Early harvest creates ample time for yield data analysis
© MAG/Emma Gillbard An earlier-than-usual harvest has given farmers a valuable opportunity to make the most of their combine yield data, before autumn drilling gets under way.
Industry advisers are encouraging growers to review yield data to identify underperforming land and areas most struck by drought to inform future input decisions and improve profitability.
See also: Did drought or heat have greater effect on crop yields this harvest?
“One of the biggest areas where I see farms losing money is through farming unprofitable land”, says Ben Foster, Rhiza product manager at Agrii.
“With harvest complete, now is the perfect time to use yield data to determine the question: should I be farming this land or not?”
By identifying areas of land that consistently underperform and the reasons behind it, farmers can establish a better ongoing management plan.
“The longer period between harvest and autumn drilling gives growers more time to review which varieties were successful.
“As well as pinpointing areas of fields that performed well, and those that didn’t,” explains Ben.
Ben Foster © Agrii
Opting for Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) schemes can be a good solution.
Modern combines already collect vast amounts of yield data, and this information is easy to access.
The challenge is no longer collecting the data; it is turning it into practical management decisions.
Comparing yield data with satellite imagery can also help growers identify patterns in crop performance and potentially understand where variation is likely to occur.
When it comes to evaluating yield data against NDVI satellite imagery, Ben explains.
“Nine times out of 10, if you look at the variance in a satellite image in March or April, that variance will reflect the yield map in the summer.”
Yield maps should be viewed as more than a record of harvest, continues Ben.
When combined with precision farming technologies and analysed over multiple seasons, they become a useful tool to help growers improve efficiency, optimise inputs and increase farm profitability.
Yield maps inform management decisions and SFI options
Sam Fordham, Head of Technical at Rhiza, has first-hand experience of using combine yield maps to inform management decisions and SFI options on his home farm.
By analysing multiple years of data, Sam was able to identify areas of the field that were consistently underperforming and assess their financial performance.
“I stacked around eight years’ worth of yield maps on top of each other, normalising the output, to give a really well visualised map of how the field performed in each area”, says Sam.
The data interpreted from the yield maps enabled Sam to identify the worst-trending parts of the field.
“I worked out my output over the eight years, two full rotations of farming at a year period. From there, I could calculate what my basic gross margin per hectare was for each area”.
Understanding the various SFI options is crucial, as putting land out of production for three years can create its own management challenges.
After reviewing the potential SFI options, Sam decided it was better to keep the lower-performing areas in production for long-term management, allowing him to address the issues identified by his interpretation of the yield maps.
“By stacking SFI in-crop options, such as PRF1 variable rate, no insecticide and companion cropping, I could significantly increase gross margins in those areas without negatively impacting the positive areas of the field”, explains Sam.
