HARNESS DATA TO MANAGE CROPS PROFITABLY
Key points
- Crop management software can help farmers boost profits, if they use it intentionally.
- Bring in a team to decide what technology makes sense for your farm and to put it to use.
- Start your analysis with these three layers: soil test, planting and harvest data.
Maximizing return on investment on every acre is more important than ever and accomplishing that will lead most farmers to crop management software in the years ahead, predicts AgriGold Agronomist Derrek Barnes. Adoption is rising and he expects the trend to accelerate.
High volumes of farm data and an array of software options have some farmers facing analysis paralysis. But for those opting to dig into the data, incorporating the support of others and crop management software, the opportunity is tremendous.
Bring in a team
Collecting, analyzing and applying the data isn’t something farmers have to do alone. In fact, they shouldn’t.
Barnes encourages farmers to identify a support team to help choose technology and implement it to improve productivity. “You want supporters who know you and your operation,” he says. “Involve partners who are willing to sit down with you and walk through information that’s important to your operation and management practices, helping you make those driving decisions.”
This can also be a great opportunity to involve the next generation who might be more comfortable with the technology backing today’s farm management software.
A holistic approach to farm data
“If someone handed you a yield map and asked you how to fix an area that underperforms, you’d be working with an incomplete picture,” Barnes says. “The more data you can bring in and layer over one another to compare, the better. That’s when a farmer can draw conclusions that then become management practices they can apply to improve farm profitability for seasons to come.”
He recommends starting with three basic layers:
- Soil test data
- Planting data
- Harvest data
Soil fertility is foundational. “If you’re building a house, you want a solid foundation,” he says. “The foundation for that corn or soybean crop always comes back to your rudimentary soil fertility — lime, phosphate, potassium, nitrogen and sulfur.”
Make sure your foundation is strong and build from there, incorporating these three basic layers, Barnes advises. Looking at them together can help farmers see correlations that help them better understand product performance and placement.
There are great tools that can help. Which is best will depend on the farming operation, its equipment and what technology is being used. Another consideration is how much a farmer wants to manage on his or her own versus relying on others.
Good data in equals good data out
While all these systems and all this data opens a world of possibilities, it’s important to maintain a human element to management. “We’re dealing with a living, breathing crop — a crop farmers need to pay attention to throughout the season,” Barnes says.
A farmer should know the story of the crop and have an expectation of what that data is going to show, Barnes says. Ideally, the data should be more of a validation of what farmers have seen rather than data showing them what to do.
“Having an understanding of what’s behind the data is where management comes into play,” he says. “That’s where you can use data to make decisions that generate results.”
Barnes also emphasizes the importance of taking the time to load accurate data into systems and to execute on-farm field trials that can expand knowledge and yields. “It’s easy to rush during planting season. The window seems to narrow each year and farmers are moving faster,” he says. But in the grand scheme of things, inputting data or doing hybrid trials does not take that much time, and the payoffs can be enormous.
“Technology can help improve farming systems, but only if we take the time to put in valid information on what we’re doing and then evaluate the data,” Barnes says. “Good data in equals good data out. That intentionality behind a few passes via a field trial can add an exponential amount of knowledge and wealth.”
For support using your data to make productive choices for your farm, reach out to your local AgriGold agronomist.
