Welcome to "Why and When To Use A Cultipacker" by John Deere Tips Notebook.

Why And When To Use A Cultipacker

We all know, from basic gardening to commercial farming, there are lots of factors that will affect crop yield. But when you use a cultipacker, you’ll be properly preparing the seedbed, and insuring good seed to soil contact, two of the most important things you can do for achieving success.

After you’re done with any disking or other tillage practice, you need to prepare the seedbed to be firm and even and ready for seeding. And one of the best tools for accomplishing that is a cultipacker. That’s true whether you’re using a smaller cultipacker with a compact utility tractor – or a larger cultipacker with a larger utility tractor.

To demonstrate, we identified a one-third acre food plot that has been disked, which left clods and crevices that just don’t make for a good seedbed. The solution is to go over it again, thoroughly, with a cultipacker. So we’re using a Frontier CP1172 Cultipacker (US CA) on a John Deere 3039R Compact Utility Tractor (US CA) before seeding. This 6-foot (1.83 m) cultipacker will break up the dirt clods, and level and firm up the seedbed. It also leaves grooves in the soil that will help retain moisture and help prevent wash or erosion.

Then, if your seeding equipment does not have a rear cultipacker attached, you would use a cultipacker again after application to press the seed into the seedbed, creating really good seed to soil contact.

Now, the same before-planting process is true with bigger equipment, and bigger fields.

For example, here’s a 23-acre field we’re getting prepared for seeding using a John Deere 5125R Utility Tractor (USCA) and a Frontier CP1512 Cultipacker (US CA). This 12-foot (3.67 m) model is used to prepare the seedbed, exactly the same as the smaller model – breaking up any remaining clods of soil, firming the seedbed, and leaving shallow grooves, again helping retain moisture and preventing wash or erosion.

No matter the size, a cultipacker is a simple tool that plays an important role in helping you maximize your crop yield.

Frontier has nearly 600 implements that are available only from your John Deere dealer, the place to go for advice and equipment.

So remember, for implements that help turn your tractor into the workhorse it was built to be, think Frontier and your John Deere dealer.

And lastly, always read the Operator’s Manual before operating any piece of equipment and follow all operating and safety instructions.