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Quality data = best return on investment

A precision ag specialist says quality data has the best return on investment.

John Fulton with Ohio State University tells Brownfield yield monitors need to be properly calibrated in order to collect the best data for management decisions.  “Seventy bushel corn at five miles an hour or even six miles an hour—that pounds per second is tremendously different than a 250 plus corn at five miles an hour—so you’ve got to calibrate over that range of expected flow rates.”  He says yield data can be skewed up to 15 percent if harvesting in rough conditions or without proper calibration which can offset the precision of site specific management.

Fulton says farmers need to be responsible for archiving their own data especially for multi-year comparisons.  “Once you give data, typically these folks they may not be storing the original or that raw data that you give.  As a grower it’s your responsibility, you need to be archiving that because you don’t know who you might be doing business with next year or in a few years.”

He also recommends asking service providers if they are cleaning the data before using it for prescriptive services.

Fulton spoke with Brownfield during the recent Great Lakes Crop Summit.

AUDIO: Interview with John Fulton