Closing Wheels Performance in No-Till Soybean Study

Todd Westerfeld's Planter with FurrowForce and Keeton

Key Points

Objective: To evaluate yield and economics of six distinctly different types of closing wheel systems in a no-till environment for soybeans.
Outcome: In the toughest environments to close, FurrowForce provides a clear advantage and allows for the maximum yield potential.
Largest Loss Potential: Across our 2025 no-till closing system studies at the PTI Farm for soybeans, dual traditional rubbers provided the largest loss potential with a yield deficit of -3.3 Bu/A, and revenue losses of -$32.77/A.

Closing systems are designed to close the seed trench, eliminate sidewall compaction and smearing, and remove air pockets all while achieving good seed-to-soil contact. The traditional “standard” is a dual rubber closing system, so we took to the PTI Farm to discover how the traditional closing system used by the majority of growers across the country would hold up against it's competitors.

FurrowForce, our preferred two-stage closing and sensing control system, works fundamentally different than other closing systems. In the first stage, notched wheels work to close the seed furrow from the bottom up, eliminating air pockets. In the second stage, stitch wheels carry weight on them to firm the soil over the seed to retain moisture and promote even emergence.

FurrowForce® Closing and Sensing Control

Non-Sensing Traditional Dual Rubber

Non-Sensing Dual Yetter Poly Twister®

Non-Sensing Martin-Till® fCrusher

Non-Sensing Case Manual Two Stage

Case manual 2-stage cupped razor closing wheels

Non-Sensing Case Manual Two Stage with Cupped Razor Closing Disc System

We tested six different closing systems in a no-till environment where we planted directly into the previous year’s corn stalks with no tillage performed. The results speak for themselves!

In a no-till environment, FurrowForce on both a Massey and Case outperformed all other systems with yield gains of +2.3 to +3.3 Bu/A. No-till environments are by far the toughest to close; however, we found that in this environment the dual traditional rubber closers had the lowest performance.

Our results also showed potential economic gains of +22.84 to +$32.77/A with the Case IH and Massey FurrowForce combinations. It’s clear that in tougher closing situations, a more robust system, like FurrowForce, is needed to effectively close the furrow.