Crop Yield Monitor for Round and Square Hay Balers (2015-052)

This approach to creating crop yield maps results in better management and increased production efficiency on farms. Yield monitoring technologies have been commercially available for corn and grain crops for at least twenty years and have since become stock equipment for most corn, grain, and cotton harvesters. Growers have grown to depend on yield monitors for making and evaluating management decisions, developing management zones, prescribing variable rate input applications, and for evaluating crop insurance values. Currently, hay is among the only major crops that does not have a widely implemented yield monitor. In order to transform this market, researchers at Clemson University have developed a hay yield monitor consisting of ultrasonic distance sensors that can be universally mounted on any hay baler. As developed, Clemson’s hay yield monitor utilizes inexpensive and robust sensors to monitor the mass flow intake of the baler, allowing farmers to utilize precision agriculture to foster economic efficiency and improved management practices.