“Agriculture technology and agronomy are designed to work together to enhance decision making and field performances at the highest level currently possible,” said Chapman Bodiford, Ag Technology Specialist (ATS) with GreenPoint Ag in north Alabama.
“Combining the two together is how agriculture will continue to advance,” he said. “The goal of agriculture technology is to utilize agronomic research to provide refined solutions and insight for decision making. We are now able to easily compile point-specific and widespread agronomic data to form conclusions and make decisions at a faster rate.”
From a technology standpoint, yield data is the last dataset for a given crop year, flowing into AccuField—a web-based precision-ag platform offered through GreenPoint Ag designed to store, manage, and analyze field data. However, it is one of the most important data layers to study in terms of seed selection and placement for next year’s crop.
“Accurate and collected data must be put to work to reap the benefits,” Bodiford said. “AccuField has multiple yield analysis tools such as yield by variety, yield by soil type, yield by soil test, yield by management zones, and many more advanced tools.” These tools, he said, enable growers to compare performances of different crop varieties and the field conditions they were grown in to help make decisions for seed selection for next year’s crop. A unique tool in AccuField is Seed Matrix, which stores recent variety trial data performed in a specific area and across the Southern region.
“For instance, when selecting for a cotton variety, the varieties that were tested on soils similar to the field of interest will populate,” Bodiford said. “The grower can then filter the varieties further by irrigated versus dryland tests, how they ranked in yield performance, and how many tests that particular variety has been through.
The variety or hybrid selected is one of the foundations of next year’s crop, and it is important to utilize local, in-field results when making such a monumental decision. If you need help analyzing last year’s yield data to make seed selection decisions for this year’s crop, it isn’t too late.
Contact your local GreenPoint Ag ATS for assistance with yield analysis or finding the right seed selection for your acre.
Ag Technology
Agronomy And Technology Go Hand-In-Hand For Proper Seed Placement
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Talk with a GreenPoint Ag agronomist who works in your region. Local knowledge, applied to your operation.