Centre county Pennsylvania, USA | Most of our yield maps here have always shown some degree of "color stripping" where adjacent swaths seem to have different yields. Color stripping seems to be greater in corn than beans but it spoils the eye appeal of yield maps for both crops here. Because our fields are "terrain featured", we suspected that combine attitude (orientation of the combine's axes relative to a level reference plane) had something to do with yield map stripping. To test that theory, a map of the combine's attitude, in degrees from level, was constructed along with it's yield map. Both of those maps are shown below for one of this year's bean fields. These maps seem to show remarkable correlation between combine attitude map "color stripping" and yield map "color stripping".
I don't think color stripping causes error in average yield if the yield monitor system has been properly calibrated, but it sure does mess up yield map eye appeal, at least for us fortunate folks that farm terrain featured fields.
Maps shown below were made using data logged from Deere's Starfire iTC receiver. I think that says Deere's terrain compensation (iTC) doesn't do combine "attitude adjustment" for yield mapping, yet.
OT comment, combine attitude map illustrates why 2 or 3 axis terrain compensation is needed for light bar or auto steer systems when operating in terrain featured fields.
 (combine attitude map JG-1 beans 2006.jpg)
 (yield map JG-1 beans 2006.jpg)
Attachments
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 combine attitude map JG-1 beans 2006.jpg (39KB - 304 downloads)
yield map JG-1 beans 2006.jpg (31KB - 287 downloads)
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Combine attitude and Yield map color stripping
