The North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) is seeking Wisconsin soybean farmers to aid in the development of a new online cropping system optimization tool. The goal is to create a tool that combines the factors of soil, seed, weather, planting date, seeding rate, chemical inputs and soybean prices that will help farmers make profitable decisions. 

But they can’t do it alone. 

They’re seeking farmer volunteers to share field data; the more data that is collected, the more accurate the tool will be. Because growers already juggle many moving parts on their operations, NCSRP simply asks the farmer to do what they do best – grow their soybean crop as normal. NCSRP will scout the field every 2-3 weeks to look for insects, weeds, diseases, growth stages and abiotic stressors. At the end of the harvest season, they’ll ask for yield monitor data and add soil, weather and satellite image data to the yield data provided. 

During a time of cyber-security concerns, participants can rest assured that their data will be secure. All data will be protected and encrypted behind a university firewall and access will be limited to the NCSRP team. In appreciation for cooperation, after uploading data from a minimum of two fields, a coupon to access Agroptimizer® (www.agroptimizer.com), a third party agronomic management optimization tool, will be sent.  

Following development of the publicly available tool, growers will be able to drop a pin in a field, enter input variables and receive crop management decision help directly and through online scouting tools such as Sporecaster and Tarspotter. The tool will provide insights into best management practices in your fields that can help increase yield and profit. Individual reports will be available along with collaborative tools to share information with other growers. 

Ready to play an integral role in developing cutting-edge tools that will help advance the agriculture industry? Contact Dr. Shawn P. Conley at spconley@wisc.edu for any questions about the project, data security, data use or to participate.