Turn Precision Into Decision Ag

written by Chase Matthiae

Collecting yield data on combines was the first form of precision agriculture in the early 90s. Farmers wanted to start keeping records of which fields performed better than others. The Mass Flow Sensor provides on-the-go yield documenting, it records the amount of grain bouncing off a plate into the grain bin, along with the moisture, header width, and speed. Using those numbers, it can accurately calculate bushels per acre. Operators can use the live bushels per acre in the cab to predict how many more loads to the farm will fill up the grain bin. When the yield maps get downloaded onto a computer, they can be saved year after year to show trends in certain areas to show profitability. Merging this data with planting and applying maps can show managers hard evidence of where there were issues with machines or if the conditions are not suitable for the current management practices in an area. This single tool on the combine provides a great value when calibrated properly. This data is stored year after year and with one chance to collect it each year, there is a lot of value in doing it properly.

Active Yield provides continuous and automatic calibrations of the mass flow sensor using load sensors installed in the grain tank. This application calculates the calibrations from comparing the bushels that are landing in the grain tank versus what is passing the mass flow sensor, merging that information with the moisture sensor and the terrain compensation module in the Starfire receiver, it is able to adjust the calibration number. The main goal of this is to more accurately show trends in fields to help micromanage zones with confidence in the yield you are seeing on your computer at home. This feature supports five crop types: corn, soybean, wheat, barley, and canola. Active Yield comes with base equipment on MY2019 S700 John Deere Combines, or it can be added on MY2012 and newer John Deere Combines. There is currently a PROMOTION on this performance upgrade kit for up to $750 in savings.

Talk with your R&S Sales Consultant for more information on this promotion today!