The Check-Row Revolution

ntil herbicides replaced mechanical weed control, corn was planted in check rows in most of the Corn Belt. In western Pennsylvania where I grew up, corn was drilled in 42-inch rows and not checkrowed. The average width of a horse was 42 inches, and a horse had to fit between the rows of corn to pull a cultivator, so the rows were planted 42 inches apart. We originally used a horse-drawn John Deere 919 two-row planter. Later, we cut off the planter’s long tongue and pulled it with a Ford-Ferguson tractor. Ultimately,