Optimizing relative placement of seeds and fertilizers

A method of improving crop yields by optimizing seed depth and a separation distance between seeds and fertilizer during planting into a field surface as soil conditions change from a negative soil condition that is present in a plurality of negative field portions of the field surface, to a transitional soil condition that is present in a transitional field portion of the field surface, and to a positive soil condition that is present in a plurality of positive field portions of the field surface, such that the transitional field portion lies between each of the negative and positive field portions and such that passing along the field surface from one of the negative field portions to one of the positive field portions or to a different one of the negative field portions requires passing through the transitional field portion, the method comprising:

• attaching a seed furrow opener and a fertilizer furrow opener to an arm member that is movably attached to an implement frame of a seeding implement such that movement of the arm member causes movement of both the fertilizer furrow opener and the seed furrow opener, and such that the seed furrow opener engages the field surface above and rearward of the fertilizer furrow opener;
• dispensing crop seeds into a seed furrow formed in the field surface by the seed furrow opener and dispensing fertilizer into a fertilizer furrow formed in the field surface by the fertilizer furrow opener such that the seed and fertilizer are separated by a separation distance;
• moving the implement frame along one of the negative field portions with the seed furrow opener engaging the field surface at a negative seed depth and the fertilizer furrow opener engaging the field surface at a negative fertilizer depth that is greater than the negative seed depth to provide a negative separation distance;
• moving the implement frame from the negative field portion into the transitional field portion with the seed furrow opener engaging the field surface at a transitional seed depth that is less than the negative seed depth and the fertilizer furrow opener engaging the field surface at a transitional fertilizer depth that is less than the negative fertilizer depth and greater than the transitional seed depth to provide a transitional separation distance that is less than the negative separation distance;
• moving the implement frame from the transitional field portion into one of the positive field portions with the seed furrow opener engaging the field surface at a positive seed depth that is less than the transitional seed depth and the fertilizer furrow opener engaging the field surface at a positive fertilizer depth that is less than the transitional fertilizer depth and greater than the positive seed depth to provide a positive separation distance that is less than the transitional separation distance.