Yield Mapping

Making the grower more profit through new technology

Farmers need Opti-Crop to help assimilate the plethora of data thrown at them in the precision ag industry.  With farmers spending their valuable time marketing their crop, renting more land, trading equipment, etc... it is essential that this vital yield information is not lost.  Opti-Crop provides a full service of crop management that includes installation, support, calibration, and the production and interpretation of the yield maps.

Two GPS Yield Monitor-equipped 2388 case combines harvest soybeans.
Even the most uniform looking crop can produce yield differences from 30 to 80 bushels
per acre in a field with a 55 bushel per acre average.

 

Profit mapping is the ultimate method of evaluating profitability levels within a field or within a total farm. This example illustrates soybean profitability within a 125 acre field, where profits range from -$90 up to +$232.00 per acre. This really gives a grower or a consultant sound data to make better management decisions on many areas, including where inputs need to be applied.

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Using the latest software available, we are then able to determine where problem areas exist in the fields, and which corrective measures are most effective.  By using Ag-Chem's SGIS software in conjunction with the Ag-Chem Soilection concept, we are able to custom apply up to 6 different products in a single pass across the field using the highly accurate and uniform air system.  We can base variable rate nutrient applications on soil testing by grid, soil type, or topography, and then utilize previous crop yield information together with realistic yield goals to achieve the highest level of production with the lowest costs.

A number of our clients have utilized variable population control systems for corn and soybeans for 4 seasons now.  We have lots of yield maps which illustrate the benefits and some of the problems we have found with this concept.

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Opti-Crop was privileged enough to have 40 of the first commercially available Ag-Leader yield monitors back in 1994, and we have since continued to expand our yield mapping services across our marketing area. We have yield mapped over 1,000,000 acres since 1994 and most of the yield maps we create, quickly expand our knowledge of the individual characteristics of each field. Using these maps and interpretation, we can significantly increase the levels of production using better site specific management.

This individual yield map clearly illustrates the interaction between soil characteristics and two different corn hybrids within a 208 acre flat field. The field was planted with a 16 row Kinze planter, with 8 boxes full of hybrid A and 8 boxes of hybrid B. The planter started at the North end of the field, and planted East to West. This practice gave us 16 rows of each hybrid alternating down the entire field.

At the North end, both hybrids performed in the 170-190 bu/ac range, but as combine fitted with an 8 row head harvested the field, one hybrid yielded 30-50 bu/ac lower than the other in the south half. This yield map was researched, and region soil tests and soil types were used to help determine the reason for the variability. Our conclusion - the South end was a poorer drained soil type, and one corn hybrid was much more capable of yielding in these conditions. The whole field essentially became a trial plot, and this information can be used in the following seasons to help growers select corn hybrids for different soil types and drainage conditions. Please also note the lower yields around the field perimeters, this was a result of heavy traffic and excessive levels of soil compaction.

This is a yield map generated from a soybean field in the fall of 1996, although this farm was gently rolling, there were some major differences in yield from less than 9.9 bushels per acre, right up to yields above 60 bushels per acre. With soybean yield differences above 50 bushels per acre in a field, it is easy for a producer to justify a yield monitor if the problems can be identified and corrected.

This field was soil sampled on 2.5 acre average sized regions, and pH was found to be the limiting factor in the lower yielding areas, with some pH levels lower than pH 5.

Lime was applied with VRT technology in the late fall of 1996, and the yields of soybeans have been much more consistent, although we recognise that it may take 2-4 years to see the full benefit of the lime.

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If we can increase the soybean yield on this 125 acre field alone by 12 bushels per acre, with $5.00/bu soybeans, it will pay for the yield monitor and GPS system in one year!

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 This double-crop soybean yield map from 1997, illustrates the importance of waiting for the right planting conditions. After planting the east half of the 78 acre field in wetter than normal conditions, the grower stopped planting and waited 3 days for the soil to dry. The area where he resumed planting on the east half of the field, plus the end rows, yielded 11 bu/ac more as a result.