9.5 Tiny Bytes: Variable Yield Goals: The Foundation of Smart Farming

Precision agriculture focuses on treating different parts of a field according to their unique yield potential instead of applying the same approach everywhere. Variable rate applications start with establishing realistic yield goals for different areas within a field based on their consistent performance patterns.

In this episode, Sarah and Jodi discuss:

• Using historical yield data to determine which areas consistently yield higher or lower
• Combining yield history with grid soil sampling data to create targeted fertilizer applications
• Assigning variable rate yield goals by zone when managing variability
• Being realistic about low-yield areas that consistently underperform
• Recognizing how nutrients accumulate in low-yield areas while being depleted in high-production zones
• Creating variable rate maps even with just composite soil samples by setting different yield goals
• Understanding precision agriculture is primarily about efficiency, not just yield maximization
• Managing costs by reducing inputs where appropriate while giving high-producing areas what they need

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