Machinery Performance Assessment Based on Records of Geographic Positiona

Logging the geographic coordinates of agricultural machinery measured using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver is a common practice in site-specific crop management. Yield, fertilizer application and seed placement maps are useful data to make agronomic decisions. In addition, the travel path itself reveals valuable information about machinery performance. Odd field shapes, obstacles, or contour farming frequently require operators to increase the complexity of maneuvering during different field operations. This usually reduces field efficiency. In this work, a methodology was developed to parameterize the spatially variable characteristics of traffic patterns and to define field areas with significant reduction in field efficiency. Geographic positions recorded during harvesting of a field with complex shape were used to illustrate the method developed. The information obtained can be used either to optimize the traffic patterns, if possible, or to reevaluate the potential profitability of field areas with different degrees of machinery maneuvering complexity.