Seeds are planted, crops are growing, and your data is waiting. Planting data is the cornerstone to summer crop scouting and yield tracking. So why is it one of the most overlooked sources when it comes to data management?
POST-PLANTING ANALYTICS
There are tons of factors that affect plant success - variety, fertilizer, sun, moisture, soil type. . . the list goes on and on. But how many of us are analyzing our planting data to check planter performance? Field Analyzer Beta in MyJohnDeere Operations Center gives us the ability to view not only our target rate, but also our as-applied rate and quality. The naked eye will notice if a planter was under-populating by ten to fifteen thousand seeds per acre. But what about one to two thousand? It's safe to say that any planter with inconsistent population could have worn parts or need adjustments, and planting map analysis is an easy and convenient way of identifying an issue that needs attention.
SCOUTING
When viewing your planting data, there's more to the picture than just applied rate and hybrid number. By bringing your information into a platform that also has a mobile connection - like the MyOperations app - you're now able to make a scouting plan and drop pins with notes and images at exact locations in your fields, all from your phone. Have a test plot with various populations, varieties, speeds, or fertilizer? Great! Your scouting passes just became a whole lot easier and more effective.
VARIETY TRACKING
We all know that a seed variety is only as good as its plant and yield performance. Published trials are great for starting to scratch the surface of these purchase decisions, but why not use your own yield information from your own farms? Tools like Variety Locator and Connect Mobile Harvest make that process way simpler than it used to be. Once you've uploaded your planting data to the Operations Center, you're able to create files that allow your combine display to automatically track your varieties, and even view a live yield map over variety on your iPad. Once harvest is complete, you can easily view and pick which varieties performed the best to make data-backed seed purchase choices.