Farm491 Member Blog: Looking for better crops and higher margins? Try OptiYield.
The 2020 growing season can, at best, be described as ‘challenging’, for many reasons, not least of which has been the global COVID-19 pandemic and the pressure it has put on home and work life. One of the positive changes that COVID-19 has brought is the adaption, utilisation and acceptance of technology to make our everyday lives easier.
Arable and vegetable farmers now have the opportunity to simplify their planning, soil and crop decisions by utilising OptiYield, which is proven to increase marketable yields and net margin. As a complete universal approach to the entire cropping system, this innovative approach has been recognised by the industry when it was a runner up in the Farmers Guardian Agri-innovation competition in 2019.
Simply put, OptiYield ‘does what it says on the tin’ – it optimises the yield & quality performance of crops. It achieves results through a combined approach using up-to-date crop, plant and computer science, to generate a tailored crop nutrition package, unique biostimulants and fertiliser application timings. Together, these optimise crop growth for maximum crop benefit and profit.
While OptiYield doesn’t allow you to control the weather, it does enable you to understand and control many other factors within the growing cycle to maximise the performance of a crop to its full genetic potential.
This is achieved by gathering together a wide range of soil and crop data to give a full picture of what is naturally available for use by the crop, what additional nutrients are needed as well as the timing of applications. Therefore, only the necessary amounts of inputs are applied, optimising fertiliser inputs and reducing the need for pesticides, all of which can lead to a reduction in both material costs and machinery passes, saving man-hours and diesel.
Fundamentally, OptiYield is a scientifically based, integrated set of algorithms that take combinations of eight sets of variable data from your field and the proposed crop including:-
- 40+ soil and foliar factors
- Soil nutrient availability models
- Soil microbe assessment
- Crop response data trials
- Anti-stress and growth biostimulants
- Crop varietal characteristics
- Crop nutrient demand models
- Research database of 2000+ documents
From these, a tailored crop and field specific plan is generated detailing: –
- A complete crop nutrition programme
- Optimised fertiliser application and anticipated fungicidal use
- Bioactive nutrients with a combined microbial and biostimulant programme
- Application timing relating to growth stages
The process starts a with a detailed and comprehensive soil analysis which goes beyond the standard tests offered, establishing a comprehensive interpretation of nutrient availability within the soil along with recommendations for base fertilisers and unique foliar nutrition and biostimulant formulations. OptiYield draws on modern molecular, plant and soil science, and includes environmental/sustainability variables. From the data, a detailed plan for each field is produced and monitored throughout the growing season and adapted where necessary to take account of weather extremes and crop stresses.
By taking an integrated system approach OptiYield looks to maximise the crop’s advantage from vigorous germination, producing healthier crops with better root systems, so that they can out compete weeds and resist common diseases. The combined effects of an integrated programme of biostimulants, nutrients and microbiology ensure the crops are in the best possible health to resist stresses caused by heat, drought, cold and humidity as well as pathogen attacks.
OptiYield growers regularly achieve marketable yield increases of 10 – 25%, which translates into significant net margin increases, while simultaneously reducing fertiliser and fungicide inputs – the holy grail of achieving more with less.
For more information on how OptiYield can help you deliver healthier, more resilient crops, increases in yield while reducing costs contact Simon Fox. Alternatively, visit https://www.emeraldcropscience.com/ for more information, or follow us on Twitter at @OptiYield and You tube https://www.youtube.com/user/EmeraldCropScience