How to Improve Field Data Accuracy for Better Farming Decisions
November 15, 2019
Pre-Harvest Tips: How to Make Your Harvest Data Deliver
From the first day of flight school, pilots are instructed on the importance of checking every instrument before take-off. Even if they have multiple flights in a day, they still go through the same long checklist — every, single, time. Why? Because while in-flight, they need to trust what their equipment is telling them. In other words, they need all the data collected and delivered to the cockpit to be as accurate as possible.
Back on Earth, some farmers adopt this same meticulous approach. They know how important it is to ensure their data is accurate, because they base their decision making on what that data is telling them. Farmers pay special attention yield monitors not just before harvest, but throughout the season. They calibrate it between different crops, varieties with differing maturities, and when harvest moisture is expected to move up and down.
Generally, machine yield monitor manufacturers and university extension literature recommend calibrating at the beginning of harvest but also when field conditions change and when you switch out the header on your combine. Be sure to consult your manufacturer's manual for the proper calibration procedure.
Double Check Field Data for Accurate Yield Analysis
Calibrating your yield monitor is an effective step toward accurate data, but it also helps if you take another look at the data you collected from planting and harvest before you use it for decision making. In a recent post on ensuring your harvest data delivers, Brad Roberts walked through getting ready to collect harvest data. If you weren’t able to take a close look at your data going into harvest, you may need to spend some time on that. When evaluating your yield, your analysis is only as accurate as your field data. With FieldView™, double-checking data is easy using our data “fix-it” tool. You can delete a field if needed and edit your data, including:
- Crop type
- Hybrid or variety name
- Treatments
- Applications
- Prescriptions
We know you didn’t get into farming for the love of data entry. That’s why we streamlined the review process with batch edits. You can change different sets of data at once and avoid going through every field one by one.
Batch edit by clicking on the checkbox at the top left of the Field column to select all fields.
Categorize your crops in just a few clicks with Batch Edit mode.
Accurate data is key to making the best decisions for your farm. By preparing on the front end with yield monitor calibration and then using our data “fix-it” tool to give your data the once over, your data will be ready to deliver the yield insights you’re looking for.
If you need help fixing your data, our Customer Success team is here to help. Call (888) 924-7475, send us a tweet (@fieldviewhelp) or chat with support at Climate.com
About the Author
Ryan is a data analyst on the Data Quality team at The Climate Corporation. He works closely with FieldView data, helping ensure data quality and drive improvements to ensure FieldView users have the best possible data to manage their operation.