Various methods are used to drop the kernels of corn into the soil, but the specially designed corn planters are used most for this purpose. Such planters are: the hand, the one-row, the two-row drill, and the two- and four-row check-row.

The most satisfactory method of sowing any of the small grains is with the grain drill. The largest yields are obtained from fields where the seed have been deposited evenly and in the right amount in a firm, compact soil and covered at a uniform depth. It is practically impossible to secure these conditions when the seed are sown with a broadcast seeder.