At the 2015 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill., Topcon introduced the YieldTrakk yield monitor system. The system is an optical sensing, volumetric solution designed to provide operators with the real-time data collection needed to make intelligent business decisions in the combine cab and afterward.  

It includes monitoring and mapping of yield (in bushels or tonnes), moisture and cut rate, as well as the total weight of crop during harvest.

“YieldTrakk provides an excellent solution for data collection, mapping and analysis that ultimately allows operators to reduce input costs and operate more efficiently,” said Brian Sorbe, Topcon Precision Agriculture director of sales, Americas. “The addition of yield monitoring expands the scope of Topcon precision agriculture solutions to meet the full-season productivity demands of modern farming.” 

YieldTrakk works by using non-contact optical sensors installed in the clean grain elevator to calculate accurate live yield data.  The ECU (electronic control unit) 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 measure 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 system is a universal solution designed to fit nearly every brand of combine on today’s market. It includes retrofit solutions for most combines, a plug-and-play application for CLAAS combines, and a connection using ISO in AGCO Fieldstar II-ready combines.  

The new yield monitor system is integrated with the Topcon “easy-to-use” Horizon software on the Topcon X30 touchscreen console — displaying the yield and moisture levels in separate sets of data to provide the operator a more complete understanding of field and crop conditions. 

YieldTrakk 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 information can be used to trace inputs and outputs by precise location and ultimately allows the user to vary seed, fertilizer, chemical or other inputs as-applied. 

“This is a great example of how we’re able to leverage synergies with our recent acquisition of Wachnendorff Elektronik, Digi-Star, RDS Technologies and NORAC to further provide combine owners and our OEMs with the high accuracy precision tools they need,” said Michael Gomes, Topcon Precision Agriculture vice president of business development.