HOW TO ▶▶▶
Deal with farm data Y
IAN BEECHER JONES
ou’ve collected the combine yield data – now what? One of the hardest aspects of precision farming is to start using the data and make a
difference to the farming operation.
Import the data The first challenge is finding the time to import the yield data in to a Farm Management Information System (FMIS). I see so much yield data safely stored on USB sticks, data cards or just left on the monitor because time hasn’t been set aside to take a look at it. Many farmers just hand it over to their
agronomists and they manage it for them. There’s definitely nothing wrong with
that, but are we getting to a time where farmers should be looking at the data themselves as well? So why is data management lower down
on the list of farmer’s priorities than it should be? It comes down to two things: 1. A lack of time to learn and understand
how to use the FMIS to interpret the information properly. 2. Not fully trusting the data from the
combine and having the confidence to turn it into something useful. If the data has been collected in an
organised way, all the yield data will be in
Combines now come with the ability to collect yield data, but few farmers are using it effectively to aid crop management decisions. Future Farming asks an independent specialist for some tips on how to organise and interpret the numbers
the correct fields. If it has been mislabelled or not labelled at all, it may be spread across the farm or, more worryingly, be in one field. The FMIS can, then, remove any incorrect high or low yield points, effectively cleaning up the data.
Yield analysis Now it’s time to analyse it. Unfortunately, there is not one clear and concise way of looking at yield data and then turning it into a map that can be converted in to a variable rate application prescription, for example. In any analysis, software legends or bands (which set the range, thereby remove outliers) can be used to analyse yield data, helping to ensure consistency across crop type, variety or any other banding approach. Avoid using a single template, as there will
38
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 09 November 2017
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
