Using Information from the John Deere Cotton HID System to Aid in Making Production Decisions

The advent of John Deere’s Harvest Identification System (HID) provides producers with an additional layer of data which can aid them in making production decisions. With a procedure for the handling of HID data and creation of module level fiber quality field maps being completed the potential for this data can now be expanded upon. The main goal of this project is to determine how the HID data and associated maps can be used to aid in making future field and farm decisions. The data collected from both the machine as well as the module averaged quality parameters can be used in several ways. These fiber quality maps can be used by themselves or can be compared to other field data layers such as elevation, soil type, or yield. The generated maps can also be compared with information such as seeding rate, fertility, weather data, or other available production data. Profitability has become even more important to growers in recent years as prices for cotton are still low compared to the past. Utilizing the enterprise budgets, generated by UGA Extension, net-profit maps can further be created to show growers where in a field they are seeing real returns. These budgets show the cost of production per acre and can be created for each field. The ability to show net profit can be used in making decisions for the future on marginal areas in the fields. This project resulted in a better understanding of the uses of these data and allows for greater understanding of the true performance of a field from both a fiber quality perspective as well as financial perspective. This could let growers be more confident in their decisions and aid in the production and quality of a crop that is not only sustainable, but profitable.