From nutrient imbalances to weeds, insects and diseases, yield-limiting factors can typically be managed with inputs that control, or at least limit, damage to your crop.
Keeping careful records of crop production practices can help you identify strategies to reduce crop stressors and maximize yield potential for your specific location.
How can I manage limiting factors to maximize my yield?
Soybean and corn yield data can help you determine the appropriate management strategies for managing environmental stressors, soil conditions, crop inputs and crop quality to maximize yield.
Soil type: Identify areas of high yield and low yield on yield maps to help connect soil types to yield and understand which soil management practices work best for your soil and weather conditions.
Crop inputs: Document fertilizer rates, nutrient plans and product selections year over year to make well-informed product decisions. Choosing products best suited to the historical data from your fields can help with proactive disease and insect control.
Tracking data on soil types and ineffective input applications can help you understand what is reducing your overall yield.
How do I access applicable yield maps and local crop data?
Relying solely on your own yield mapping and data, however, isn’t enough. To get the most accurate evaluation of your yield potential, validate and benchmark your crop’s data against other results in your area. You can find unbiased data from regional test plots at the following resources:
- Iowa Crop Performance Tests (ICPT): Direct comparisons of a wide range of corn hybrids and soybean varieties across different environments.
- FIRST Seed Tests: Hybrid and variety yield data from individual test sites to create a regional average of sites in your area.
- On-Farm Strip Trial Reports: Spatial yield data, imagery, scouting, soil and tissue sampling reports summarized by trial type and crop help guide management decisions based on nearby strip trials.
- RevXFields: Fungicide performance and yield data source with thousands of on-farm, head-to-head comparisons between treated and untreated fields. With nearly 2,000 corn and soybean farmers participating in trials across the country, RevXFields uses Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) imagery and heat mapping to provide a wide range of results.
How can I use yield data to plan for the next planting season?
Seed selection is the first step to set yourself up for high yields. Treated seeds and top-performing genetics will perform well in different environments and under various insect pest and disease pressures.
Evaluate seed choices based on most consistent yield data year after year across multiple locations and climates. Factor in your fields’ history of disease. Some diseases cannot be treated foliarly and you may need to rely on disease-tolerant variety/hybrid to prevent yield loss.
Your seed selection decisions should always be based on multiple data sources including public trials, university trials and your own yield data from previous years to provide the most comprehensive view of your best options.
Experts are available to help you make your decisions. Reach out to your seed retailer, a nearby extension office agent or a seed company professional like your regional BASF representative.
