." Jeff attached the spiked closing wheels to his John Deere 7000 6-row planter in about 6 hours. "The wheels from Yetter closed the furrow well, and I got better seed placement as a result. There is no comparison between the Yetter wheels and my previous set. So far, they are very durable and I am very satisfied."
Kevin Antrim, Frankton, IN
Kevin Antrim of Antrim Farms has experimented with many combinations of closing wheels, including OEM rubber wheels and add-ons from several manufacturers. "Some seemed to just throw out more dirt than anything."
"Our operation is about one-third no-till and two-thirds conventional till," said Kevin. "We were looking for a setup that could work in both tillage systems." Antrim Farms found the solution in Yetter Manufacturing's Cast Spike Closing Wheels.
Kevin now plants with a combination of OEM rubber wheels alternating with Yetter Spike Wheels. "We could not move back and forth between no-till and conventional tillage with the other units we tried. I believe they work so well because Yetter maintained the wheel portion of the unit," said Kevin. "Our no-till emergence has improved since we started using Yetter wheels."
Precision Fertilizer Placement
Mike Parker of Parker Ag Sales, AR
"If you are looking for a one stop source to end the confusion I would recommend contacting a placement specialist at Yetter Farm Equipment. My specialty is customized fertilizer equipment for the delta and I have found Yetter to be the best in the game when it comes to solving fertilizer placement problems."
Luke Mannetter of Tri-M Hauling, New Providence, Iowa
"I have to live in this community and I would prefer to have my neighbors know I am doing everything possible to control odor," says Luke Mannetter. The Yetter Avenger incorporates a large 25" diameter coulter blade that operates at a slight angle to the direction of travel to open a very narrow slot for manure injection. Concave sealing discs are used to completely seal off the manure, trapping odor and helping to reduce the chance of run off.
Luke goes on to say "by injection and sealing off the manure, I don't lose any nitrogen content; plus I get the added benefit of being a good neighbor."
Gerry Hanson, Bad Axe, Michigan
"I have been using the 2959 model on my JD 1760 12-row planter. I really like the way that it floats and follows the ground contour and does not gouge. It is so easy to adjust with the handle right up front. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fertilizer coulter system."
Larry Reilly, Ohio
"I used the Mavericks™ for strip tillage in bean and wheat stubble. The Residue Managers keep the unit from plugging, and I like the raised mound. In the Spring, I'll be in the field sooner because the strip dries out quicker and gets 6 to 8 degrees warmer. It will save me labor in the Spring!" a
Jerry Buck, Buck Farms, Michigan
Jerry Buck knows that precision fertilizer placement is critical if he wants to get the most out of his investment and see healthy crops. "The Challenger fertilizer openers from Yetter put fertilizer about two inches to the side at the same depth as my seed," he said. "Any other coulter that runs two to three feet in front varies a lot in depth in relation to the seed. "My corn was able to take advantage of the fertilizer immediately because of the close proximity. I didn't worry that the fertilizer would be washed away by rain or not available to the seed down the road."
In addition to the Challenger™ units, Jerry also uses Titan™ residue managers, and is pleased with their performance as well. Because Jerry is a mostly no-till farmer and plants into rocky soil, he appreciates both units' durability. "They are both bullet-proof and flex up and down over the rocks," he said. "It is absolutely essential to have strong row-cleaners and exact fertilizer placement, and the Yetter tools provide that."
Eric Maaske, Edison, NE
"We concluded that for our no-till operation, we needed to get fertilizer deeper into the ground. Because the Yetter injection system placed the fertilizer in the ground, we don't lose nitrogen through nitrification or because it sits on the top of the residue. They've provided a big cost benefit because they've lowered our nitrogen needs per bushel. Yetter coulters are also are a pretty fuel-efficient option.
I like Yetter products because they are well-researched, and the designs advance with the times. Yetter sales reps are great—always willing to help me execute new ideas."
Residue Management
Rodney Thompson, Missouri
"The Yetter Residue Manager is built with quality construction. It really complements your planter's performance in your strip-tillage system. It provides a wide range of adjustments and it is durable. I am very pleased with the results."
Kevin Malecek, Danube, Minnesota
"The Shark Tooth® Wheels did an excellent job in corn-on-corn acres of clearing the cornstalks without throwing them into the next row on my 20" planter."
Alan Sims, Newbern, Tennessee
"I was extremely pleased with the new Yetter Titan™ residue managers that I put on my CIH planter this past year. The Titans™ were heavy enough to move the residue out of the way without moving any soil. I really liked the height adjustment because I was able to fine tune the residue managers for each field condition."
Doug Long, Illinois
"Farmers who have been running chisel plows want to be able to succeed in corn-on-corn with no tillage, and this prompted us to look at an anhydrous toolbar that could get through residue. We turned to Yetter Manufacturing's SharkTooth® Wheels. The results satisfied even our most particular producer. We were pleased with the toolbar's handling and the outcome from the SharkTooth® residue managers in both corn and soybean residue."
Chad Russell, Illinois
"Added to my anhydrous applicator, the residue managers from Yetter Manufacturing Company did exactly what we wanted them to do--they cleared a much better strip. Higher quality strips with less residue leave me optimistic for next year."
Tim Carlson, Illinois
"My fertilizer dealer suggested I add Yetter SharkTooth® Wheels to my DMI toolbar to move residue and prepare for corn-on-corn application. They not only threw corn residue out of the way, but were a huge asset on soybean stubble as well. They left a nice black strip to plant into next year."
Roger Eckland, Illinois
"The residue managers from Yetter Manufacturing worked extremely well. I had gone through the field with a chisel plow, and went back to break up clods and heavy trash using the SharkTooth® Wheels. No matter how heavy the trash got, there was no ballingup behind the wheels. I know these products saved my neighbor a pass with the chisel plow and possibly two additional passes through the field, and I will save money because I will save a pass in the spring. I am always very satisfied with any equipment I get from Yetter."
Steve Fulling, Illinois
Steve Fulling has used the same Yetter adjustable residue managers for 10 years. Even though Steve does not farm a lot of acres and plants into tool-friendly clay soil, he has been impressed with their longevity. "They've been trouble-free," he said. "I didn't even have them apart until last year when I replaced the spiders and bearings."
Steve's residue managers are attached to a six-row John Deere 7000 series planter-an older model that still works well. In the spring of 2005, he began the search for row-cleaners to add to his unit, and finding a tool that worked with his planter was important. After researching a competitor's option and finding they required the removal of his coulters, Steve heard about SharkTooth® wheels from a Yetter representative. "The SharkTooth® wheels were a good fit," said Steve.
Steve no-tills and has planted into just about everything-corn-on-corn, corn-on-beans, beans-on-corn, and beans-on-wheat-with his Yetter residue managers. His SharkTooth® wheels have performed well in corn-on-corn and corn-on-beans. "I was never disappointed," Steve said. "I have always been pleased with the quality products Yetter puts out. You may pay a little more in the beginning, but the heavy-duty construction means you aren't welding when you should be planting," Steve commented.
Mike Marquardt, Pennsylvania
Mike Marquardt invested in his planter and its attachments for the 2007 season. He purchased Yetter 2967 residue managers with the screw adjust feature, setback kits, and SharkTooth® wheels for his John Deere 1750 6-row planter. The setback kits made it possible for Mike to continue using his frame-mounted coulters. "Without the kit, my coulters would have been to close to my row cleaners." "The screw adjust is a pretty nice feature," continued Mike. "All you have to do it get your socket out and fit it."
Mike's Yetter SharkTooth wheels also contributed to improved planting. "They make a nice, clear path." The combination of new Yetter equipment has Mike anticipating solid yields in spite of an unusually dry growing season. "I had a better stand this year, and I will definitely keep using the tools."
Brandon Wilson, Hobgood, North Carolina
Brandon Wilson knows cotton. He helps farm over 12,000 acres of it for AMD Farms. He also knows that Yetter SharkTooth® wheels coupled with 2967 residue managers are a powerful tool for dealing with the trash left behind after a crop. He appreciates the tools' heavy frames. "We run six John Deere 1720 12-row planters. They each handle about 2,000 acres a season, and the Yetter units run the entire time without any problems," said Brandon.
Brandon credits the SharkTooth® wheels with enabling no-tillage in AMD's operation. "It's so much simpler, and we don't have the costs associated with conventional tillage. Their impact has been 100 percent-I would not be able to plant the way I do without them."
Vance Johnson, Breckenridge, Minnesota
Vance Johnson saw great results this year with the Yetter 2967 residue managers and optional SharkTooth® wheels. The combination attachment worked with his planter and powered through tough corn residue so he could plant 360 acres of sugar beets and 330 acres of soybeans. "I absolutely love them," said Vance. "The teeth slice the stalks and keep rolling. They don't push root balls in front of the planter, and I don't have to stop moving to unplug the residue from the teeth."
Originally, Vance attached his Yetter 2967 residue managers and SharkTooth® wheels to a 12-row planter. When he upgraded to a 24-row unit, he did not want to leave his Yetter tools behind. Vance replaced half the managers that came on the new planter with his Yetter combination. "I had nothing but trouble with the new planter's original residue managers, but the SharkTooth® wheels worked perfectly," said Vance. "I plan on ordering 12 more this winter so I can upgrade my entire planter."
Vance originally picked Yetter products because he knew the company was associated with residue management and had a good reputation. He did not test the product beforehand, but took a "gamble" because he liked the backwards-angled tooth design. "I didn't think they would clog like spoke wheel designs," Vance said. Vance said his gamble paid off: "I'm going to get my money's worth out of these!"
Charlie and Matt Ward, Iowa
Matt and Charlie Ward farm more than 5,000 acres. For planting in corn-on-corn or no-tilling beans in to corn residue, they use SharkTooth® wheels from Yetter. "We already have them on one of our planters. We are in the process of getting a new planter, and will add the SharkTooth wheels to that," said Charlie. (One planter is a John Deere 1770 24-row and the other is the same make in the narrow-row model.) "These wheels are aggressive," said Charlie. "With them, we are able to do more no-till and they make planning a little less hectic. We save time, trips, and fuel."
The Wards are also excited about new electronic-adjustment residue managers from Yetter, which they have ordered for one planter. These on-the-go units are controlled individually from the cab of the tractor. "I know we'll do the fine-tuning adjustments with these because it will take so much less time." "Yetter has good people that know and stand behind their products, and they offer good service," Charlie said. "There's no better proof than a repeat customer!"
Kevin Keopp, Minnesota
Kevin Keopp is one of a growing number of producers switching to twin-row corn. "Kinze just started building twin-row planters," said Kevin. "Not too long ago, machines for twin rows had to be custom built." Kevin did customize his Kinze 3600 16/32 planter to handle minimum tillage in a twin row system using Yetter SharkTooth® residue managers. First, a set of double-wheel residue managers slices through and moves stalks to the left and right. Next, a single-wheel SharkTooth residue manager cleans the space 7.5 inches to the left, clearing the path for the twin row of seeds to be planted.
"I chose Yetter because they had durable product, and I wanted the SharkTooth," said Kevin. "They cut right through the trash-that's the most exciting part. I can see it slicing straight through at about 5 miles an hour." Kevin is also pleased with the SharkTooth residue manager's lack of soil disruption. "I don't run coulters because they pull up too much damp soil. In Minnesota, we're on the damper side anyway, but the SharkTooth leaves us with dry soil to work with and gets me in the field as early as possible."
Gary Kunde, Bellevue, Iowa
Gary Kunde searched for the best residue manager to handle several thousand acres of beans and narrow-row corn, including some continuous corn. He found it in Yetter Manufacturing's Narrow Row Residue Managers with optional SharkTooth® wheels. "Twenty-inch rows mean we achieve more plants per acre, but it also means we have more residue to plant into," said Gary. "The Yetter SharkTooth wheels caught my eye because they self-clean as well as move residue."
"Our goal is to get seed in a precise location," Gary continued. "The Yetter residue managers work the way we want them to and do not interfere with planter performance." Although Gary had to make modifications to accommodate his Great Plains 24-row planter, he still has adequate adjustment. Yetter engineers have been in contact with Gary to learn from his modifications and have added a new feature from Gary's wish list- flotation ability-to the newest Narrow Row models.
Blaine Barrett, Frankfort, Indiana
For getting through tough corn-on-corn residue, Blaine Barrett counts on Titan™ residue managers with SharkTooth® wheels from Yetter Manufacturing. "The units bolted very smoothly onto the NH3 shanks we were using, and the floating feature allows the unit to keep contact with the ground all the time,"said Blaine. "They got through heavy corn-on-corn residue in the fall with no problems preparing about 3,000 acres for this spring's planting."
Blaine made some adjustments to the units to keep them from running too deep. "The adjustments were easy enough to make, and overall the durability has been fine."
Rotary Hoe
Les Seiler, Ohio
"I tested a roller harrow and compared the results to that of the Yetter Rotary Hoe. I like the Rotary Hoe better. It does a great job of lifting and redistributing the residue, but it doesn't break off and level the crowns and standing stalks."
Strip Till
John Friesenhahn, New Braunfels, Texas
John Friesenhahn has been using Yetter coulters for more than 20 years. After they needed only routine bearing replacements, it is no surprise that he chose to not only purchase more Yetter products, but also to sell them to other area producers. "Yetter has not made anything obsolete-they don't need to, because they start out with a good basic design," John said. "When they update their products, they do it in a way that allows me to retrofit my existing equipment. I am confident that I will never need to buy a new rig."
John's latest Yetter purchases were 2984 Generation II Maverick Openers™ for his strip-till operation. "I chose the Maverick Openers from Yetter to apply my starter fertilizer because I wanted to get fertilizer deep where the plant needs it. Even if the top few inches of soil dry out, I know I have an insurance policy. They have even held up really well in our tough clay soil."
John farms 1500 acres of winter wheat, corn, and grain sorghum. He enters the fields with his Mavericks, which he fitted to a repurposed toolbar, four to six weeks before planting. His fertilizer process is ultimately determined by a soil test and weather conditions, but he typically follows his starter mix with an application at planting and a side-dressing. "The Mavericks have made my planting more consistent-I can plant right over the seedbed," said John. "The parallel linkage gives me more depth consistency with no extra springs. The Mavericks work well at speeds of six or more miles per hour-I can cover a lot of ground without a big rig."
Daryl Sorensen, Michigan
"Yetter Manufacturing's 2984 Mavericks are the right tool for my strip-till operation. I've used them for six or seven seasons," said Daryl Sorensen. Daryl's Mavericks are mounted on a toolbar that he runs through about 400 acres before planting corn and soybeans into the well-prepared seedbed. "They do a good job of loosening the soil."
This year, Daryl added rolling basket attachments from Yetter to his strip-till setup to further enhance performance. "The rolling baskets mellow out the soil and eliminate clumps," he said. "The Mavericks and now the rolling baskets have contributed to stronger plant stands and increased yields for my operation," Daryl said.
Ben Stidd, Ellettsville, Indiana
A retired biology professor from Western Illinois University, Ben Stidd converted a John Deere planter for strip till using Yetter 2984 Series Generation II Maverick™ Openers. Initially, he started with a four-row unit but has since extended the toolbar and now has six Maverick openers mounted on it.
He raises soybeans and corn on 325 acres. "I put fertilizer down when I strip till in the fall, and I'm satisfied with the job the Maverick openers are doing," Ben said. "It puts up a pretty good berm, but by spring, it is level and makes a nice seed bed."
"With strip tilling, I can get the fertilizer down deep where the moisture is going to be," Ben added. "So in dry years, the corn can take up that fertilizer right away. It's just my personal observation, but I think in dry years my crops come through better because I'm strip tilling."
Yetter Planter Attachments
Shane McClintic, Missouri
"I am extremely pleased with the system I used this past planting season to no-till beans into cornstalks. I used my planter with a Yetter residue manager and spade wheels on the back. After clearing residue to plant, I had excellent seed-to-soil contact, depth control, and planting depth because of the path cleared by the residue manager. I also noticed a mulch between the rows that held moisture throughout the summer - even through August."
Doug Summer, Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizer Company, Michigan
"There is just not a lot built for Monosem planters," said Doug Summer, manager for Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizer. So, the company uses Yetter Manufacturing's 2995 T.O.W. Fertilizer Openers, a trailing application tool made for hard-to-fit planters. "The T.O.W. units are easy to adjust, which is good because we do a lot of test plots," said Doug. "We change placement often, and we don't have to crawl under the planter and spend half a day making the adjustments. We can usually get back in the field in about an hour."
Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizer's operations are largely strip-till, but the units are also run in no-till and conventional tillage conditions. "The units work well in all," said Doug. "The T.O.W. units allow good trash flow through the planter, and the fertilizer placement is on the mark," he added. Doug also has Yetter 2961 Cut-n-Feed Combo units on the front of the planter. "We continue to work with Yetter because they're good on delivery and parts are easily accessible."