Estimating crop yield data

Abstract

A method begins by a computing device gathering, for a piece of farm equipment, harvesting data while the piece of farm equipment is harvesting a crop in a geographic area, where the harvesting data includes location information, environmental information, harvest sensing information, and farm equipment operational information. The method continues with the computing device determining a harvesting scaling factor for the piece of farm equipment based on the harvesting data and historical crop yield data. The method continues with the computing device estimating current crop yield data based on the harvesting scaling factor and one of the harvesting data and the historical crop yield data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for execution by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices affiliated with agriculture equipment, the method comprises:
 gathering, for a piece of farm equipment, harvesting data while the piece of farm equipment is harvesting a crop in a geographic area, wherein the harvesting data includes location information, environmental information, harvest sensing information, and farm equipment operational information;   determining a harvesting scaling factor for the piece of farm equipment based on the harvesting data and historical crop yield data; and   estimating current crop yield data based on the harvesting scaling factor and one of the harvesting data and the historical crop yield data.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the harvesting scaling factor comprises:
 determining preliminary crop yield data based on the harvesting data;   comparing the preliminary crop yield data with the historical crop yield data; and   generating the harvesting scaling factor based on the comparing of the preliminary crop yield data with the historical crop yield data.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the harvesting scaling factor comprises:
 interpreting the location information to produce a first scaling value;   interpreting the environmental information to produce a second scaling value;   interpreting the farm equipment operational information to produce a third scaling value;   determining a preliminary yield data based on the harvesting sensing information; and   generating the harvesting scaling factor based on the preliminary yield data, the first scaling value, the second scaling value, and the third scaling value.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprises:
 gathering auger data as at least part of the harvesting sensing information; 
 gathering moisture data as at least part of the environmental information; and 
 determining the harvesting scaling factor based on the auger data, the moisture data, and the historical crop yield data. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprises:
 gathering a plurality of harvesting data by a plurality of pieces of farm equipment while harvesting the crop in the geographic area, wherein the plurality of harvesting data includes the harvesting data and the plurality of pieces of farm equipment includes the piece of farm equipment; 
 determining a plurality of harvesting scaling factors for the plurality of pieces of farm equipment based on the plurality of harvesting data and the historical crop yield data; and 
 performing a mathematical function on the plurality of harvesting scaling factors to produce the harvesting scaling factor. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprises:
 gathering, for a second piece of farm equipment, second harvesting data while harvesting the crop in the geographic area; and 
 estimating, for the second piece of farm equipment, second current crop yield data based on the harvesting scaling factor and one of the second harvesting data and the historical crop yield data. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprises:
 the location information including one or more of pitch, GPS location, yaw, roll, and elevation; 
 the environmental information including one or more of moisture data, sun light level, temperature, and barometric pressure; 
 the harvest sensing information including one or more of auger activation, auger revolutions per minute, pressure plate displacement data, and a crop count; and 
 the farm equipment operational information including one or more of speed, direction, fuel consumption, engine speed, and farming apparatus torque. 
 
     
     
         8 . A method for execution by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices affiliated with agriculture equipment, the method comprises:
 gathering first harvesting data while farm equipment is harvesting a crop in a geographic area, wherein the first harvesting data includes location information, environmental information, harvest sensing information, and farm equipment operational information of the farm equipment when moving in a first direction;   gathering second harvesting data while the farm equipment is harvesting the crop in the geographic area, wherein the second harvesting data includes location information, environmental information, harvest sensing information, and farm equipment operational information of the farm equipment when moving in a second direction;   determining, for a specific geographic section of the geographic area, crop yield correction data based on differences between the first and second harvesting data corresponding to the specific geographic section; and   adjusting current crop yield data based on the crop yield correction data.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprises:
 determining a harvesting scaling factor for the farm equipment based on at least one of the first and the second harvesting data and historical crop yield data; and 
 estimating the current crop yield data based on the harvesting scaling factor and one of the first harvesting data, the second harvesting data, and the historical crop yield data. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the determining the crop yield correction data comprises:
 within the specific geographic section:
 estimating a first initial crop yield based on the first harvesting data; 
 estimating a second initial crop yield based on the second harvesting data; 
 identifying corresponding traits of the first initial crop yield to the second initial crop yield; 
 determining, as the crop yield correction data, a location-time adjustment factor based on the corresponding traits and time-stamp information of the first and second initial crop yields; and 
 updating the current crop yield data based on the location-time adjustment factor. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the determining the crop yield correction data comprises:
 within the specific geographic section:
 estimating first initial crop yield data based on a pressure plate displacement measurement of the first harvesting data; 
 estimating second initial crop yield data based on the pressure plate displacement measurement of the second harvesting data; 
 determining a difference between the pressure plate displacement measurement of the first and second initial crop yield data; 
 generating the crop yield correction data based on the difference between the pressure plate displacement measurement of the first and second crop yield data; and 
 updating the current crop yield data based on the crop yield correction data. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8  further comprises:
 gathering the first harvesting data for a first piece of the farm equipment; and 
 gathering the second harvesting data for a second piece of the farm equipment. 
 
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprises:
 at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices affiliated with agriculture equipment of a computing system, causes the one or more computing devices to:   gather, for a piece of farm equipment, harvesting data while the piece of farm equipment is harvesting a crop in a geographic area, wherein the harvesting data includes location information, environmental information, harvest sensing information, and farm equipment operational information;   determine a harvesting scaling factor for the piece of farm equipment based on the harvesting data and historical crop yield data; and   estimate current crop yield data based on the harvesting scaling factor and one of the harvesting data and the historical crop yield data.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more processing modules functions to execute the operational instructions stored by the at least one memory section to cause the one or more computing devices of the computing system to determine the harvesting scaling factor by:
 determining preliminary crop yield data based on the harvesting data;   comparing the preliminary crop yield data with the historical crop yield data; and   generating the harvesting scaling factor based on the comparing of the preliminary crop yield data with the historical crop yield data.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more processing modules functions to execute the operational instructions stored by the at least one memory section to cause the one or more computing devices of the computing system to determine the harvesting scaling factor by:
 interpreting the location information to produce a first scaling value;   interpreting the environmental information to produce a second scaling value;   interpreting the farm equipment operational information to produce a third scaling value;   determining a preliminary yield data based on the harvesting sensing information; and   generating the harvesting scaling factor based on the preliminary yield data, the first scaling value, the second scaling value, and the third scaling value.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 13  further comprises:
 the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices of the computing system to: 
 gather auger data as at least part of the harvesting sensing information; 
 gather moisture data as at least part of the environmental information; and 
 determine the harvesting scaling factor based on the auger data, the moisture data, and the historical crop yield data. 
 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 13  further comprises:
 the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices of the computing system to: 
 gather a plurality of harvesting data by a plurality of pieces of farm equipment while harvesting the crop in the geographic area, wherein the plurality of harvesting data includes the harvesting data and the plurality of pieces of farm equipment includes the piece of farm equipment; 
 determine a plurality of harvesting scaling factors for the plurality of pieces of farm equipment based on the plurality of harvesting data and the historical crop yield data; and 
 perform a mathematical function on the plurality of harvesting scaling factors to produce the harvesting scaling factor. 
 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 13  further comprises:
 the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices of the computing system to: 
 gather, for a second piece of farm equipment, second harvesting data while harvesting the crop in the geographic area; and 
 estimate, for the second piece of farm equipment, second current crop yield data based on the harvesting scaling factor and one of the second harvesting data and the historical crop yield data. 
 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 13  further comprises:
 the location information including one or more of pitch, GPS location, yaw, roll, and elevation; 
 the environmental information including one or more of moisture data, sun light level, temperature, and barometric pressure; 
 the harvest sensing information including one or more of auger activation, auger revolutions per minute, pressure plate displacement data, and a crop count; and 
 the farm equipment operational information including one or more of speed, direction, fuel consumption, engine speed, and farming apparatus torque. 
 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprises:
 at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices affiliated with agriculture equipment of a computing system, causes the one or more computing devices to:   gather first harvesting data while farm equipment is harvesting a crop in a geographic area, wherein the first harvesting data includes location information, environmental information, harvest sensing information, and farm equipment operational information of the farm equipment when moving in a first direction;   gather second harvesting data while the farm equipment is harvesting the crop in the geographic area, wherein the second harvesting data includes location information, environmental information, harvest sensing information, and farm equipment operational information of the farm equipment when moving in a second direction;   determine, for a specific geographic section of the geographic area, crop yield correction data based on differences between the first and second harvesting data corresponding to the specific geographic section; and   adjust current crop yield data based on the crop yield correction data.   
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 20  further comprises:
 the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices of the computing system to: 
 determine a harvesting scaling factor for the farm equipment based on at least one of the first and the second harvesting data and historical crop yield data; and 
 estimate the current crop yield data based on the harvesting scaling factor and one of the first harvesting data, the second harvesting data, and the historical crop yield data. 
 
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 20 , wherein the one or more processing modules functions to execute the operational instructions stored by the at least one memory section to cause the one or more computing devices of the computing system to determine the crop yield correction data by:
 within the specific geographic section:
 estimating a first initial crop yield based on the first harvesting data; 
 estimating a second initial crop yield based on the second harvesting data; 
 identifying corresponding traits of the first initial crop yield to the second initial crop yield; 
 determining, as the crop yield correction data, a location-time adjustment factor based on the corresponding traits and time-stamp information of the first and second initial crop yields; and 
 updating the current crop yield data based on the location-time adjustment factor. 
   
     
     
         23 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 20 , wherein the one or more processing modules functions to execute the operational instructions stored by the at least one memory section to cause the one or more computing devices of the computing system to determine the crop yield correction data by:
 within the specific geographic section:
 estimating first initial crop yield data based on a pressure plate displacement measurement of the first harvesting data; 
 estimating second initial crop yield data based on the pressure plate displacement measurement of the second harvesting data; 
 determining a difference between the pressure plate displacement measurement of the first and second initial crop yield data; 
 generating the crop yield correction data based on the difference between the pressure plate displacement measurement of the first and second crop yield data; and 
 updating the current crop yield data based on the crop yield correction data. 
   
     
     
         24 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 20  further comprises:
 the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices of the computing system to: 
 gather the first harvesting data for a first piece of the farm equipment; and 
 gather the second harvesting data for a second piece of the farm equipment.