Test Plot Yield Estimates

Deer Country’s 2022 closing wheel test plot has been harvested. At planting, each row had a different closing wheel system over 12 different rows. Review the emergence results here. Using one row each made planting day execution, emergence sampling, and the acreage requirement simpler. But it does present challenges with harvesting to get yield results. Two days prior to the field being harvested, ears were pulled by hand and yield was estimated. Read about our sampling procedure and results below. Thank you for your interest in our first test plot. We learned a lot along the way and plan to continue equipment focused research to provide the best solutions for our customers.  

To sample yield, 4 random ears were pulled from each row in approximately the same area of the field. Yield was estimated using the Granular Insights app which uses the camera on a mobile device to estimate kernel count. The yield average of the 4 ears from each row/trial was compared to the row planted with John Deere rubber closing wheels to create a comparison (see chart below). The yield comparison correlates well with the emergence results with one exception. The Martin fCrusher Dual closing wheel system was 3rd in our emergence results and 12th in this yield estimation. These results should only be used for a general comparison. The small number of ears sampled and assumptions the app made about the crop condition made the yield estimate inaccurate compared to the harvested field average.