Go behind the scenes with Leo Johnson and his son, Patrick, as they plant corn into strips for the first time on their 1,000-acre farm in Clinton, Wis. Jason Pennycook, precision specialist for 9-store Case IH dealer Johnson Tractor, comes to the rescue with remote support when Patrick runs into a problem with the planter in the field.

Go behind the scenes with Chad Baker, co-owner of Baker Precision Planter Works in Orangeville, Ill., as he hits the road for on-farm visits and pre-season maintenance checks. Baker helps a first-generation no-tiller prepare for planting season, and later runs into a couple big challenges with a customer’s new, high-speed, 24-row planter.

Talking with both farmers and dealers in different parts of the country, most say it's been a smooth planting season, aside from a few hiccups. Looking at the May 11 crop progress report from the USDA, both corn and soybean planting were well ahead of 2014.

"We've been doing technology meetings for probably 10 years or better, but early on they were more sales-oriented meetings," says Pearson. "Now we do a lot more of the pre-season preparedness routines related to our field mapping program and things like that."

With planting season in the rearview mirror, dealers have a little breathing room until it’s time to plan for harvest.