At the end of a growing season, a producer has a lot of data. How can you use it to make your operation more profitable?  Let’s look at what data you may be collecting and how it will help you in the future.

Data from Previous Years’ Crops

Previous years’ information is golden! You may have it on your computer, in notebooks, on the back of envelopes, or all three or more. Collecting that data in one spot is the best starting point. Sometimes that feels like gathering all your receipts for tax time. But if you set up a system at the beginning of the year, you won’t feel so stressed.

Do you have a bank account that has a feature where you can scan receipts and create a profit-loss sheet? That’s the same thing you need to do for your crop data. You’re not putting in the financials, but the amounts/acre of inputs, cover crop biomass, how you terminated, weed and insect pressure, and other variables that affect the quality and quantity of harvest.

With a yield monitoring system, you’ll have most of the data together. Be sure you download it onto an external hard drive so you don’t override it. Then look for patterns in your fields. Low-performing areas, high-performing areas, weed-prone spots, and insect-damaged plants are elements to look for.

Once you have four to five years of data, you can see how your management practices are impacting your ag profitability over time. When you’re looking at only one year you need to consider all the other uncontrollable variables that go into a cropping season, such as weather, pests, disease, and seed quality.

Make Data-Driven Decisions for Greater Ag Profits

Use the information from past years when you’re scouting this year’s crops. It takes more than a yield monitoring system to make good management decisions. It takes boots on the ground and pictures. Lots of pictures. You won’t remember where those weeds or pests were throughout the season.

Pictures, notes, and a computerized record give you data throughout the season so you have a good idea of how profitable the year will be when you go into harvest. You’ve imputed the drought days at seed set and the late planting because of the wet spring. That kind of data tells you which fields you should look at to harvest first, and which fields you should check for disease and other issues.

Even one year of yield monitoring and record keeping will show you field variability patterns. With that data, you can initiate management practices that mitigate crop growth limiting factors. Your property is unique, and the management that creates consistent yield patterns is site-specific. A long field history is essential so you can factor in unpredictable factors such as weather and don’t draw incorrect conclusions for input or management.

As a businessperson, you’re interested in total operation profitability. As a steward of the land, you’re also interested in improving the land you’re managing. Contact our team at ST Biologicals to see how these two goals go hand-in-hand with regenerative ag practices. We’re here to help you succeed. When soil speaks, we listen.