b'ROUNDTABLE Expert views on best management practices in potato production.The Ins and Outs of Potato Yield MonitoringAs profit margins shrink, its never been more important for growers to have a good handle on whats happening in their fields. Data generated from yield maps provide insight on how to manage crops to improve profits, yields, or both. In this Spud Smart roundtable, Bill Menkveld and Shawn Paget ensure growers are getting the most out of their potato yield monitors.BY: KARI BELANGERBILL MENKVELD, vice-president of sales andcontinues to rise, some growers are still reluctant to marketing for Greentronics, has never met amap potato yields due to concerns about hardware SHAWN PAGETgrower who isnt interested in yield maps. He saysinstallation and maintenance, and gathering and Owner of Riverviewproducers are often surprised by the results. Grow- managing data.Farms in Simonds,ers are always amazed to see how much yield chang- Shawn Paget, owner of Riverview Farms in New Brunswick es across a field. Its not uncommon to see yields varySimonds, N.B., says he was dubious about the returns by a factor of 100 or 200 per cent, he says. potato yield monitoring would provide him. I was a Yield monitors provide information about cropslittle hesitant about the cost and what I was going and production practices and are designed toto get back out of it. Now, six years on, he says he measure relative differences, and the degree of thatwouldnt go without it. From the information gener-BILL MENKVELDvariability, across a field. Yield maps illustrate areasated by yield mapping, Paget says hes working on Greentronicsof higher and lower productivity in fields. From this,increasing the productivity of his lower yielding areas.Vice-President ofgrowers can determine if zones of high productivityIts getting better every year. Ive taken some Sales and Marketing can do better and how to improve low-productivityof the first fields we started working with and Ive areas or save costs on their inputs.tweaked them and brought the productivity up, he Yield monitoring provides an effective way tosays. When you have a yield monitor, you can see that. fine-tune potato crop management, says Menkveld,If you cant measure it, you cant count it, says Paget.especially when comparing yield maps over a number of years. In growers hands, yield monitoring is aGETTING STARTEDpowerful tool for making management decisionsBefore purchasing or installing a potato yield based on data and not guesswork, and clearly showsmonitoring system, the first step growers should take whether those decisions have resulted in a return onis to put a plan in place, says Menkveld. Its a good investment, he says. idea for growers to consider why they want to monitor A yield map is your farms report card on wheth- potato yields and what they will do with the data, er your management choices are helping to reducebefore buying equipment.variability, lower input costs, achieve optimumIf you dont have a plan in placeif you wait yields from areas with the highest yield potential oruntil you have all the datait can be overwhelm-economize in areas of lower yield potential, saysing, he says.Menkveld. Its all about learning how to manageAfter the yield monitor has been purchased, the your crop differently to improve your profit margininstallation and maintenance of the hardware is not or yield, or both. And then to understand how yourdifficult, Menkveld adds. Yield monitor hardware con-management is making changes over time. sists of load cells, which weigh the crop as it moves Although adoption of potato yield monitorsalong the conveyor; speed sensors for monitoring SUPPORTED BY:56 SPUDSMART.COM FALL 2019'