The first thing you need after the planter is a soil test. No matter the technology or row spacing, if the soil needs attention, the harvest will suffer. You don't mention if the 494 has a fertilizer attachment. Consider equipping it with liquid fertilizer system. It is not complicated. John Deere's original system for this planter was gravity feed. Adding a pump and valves takes only slightly more effort. Liquid is substantially cheaper and is available to the plant immediately whereas granular fertilizer takes time to dissolve. Unused liquid can be stored year to year in a tote. Or it can be mixed in a sprayer with herbicide, and it doesn't kill off beneficial soil life like anhydrous does. I was forced into liquid fert. in 2016, because I was short of cash. The savings was $1300 over the dry, and paid for the liquid attachment on my 5100. Go to your Extension Office and get a Field Guide, a booklet showing all the crops in their various growth stages with color pictures showing, for example, what corn looks like when there is a phosphorus deficiency. There are sections on weed identification,how to prevent them,what to do if you have them. Also there is a section on various crop diseases and how to deal with them. Then it covers the insects, both good and bad, how to monitor them, how many is too many, and what to spray them with to get them under control. It is like the coolest book ever. Whenever a local seed company has a seminar at the town hall, go to it! There is always a few gems of knowledge to picked up at these events, and plenty of people to answer any questions you might have. If a fertilizer/pesticide license is required in your area, pursue it even if you are under the required acreage. It's only $30 (ours in Ohio is good for three years) and there is much to be learned at these meetings, and your license will be valuable if you ever go to work for another farmer who does his own spraying.
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Today's Featured Article - A Lifetime of Farm Machinery - by Joe Michaels. I am a mechanical engineer by profession, specializing in powerplant work. I worked as a machinist and engine erector, with time spent overseas. I have always had a love for machinery, and an appreciation for farming and farm machinery. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Not a place one would associate with farms or farm machinery. I credit my parents for instilling a lot of good values, a respect for learning, a knowledge of various skills and a little knowledge of farming in me, amo
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