Glossary
Key terms and concepts in agricultural APIs and precision farming.
Key terms and concepts in agricultural APIs and precision farming.
Yield mapping is the process of recording georeferenced crop production data during harvest to create a spatial map of yield variability within a field. A yield map shows exactly where a field produced 250 bushels per acre versus 180 bushels per acre, enabling data-driven decisions about inputs and management.
Modern combines and harvesters are equipped with yield monitors that record three measurements simultaneously:
These sensors log data points every 1-3 seconds, producing thousands of georeferenced readings per field. The raw data is uploaded from the machine to the farmer's FMIS (typically John Deere Operations Center) where it becomes accessible via API.
Through FieldMCP, yield data is returned as a collection of georeferenced points, each containing:
This data often requires cleaning — GPS drift at row ends, overlapping passes, and moisture sensor lag produce artifacts that need filtering before analysis.
Yield maps are the ground truth for agronomic intelligence. Common applications include:
Use FieldMCP's harvest data tools to query yield maps programmatically. See the harvest data glossary entry and the tools reference for available endpoints.