Farmers must make many decisions before planting a crop on their farm. The most important decision is the crop to be planted. Farmers generally rotate their crops. This means they plant one type of crop one year and a different type the next. In other words they don't plant the same type of plants two years in a row. A rotation helps control diseases and insects by not providing a host crop for more than one year. Rotations might be 3 or more years. An example of a crop rotation is corn—soybeans—wheat planted in succession.

The quality of the seed is the next consideration. There are many varieties and hybrids of seed which the farmer has to select from each growing season. No single variety is best suited for every soil or growing condition. Farmers try to select varieties which will produce the highest yields. Most farmers plant certified seed. This is seed that has been tested and is guaranteed to have a high germination rate, few weed seed, and be free of plant diseases.

Before a farmer plants his crop he must decide how and when to till his fields. Tilling or tillage means to prepare the soil and make a good seed bed in which to plant the seed. Tillage normally begins after the last crop is harvested. The farmer uses a disc that he pulls behind his tractor. The disc mixes the stubble left over from the last crop with the soil. As this stubble rots over the winter it provides nutrients, or plant food for the next crop.

In the late winter, the farmer again plows his fields. This time he is destroying any weeds or grass that might have grown during the winter. He may also put out fertilizer, or plant food, that will help the crop grow. He wants to make sure the seed bed is smooth and there are no big dirt clods in the field. To do this he uses a disc, that he pulls behind his tractor. A harrow follows the disc and finishes breaking up the clods and makes a fine seed bed.

When there is no more danger of frost the farmer plants his seeds. He attaches a planter, which he fills with seed, to his tractor. The planter places the seeds into the soil at the right depth and spacing to provide the best growth. Fertilizer may be applied at the same time to provide nutrients to the crop as soon as the plants start to grow. The planter leaves enough space between the rows of seeds so the farmer can pull a cultivator later in the growing season. The cultivator remove weeds from between the rows and helps aerate the soil. Row crops are generally cultivated two times a year.

The rest of the season the farmer watches his fields for signs of disease or harmful insects. If necessary, he may call an aerial applicator to fly over his fields and apply the proper chemicals to control insects or diseases that could damage his crop.

Many farmers, especially those in the drier areas of Texas, use irrigation to supply water to their crops when needed. However, many farmers depend on rainfall as the only source of water for their crops.

When it is time, the farmer harvests his crop with a machine called a combine. The front part of the combine (the header) pulls the plants into a bar that cuts them off. The combine then removes the grain from the stem and leaves. The grain is temporarily stored in a hopper on the combine. The stems and leaves are thrown back out on the ground. When the hopper on the combine is full the grain is unloaded onto a truck which hauls it to a large storage bin until the farmer is ready to sell it.

Adapted from Ohio Crop Production Steps Brochure

Harvesting the crop
with a
combine