With corn harvest starting up last week, now is a great time to take a few minutes to perform a yield monitor calibration. Relative and/or accurate yield data can be useful for hybrid evaluation on your farm, identifying problem spots such as nematode areas for sampling later this fall and helping make management decisions for next year.
Typically, yield monitors can be calibrated relatively easily and quick through a mass flow calibration, where a few loads of corn are harvested and dumped onto a wagon or trailer with scales. The actual weights are then entered back into the combines display and a yield correction is applied.
A detailed calibration guide for grain combines was drafted through the Clemson Extension Land Grant Press a few years ago and provides more detail on the entire process of yield monitor calibration. That resource can be found here at Yield Monitor Calibration for Grain Combine.
Contact your local agronomy agent if you have questions on yield monitor calibration.
