Combine Sensor Evaluates Grain Quality During Harvesting

Combine Sensor Evaluates Grain Quality During Harvesting COMBINES Accessories Grain farmers running 2018 and newer Deere S700 series combines can now get real-time grain quality data with a HarvestLab 3000 Series sensor The sensor uses near-infrared technology to provide harvest maps with protein starch and oil values as the machine harvests wheat barley or canola Site-specific data is visible on the Generation 4 Display can be downloaded to a memory stick or automatically sent to the Deere operations center via JDLink if a strong cellular signal is available Deere product market manager Christopher Murray says protein data provided by the 3000 Sensor can be used to correlate how much nitrogen was removed by the crop during the growing season The maps can help create a prescription nitrogen application the following year Murray says data from the 3000 Sensor can help growers reduce future nitrogen application costs by $5 to $15 an acre using management tools in the Deere Operation Center Data from the Sensor can also allow growers to identify higher-producing grains during harvest and store them according to quality levels then market them to a buyer that pays a quality premium Murray says their field testing with grain farmers showed that premiums of nearly 30 cents a bushel were achieved for high versus average protein wheat The HarvestLab 3000 Sensor attaches to the combine’s clean grain elevator A small motor drives an auger that pushes grain past the near-infrared sensor as the combine is harvesting The sensor is similar to equipment already used on Deere forage harvesters and for sensing nutrient levels of liquid manure Contact a Deere dealer for price information and availability Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Deere www deere com

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