Topcon unveils YieldTrakk precision crop-monitoring system

Topcon Precision Agriculture said this week that it is expanding its precision-agriculture line with a new yield-monitoring system.

The YieldTrakk is an optical sensing, volumetric system that provides operators with  real-time data collection to make informed business decisions in the combine cab and afterward. It includes monitoring and mapping of yield in bushels or tonnes, moisture and cut rate, and total crop weight during harvest.

The system works by using noncontact optical sensors installed in the clean grain elevator to calculate accurate live yield data. The electronic control unit (ECU) converts the measurement into a weight for the crop harvested. When the crop travels up to the bubble-up auger, a second set of sensors measures crop-moisture level and incorporates that into the data, along with the yield output. To help optimize accuracy, the ECU also measures slope variations and corrects the signal for any fluctuation in machine angle.

The device is integrated with the Topcon “easy-to-use” horizon software on the Topcon X30 touchscreen console. It is compatible with most software packages in the industry for further analysis by utilizing industry standard ISOXML and shape file format for data export, instead of the proprietary data formats used by most competitors. This data can be used to trace inputs and outputs by precise location and lets the user vary seed, fertilizer, chemical or other inputs as applied.