Yield and Load Monitor

The HarvestMaster HM-500 Yield and Load Monitor™ product line is ideal for managing the production of crops such as potatoes, sugar beets, tomatoes, carrots, grapes, onions, etc. The HM-500 records truck load, truck weight, loading duration, time of departure, and harvest totals for the day, field, and season.  Combined with a DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) the HM-500 determines yield hundreds of times per acre.  Data collected  during harvest provide the basis for a map of crop yield.  A yield map serves as a tool  for identifying problem areas and for helping evaluate the effectiveness of field management practices. 

Components

The HM-500 System consists of the following components which are available from HarvestMaster:

• Signal Conditioning and Control Unit (SCCU): receives position and yield data and sends the data to the mobile field computer.
• Mobile Field Computer: runs the HM-500 software and stores yield, position, weight, and time information.  The Allegro Field PC and Pro4000 FieldBook are available from HarvestMaster.
• The following sensors (application dependant):
  • Belt speed
  • Ground speed
  • Tilt
  • Load cells to measure weight
  • Profile yield sensor array to measure volume
• A DGPS receiver is required for yield mapping applications.

HM-500 Features and Benefits

• Displays and records individual truck weights
• Validates other precision agriculture technologies that are employed
• Shows acres covered
• Gives summary of yield and acres for load, day, field and season
• Lets you mark problem areas, such as rocks or weed patches
• Yield map serves as a basis for more effective management of crop inputs
• Engineered for use on harvesters of potatoes, sugar beets, tomatoes, grapes, onions and carrots and other conveyor harvested crops
• Modular system capable of being used for GPS applications throughout the year
• On-board diagnostic and sensor checkout menus
• Menu driven data collection software
• Data can be analyzed in most Ag GIS software packages (S.S. Toolbox, ArcView, AgMapp, FarmWorks, Map Info etc.)

How the HM-500 Works

The HarvestMaster HM-500 Yield Mapping System weighs crops as they travel across the harvester on their way to the truck. Accurate weight measurement, combined with precise DGPS positioning, determine yield hundreds of times per acre. Each measurement is then stored in the mobile GPS computer. The mobile field computer continually updates the operator with the current yield, average yield, current load total, acres harvested and harvester speed. Data points recorded over a field provide the basis for a map of yields.