Precision Agriculture series Volume 3: Leveraging Harvest Data for Informed Farming Decisions
The Power of Harvest Data
Welcome to the third instalment of our Precision Agriculture (PA) series. In previous issues, we discussed soil surveys and variable rate applications. . Now, as the harvest season ramps up, we turn to the insights embedded in harvest data. This valuable information, gathered through on-farm trials and experimentation, can be a game-changer for your approach to nutrition, genetics, and management. By accurately collecting, analysing, and applying harvest data, you can transform your past experiences into future successes.
Collecting Accurate Harvest Data: Best Practices
Consistency in Collection
Calibration: Ensuring that yield monitors and sensors are properly calibrated throughout the harvest season is crucial for data accuracy. Even minor calibration issues can skew results and diminish the value of the insights gained.
Use one machine – Where possible, using one header to harvest trials in paddocks will result in the most accurate and consistent data. This will allow you to confidently identify minor differences between treatments.
Data Integrity Checks
Regularly reviewing data such as your CBH records for inconsistencies, outliers, or missing points ensures that the information you’re working with reflects the true performance of your crops. Effective data validation makes your analysis more reliable, setting a solid foundation for decision-making.
Turning Data into Insights: Nutrition, Genetics, and Management
Optimizing Nutrient Strategies
Analyzing Nutrient Response: Well collected harvest data will reveal how crops responded to variable nutrient rates. By examining the checkbox trial strips embedded into your VR maps you can begin to build your own fertiliser response model. This can then determine the optimal nutrient levels for each zone, improving nutrient efficiency and profitability.
Seasonal Adjustments: Use this information to tailor your fertilization plans for the next season, potentially adjusting nitrogen or potassium applications based on the observed responses. This data can then build a catalogue of analogue years which can then be examined when similar environmental conditions present themselves.
Example analysis: For those keen-eyed readers who can recall from the second instalment on VR nutrition figure 1 is the example of a simple map that was created to maximise the ROI on fertiliser inputs (see caption for description)
Reporting - Using the PCT Agcloud platform PDF reports are generated. This report validates the current nutrition strategy of applying lower rates of N and P on these sodic, heavy clays (EC 166 on graph) and higher rates on lighter soil types (EC 94). Note: Only two zones were used for simplicity of this report, you can define as many as your machine is capable of accurately implementing.
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Economic analysis: Gross margin analysis can also be seamlessly performed to define the most profitable treatment per zone. Table 1 below shows the profitability of applying each treatment to the zones. Table 2 then defines the most profitable treatment for each zone and calculates total field profit were the most profitable treatment applied across the entire paddock.
Table 1. PCT output of gross margin (Barley $340/t & urea $900/t) for each zone present within trial strips.
Table 2. Whole field analysis if most profitable treatment applied to each zone. These can be adjusted to encompass revenue per tonne of crop after expenses to make them accurate for your system.
Evaluating Genetic Performance
Variety Comparisons: By experimenting with different crop varieties, harvest data enables you to evaluate genetic performance across various conditions on your farm. This can include adaptability to soil types, drought tolerance, and yield potential.
Building a Genetic Strategy: Use yield and quality data to select genetics that align with your farm’s unique environment and management practices, ensuring you are planting varieties with the highest potential to thrive in your conditions.
Refining Management Practices
Identifying Successful Practices: Whether it’s tillage, plant density, or application timings, harvest data helps quantify the impact of each management decision on crop performance.
Planning for the Future: Use these insights to refine your practices, adopting those that deliver the highest ROI while phasing out less effective methods. This iterative approach ensures continuous improvement in your farm management.
The Value of On-Farm Trials: Testing for Precision
On-farm trials provide a hands-on approach to precision agriculture, allowing you to experiment with various techniques, inputs, and technologies directly on your fields. By designing trials that test specific variables—such as nutrient levels, genetic varieties, or management techniques—you gain firsthand insights that can be applied across your entire operation. Harvest data from these trials serves as a feedback loop, offering clear evidence of what works and what doesn’t in your unique setting.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Building for Long-Term Success
By integrating harvest data with other layers of information (e.g., soil surveys, NDVI imagery, and historical yield data), you develop a complete picture of your farm’s performance. This depth of understanding empowers you to make informed decisions that support long-term productivity, sustainability, and profitability.
Originally Produced in November 2024 as part of the PEEP project
