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Is Your Yield Monitor Ready For Harvest?
Ready or not, harvest season is just around the corner! This is normally the time of year that you start to think about what you need to do to get your harvesting equipment ready to go. Something that often gets overlooked in this process is preparing your yield monitor so that it is just as ready as your combine for harvesting your crop as well as the yield information needed to make next year’s management decisions.
Here are a few things to review and check out on your yield monitor to make sure that it is functioning properly when you go to the field:
- Read through the harvest section of your monitor manual.
- Refreshing your memory on the operation of your yield monitor will help when you get into the field and will save you a lot of frustration as you try to remember the monitor operation process.
- Find and use the Quick Reference sheets.
- These are your best resource prior to harvest because they lay out all of the preparatory steps in simple terms. If you can’t find your copy, print a new one from the Support page of the manufacturers website or contact your equipment dealer.
- Clean up old data and enter new data.
- Delete field names that are no longer needed and enter new field names, new seed varieties or any new machinery configurations needed. Ag Leader Insight users should use the Grower Management screen to create crop year 2008 if it hasn’t been created yet.
- Check firmware version.
- Most manufacturers have updated firmware for their monitors available on their websites. Check to see that your monitor is using the latest firmware available to avoid operational problems.
- Check system cables and sensors.
- It is easier to check sensor and cable integrity now than once you hit the field. Check to make sure that all cables are intact and correctly attached and that no nicks, cuts or rodent damage is evident. If you have an elevator mount moisture sensor, test to be sure that the cleanout switch engages the motor and that the cleanout operates correctly. Check the deflector plate for the flow sensor for excessive wear, and order a new one if any distortion or rippling is noted in the deflector surface.
- Test your GPS receiver.
- Move the combine out of the shed and check to make sure that you are receiving a GPS signal and a correction signal. This is additionally important this year, as there has been a re-alignment of the correction satellites. You may need to have your GPS receiver firmware updated so that you can receive a DGPS signal.
- Test sensor operation.
- Check your head height sensor by raising and lowering the head to verify that the sensor is working. Engage the separator and watch the elevator shaft RPM on your monitor to verify its operation. With the separator engaged, drive the combine forward to ensure that the groundspeed indicator is working correctly. Now would also be a good time to check your groundspeed sensor calibration.
Of course, if you have an Advanced Cropping Systems Yield Monitor Support agreement, simply contact your local CVA agronomist, or ACS specialist and we can take care of these inspections and updates for you.