Turning Data into Decisions: The Power Behind YMS
Growers are looking for a strategic edge in crop production analysis—one that directly impacts yield and drives results. Faced with countless decisions throughout the growing season, growers can make more informed decisions with confidence thanks to the innovative Yield Management System (YMS) created by Total Acre. Total Acre delivers industry-leading crop consulting through a systematic approach.
Founded in 2018 by world-record corn and soybean growers David Hula and Randy Dowdy, Total Acre was designed to share elite crop production knowledge with a select group of growers committed to implementing impactful practices. “Total Acre is built on the fundamental belief that great farming starts with curiosity, precision, and data-driven decisions,” says Randy Siever, the company’s chief operating officer. “YMS is Total Acre’s flagship product,” he emphasizes. YMS is currently impacting more than 500,000 acres across the U.S. and Canada, with over 400 growers utilizing the robust agronomic software platform to manage and analyze on-farm data.
Recognizing that most farmers choose their profession because they want to be out in the field rather than sitting behind a desk staring at spreadsheets all day, Total Acre’s goal is to take the hassle out of managing data. “We designed YMS so growers can focus on what they do best: farming,” says Siever. YMS seamlessly connects data representing planting, weather, soil samples, tissue tests, inputs, and yield and follows the adage—you can’t improve what you don’t measure. “The heart of our system is the data,” which can capture about 700 different inputs on every field in the system.
“Packed with features, YMS can be best described similar to a layer cake where each layer of data provided helps uncover deep insights. Traditionally, growers are seeking to learn one or two things per field per season, but with YMS, the system’s granular, actionable insights allow growers to learn 10-20 things per field due to the management zones it creates,” explains Siever. In addition, data from over 6,000 fields annually, submitted by Total Acre members diligently inputting their data is anonymized and aggregated, enabling users to benefit from other members’ experiences. “By helping farmers find value in their data, this motivates better data collection and ultimately better decisions.” Through this collective learning, growers can make smarter decisions based on what’s already been tested and proven by others across the network.
YMS Features
One of YMS’s core features is the YMS roadmap, which outlines priorities based on crop growth stages helping growers know exactly what to focus on at each point in the season. Supporting this action, YMS provides “Must-Do-Steps” for each crop at each growth stage, guiding timely actions. For example, tissue sampling recommendations, along with the newest feature— nutrient power rankings (NPR)—provide valuable information about what the crop is telling you and where yield-limiting issues may be developing. NPR’s color-coded report identifies which nutrients are most limiting or excessive, helping pinpoint potential imbalances in real time. YMS tracks nutrient levels throughout the season, not just when there’s a problem.
Understanding that long-term success is based on diagnosing limiting factors, YMS emphasizes analytics and prescriptions. The system has the capability to enable variable rate seeding and fertility prescriptions based on yield goals and current conditions. In addition, the comprehensive data management system tracks application timing and effectiveness by overlaying product application data with tissue responses and, most importantly, conducts economic analysis to determine return on investments (ROI).
“You can’t add yield to your season,” reaffirms Sievers. “The only thing a grower can do is prevent yield from being taken away.” With every day and every decision impacting yield, YMS is designed to help prevent that yield loss from happening, by providing granular data to support better decisions.
The bottom line. As a grower you already have the data—YMS is here to help you put it to work.