Yield Monitors - Basic Steps to Ensure System Accuracy and Performance (SSMG-31)

SSMG-31 (J. Lems, D. E. Clay, D. Humburg, T. A. Doerge, S. Christopherson, and C. L. Reese)

Yield Monitors—Basic Steps to Ensure System Accuracy and Performance

Summary:

According to today’s yield monitor manufacturers, most users should obtain accuracy within +/- 3 percent, if the system is properly installed, maintained and calibrated. Items that operators must be conscious of and attend to for good results can be summarized as follows:

Proper calibration of the mass-flow sensor using multiple loads acquired according to the manufacturer’s recom-mendations.
Inspection of the system sensors, particularly those affected by crop conditions, during the harvest.
Verification and, if necessary, calibration of the ground speed sensor.
Verification and calibration of moisture and temperature sensors.
Correct entry of the operating information such as crop type, field, and header width for each field into the system console.
Proper use of the software to extract and process the yield data.

New technology often requires time and experience to ensure all things are operating at peak performance. The items discussed here are lessons learned with field experience.