Using Yield Monitors to Assess On-Farm Test Plots

Farmer test plots have become a staple for production agriculture. These plots can range from simple side-by-side demonstration plots to a replicated research study. The rush of harvest often creates a challenge for harvesting these plots. Yield monitor data were collected from field scale plots in multiple states to assess ability to measure on-farm research. Grain mass was also measured for each plot with a weigh wagon or certified scale. The variability of yield monitor error (standard deviation) was not correlated with the magnitude of the error (mean). Thus calibration in and of itself will likely not result in more consistent yield monitor error. Determining if treatments or observations from non-replicated studies are different will be challenging. Depending on the chosen probability level, this data indicate that distinguishing a 3 to 9 percent difference was possible. Statistical analysis of replicated trials results in similar conclusions with reference and yield monitor data. Mass flow rate is one factor impacting yield monitor error

Comparison of 2-way versus metered 3-way boom shut-off valves for automatic section control on agricultural sprayers

Modern spray rate controllers along with technologies such as automatic section control (ASC) provide benefits such as overlap reduction on agricultural sprayers. However, product (liquid) dynamics within the boom plumbing affect off-rate errors and application uniformity during rate changes and ASC actuation. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare nozzle flow stability and uniformity across the boom when using two different boom shut-off valves (2-way and metered 3-way) on an 18.3-m sprayer boom. Pressure transducers were mounted at 1) the boom manifold, 2) randomly at 12 nozzle bodies across the spray boom, and 3) upstream and downstream of the flow regulating valve. Effective system flow rate was measured using two flow meter(s), one located upstream of the boom control valves (2-way or metered 3-way) and another mounted to measure the tank return flow for the metered 3-way boom valve. Measured nozzle pressure was converted to nozzle flow using the manufacturer’s pressure-flow data. Results indicated that the 2-way boom versus metered 3-way valve response was significantly different. Significant differences in damping ratios were found when exiting (under-damped) and reentering (over-damped) of spray zones. For the metered 3-way boom valve configuration, nozzle flow settled faster (0.1 to 4.2 s) virtually eliminating off-rate errors whereas the 2-way boom valve configuration took up to 34.3 s to settle with off-rate errors ranging from 3.3% to 11.5%. The delayed nozzle flow settling times were associated with pressure settling (0.7 to 31.4 s) downstream of the regulating valve for the 2-way configuration. Ground speed and point row angle impacted nozzle flow settling times and off-rate errors. The increase in ground speed and point row angle increased nozzle flow settling time for the 2-way valve setup, except that acceleration decreased settling times when exiting spray zones. The delayed response contributed to off-rate time which decreased as the sprayer accelerated and point row angle decreased for both the 2-way (1.7 to 19.3 s) and metered 3-way (2.1 to 4.4 s) boom shut-off valve setups

Promotora de Salud: Promoting Folic Acid Use Among Hispanic Women

The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all women in the United States capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 μg of folic acid daily to reduce their risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect (NTD). However, disparities exist in the consumption of folic acid, with Hispanic women having lower rates of folic acid consumption than non-Hispanic white women

Tribute to Professor Doug Rendleman

A tribute to Professor Doug Rendleman, who served on the faculty of the Washington and Lee University School of Law from 1988 to 2020. Rendleman became Professor of Law, Emeritus in 2020

Using Yield Monitors to Assess On-Farm Test Plots

Farmer test plots have become a staple for production agriculture. These plots can range from simple side-by-side demonstration plots to a replicated research study. The rush of harvest often creates a challenge for harvesting these plots. Yield monitor data were collected from field scale plots in multiple states to assess ability to measure on-farm research. Grain mass was also measured for each plot with a weigh wagon or certified scale. The variability of yield monitor error (standard deviation) was not correlated with the magnitude of the error (mean). Thus calibration in and of itself will likely not result in more consistent yield monitor error. Determining if treatments or observations from non-replicated studies are different will be challenging. Depending on the chosen probability level, this data indicate that distinguishing a 3 to 9 percent difference was possible. Statistical analysis of replicated trials results in similar conclusions with reference and yield monitor data. Mass flow rate is one factor impacting yield monitor error.This is an ASABE Meeting Presentation, Paper No. 1110690.</p

Promotora de Salud: Promoting Folic Acid Use Among Hispanic Women

BACKGROUND: The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all women in the United States capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 μg of folic acid daily to reduce their risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect (NTD). However, disparities exist in the consumption of folic acid, with Hispanic women having lower rates of folic acid consumption than non-Hispanic white women. METHODS: A community-based feasibility study was designed to assess the utility of the promotora de salud model to promote consumption of multivitamins containing folic acid for the prevention of NTDs among Spanish-speaking Hispanic women in North Carolina. The study consisted of an educational intervention given by a promotora (a lay, community health worker), with data collection occurring at baseline and four months post-intervention to measure changes in knowledge and behavior. Overall, 52% (n = 303) of participants completed all components of the study. RESULTS: Self-reported daily multivitamin consumption increased from 24% at baseline to 71% four months post-intervention. During the same time frame, awareness of folic acid increased from 78% to 98% and knowledge of the role of folic acid in the prevention of birth defects increased from 82% to 92%. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the promotora de salud model may be effective in reaching a subpopulation of women with the folic acid message. Additional studies with larger population sizes are warranted to validate these findings