trimble ag software

Student Workbook

Trimble Ag Software

Desktop Software

(Farmer Fit or Farmer Pro and Advanced Accounting)

Version 2018 Revised on October 1, 2018

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Table of Contents

LESSON # 1: RESTORING A BACKUP PROJECT ................................................................................. 5

LESSON #2: SETTING UP FARMS AND FIELDS .................................................................................. 9

LESSON #3: ENTERING A FIELD RECORD (PLANTING) .................................................................... 15

LESSON #4: ENTERING A FIELD RECORD (SPRAYING) .................................................................... 21

LESSON #5: ENTERING A FIELD RECORD (HARVESTING AND ENTERPRISING) .............................. 27

LESSON #6: PURCHASING SUPPLIES WITH ACCOUNTING ............................................................. 33

LESSON #7: PURCHASING EQUIPMENT WITH ACCOUNTING ........................................................ 39

LESSON #8: DRAWING A FIELD BOUNDARY USING AERIAL IMAGERY ......................................... 45

LESSON #9: CREATING A SOIL SAMPLE MAP ................................................................................. 51

LESSON #10: IMPORTING YIELD DATA .......................................................................................... 59

LESSON #11: IMPORTING SOIL TYPE MAPS................................................................................... 71

LESSON #12: IMPORTING SOIL LAB DATA ..................................................................................... 79

LESSON #13: CREATING A BASIC PRESCRIPTION MAP .................................................................. 87

LESSON #14: CREATING A PRESCRIPTION MAP USING A FORMULA ............................................. 93

LESSON #15: ENTERING A HARVESTED CROP SALES CONTRACT ................................................. 103

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Lesson # 1: Restoring a Backup Project

Materials List: Student Workbook (printed from CD for each student or team)

Educational CD

Installed Desktop Software (Farmer Fit or Farmer Pro and Advanced Accounting)

Lesson #1 Goal: Making a backup, and restoring backups are a very important safety feature for any software program. Restoring a backup is used to restore the information lost from a computer if a disaster happens. It can also be used to transfer data from one computer to another. Please use these steps to restore a backup project into Farm Works. You will be asked to print a Trial Balance at the end of the lesson.

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1. Open the program and the Project Selection box will appear. Click on the Restore Project button and browse the appropriate drive to find the project to restore. The example below assumes you have the Educational CD placed inside your CD ROM drive.

2. Select the “lessonplan.zip” backup file and choose Open.

3. Now enter a Project Name. If multiple students are using this one computer, enter the student name and select OK. The Project Selection box will now have your project name. Click OK.

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4. The program will now be open.

5. To print a Trial Balance report, find the Reports button and click on it. Expand the Accounting category by clicking on the plus (+), and choose General Ledger clicking on the plus (+) to expand it. Next, select the Accrual Reports by clicking on the plus (+), and then Trial Balance. Click OK.

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6. The Trial Balance will appear on the screen. The information included in this report is information that was entered in the Initial Setup of the program. To print this report, click on the Printer button in the upper right corner of the screen.

7. The print preview of this report will appear. To send the report to the printer, click the Printer button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

8. Click OK in the print dialog box that appears.

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Lesson #2: Setting up Farms and Fields


Educational CD


Lesson #2 Goal:

Growers must set up client, farm, and field names within Farm Works for accurate field records. This is the first basic step of using Farm Works for field record keeping. This is very important for many reasons. By setting up farm and field names, you will learn how to generate field history, chemical reports, and enterprise statements. The enterprise statement is especially important for viewing the cost per acre. As the cost of inputs for crop production continue to increase, growers must view this information on a field-by-field basis to make better decisions. A wrong decision can cost the grower thousands of dollars, thus decreasing profit. In this lesson you will add Client, Farm, and Field names in preparation for entering field records, and print a Acreage Report.

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1. Select the Client/Farm/Field Tab and find the area for “<User Info>”.

In the User Info properties screen enter “My Project Name” for the Full Name or students may customize this information. Additional contact information may also be filled in; however, this is not necessary for this exercise. Click OK.

2. Right-click on your My Project Name and select New Client. This will open the Client Properties dialog box. Enter “Doug L. Chaff” in the First, Middle and Last name. Students may customize this information. Additional contact information may also be filled in; however, this is not necessary for this exercise. Click OK.

Right click on the <User Info.> and go to

properties to set up your user

information.

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3. Right-click on your client name or “Chaff, Doug L” and choose New Farm. Enter “Chaff Farms” for the Description. Students may customize this information. Click OK.

4. Now it is time to add your first field. Right-click on the farm name “Chaff Farms” (or your farm)

and choose New Field. Enter a name for the field. The name “10” will be used in this example.

Fill in the Tillable acres.

Note: The Tillable acres

will be used as the default

number within any new

enterprise.

Select the appropriate

option for Owned, Cash

Rent, or Share Crop. If

selecting the Share Crop

option, the Landlord tab

information will need to

be completed.

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5. Enter the number of acres in the Tillable category. Tillable acres are what the software uses for tracking field records. Please enter “65” Tillable acres. Select owned from the options at the bottom of the box. Click OK.

Repeat steps 3-5 setting up field “13” with 75 tillable acres, and Cash Rent.

6. If everything was done correctly, this is how the client/farm/field should look. Note: If you have

used your own custom names for clients and farms, they would be displayed instead of the image below.

7. To print the Acreage Report, go to the Report Menu located at the top of the screen and select

All Reports. From the list of reports, click the (+) sign next to field and then select Acreage Report, and then click on the OK button.

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8. In the Field Acreage report window, select the check box for Chaff, Doug L. Next, click on the Preview button at the bottom of the screen.

9. Click the Printer button at the top of the screen to print the report to paper.

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Lesson #3: Entering a Field Record (Planting)


Educational CD


Lesson #3 Goal: Production agriculture is a business that relies on sharp management skills and precise decision-making. As input costs continue to increase every year, growers must make key decisions to improve profitability. Does profitability increase or decrease if more fields are farmed? What if my landlord increases cash rent on the fields that I farm? Keeping accurate records is the only way to answer some of these questions. Knowing the cost per acre for a field (also known as a field enterprise statement) will help determine if that field is worth farming in the future. This exercise will demonstrate a planting operation using inputs already added to the class project. When the inputs have been entered correctly, a job report will display the costs of the operation. This will also provide important history records for viewing how seed varieties compare to yield. In this lesson you will enter a planting operation and print a job report showing the records.

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1. Click on the “Inputs” Tab . Find all inputs that will be used for the planting record. Expand the categories by selecting the plus (+) symbol. The first input we will look for is the tractor. Expand the Machines category and expand the Tractor category.

2. Double left-click on the “Tracked Tractor” and this will move it to the “Working Group”.

3. Now move the other inputs to be used in the planting operation into the “Working Group”

area. This will be a person (Robert Farmer), Corn Planter, Corn Seed 1, and 10-34-0 Fertilizer.

Note: If you move the wrong input to the “Working Group” area, select it and use the green up

arrow button to remove it from the working group so the correct input can be added.

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4. Once all inputs are selected, choose the “Apply To Fields” button. In the Apply Working Group dialog box, open your client and farm. Now find Fields 10 & 13, and select them by placing a checkmark next to the names. Finally select the Record Completed Jobs button.

5. The Farming Dialog Box Appears. Select the Crop Enterprise from the drop-down list. In this example, we will use 2016 Corn. To set up this enterprise, click inside the white box next to Crop Enterprise and select “Add”. In the Crop Enterprises dialog box, select Corn as the Commodity, 2016 as the Year, and Corn as the Account. Click OK.

6. The Job Type should be “Planting/Seeding” and it should be defaulted for you.

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7. Enter the planting date. In this example, we are using 4/21/2016. The Start Time is 8 AM and the End Time is 6 PM, this is entered in the left hand column. By entering the start/stop time, total hours will be calculated for you. These hours will be split between the 2 fields, based on the acres in the field, however they can be edited. In this case, change the hours so that there are 4 hours for field 10 and 6 hours for field 13.

8. The People and Equipment records will be entered for you, based on the above information.

Total Column, any

changes made in

this column will

affect all other columns.

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9. Find 10-34-0 Starter Fertilizer and enter 4 tons in the total column for Qty. Used (ton). Find Corn Seed 1 and enter 59 total bags in the total column for Qty. Used (bag). The program will split the inputs between the fields based on the acreage. Since you are not using a restricted chemical, skip the field/weather information. Click OK.

10. Congratulations! Now that you have just completed your first planting operation, it is time to

print the Job Report. Select the “Jobs” Tab and right-click on the completed job for field 10. From the drop-down menu, select Print. Now print the report.

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Lesson #4: Entering a Field Record (Spraying)


Educational CD


Lesson #4 Goal: It is critical that growers record complete and accurate records when applying restricted use

pesticides in agriculture. A pesticide is any chemical substance that is used to control undesirable insects, disease, vegetation, or other forms of life. Each state has their own requirements; however, all insist that the grower keep field and weather information for every application. Additional information, such as EPA Number and Formulation, is also required on reports. Growers need a license to apply restricted use chemicals or must seek help from others, such as a co-op or a certified licensed applicator who will be responsible for such records. In this lesson, you will enter a spray application and print a detailed chemical report for the EPA.

Program Tip: Make sure you clear out your inputs in the “Working Group” area before starting this lesson. Selecting the green double arrow button will accomplish this.

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1. Click on the “Inputs” Tab. Find all the inputs that will be used for the spraying record. Expand the categories by selecting the plus (+) symbol. The first input we will look for is the Spra- coupe. Expand the Machines category and find the Spra-Coupe.

2. Double left-click on the Spra-Coupe and this will move it down to the “Working Group”.

3. Now move the other inputs to be used in the spraying operation into the “Working Group” area. This will be Robert Farmer and Weed Killer #1.

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If you move the wrong input to the “Working Group” area, use the single green up arrow button to make the correction.

4. Once all inputs are selected, choose the Apply to Fields button. In the Apply Working Group dialog box, open your client name (Figure A). Now find Field 10 and select it by placing a checkmark next to the name (Figure B). Finally, select the Record Completed Jobs button (Figure C).

A . B.

C. 5. The Farming Dialog Box Appears. Select the Crop Enterprise from the drop-down list. Next

verify that “2016 Corn” is selected for the Crop enterprise, if not select it from the list. The Job Type should be set to “Spraying” by selecting it from the list.

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6. Enter the application date. In this example, use 6/30/2016. The Start Time is 2 PM and the End Time is 4 PM. By entering the start/stop time, total hours will be calculated for you.

7. The Person and Equipment records will be entered for you, based on the above information.

8. Find Weed Killer #1 and enter 21 gallons in the Qty. Used box. The program will automatically back figure the actual applied rate.

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9. Enter the Field Information: Growth State – Seedling, Application Method – Post-emergence, Soil Condition – Dry, and Soil Type – Sandy Loam. As well as the Weather Information: Sky Conditions – Clear, Wind Direction – East, Wind Speed – 1, Gusting to – 3, Temperature – 71, and Relative Humidity – 65. Click OK.

10. The application is now entered in the software. This can be viewed by going to the “Jobs” Tab.

11. Now print the detailed chemical report for this application. Select the “Client/Farm/Field” Tab and navigate through the list of fields. Right-click on Field 10 and select Reports.

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12. Scroll to the top of the reports until you find Chemical Use – by Field Page Format. Select it with your pointer and choose OK.

13. The Chemical Report – Page Format dialog box appears. The field will be selected for you. Click on the Preview button.

14. The Chemical Usage Report will appear. Select the Printer button to send the report to the printer.

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Lesson #5: Entering a Field Record (Harvesting and Enterprising)


Educational CD

Installed Office Software (Farmer Fit or Farmer Pro and Advanced Accounting)

Lesson #5 Goal:

Many of us take for granted the process of growing crops for food. Time, labor, and input costs are all part of the equation. It is never a given that a profit will be made in farming. Software technology helps the grower record valuable harvest records and print reports per field. The reports are called enterprise statements. This lesson will show you how to enter a harvest record and view the enterprise statement. This report will show a break-even price per bushel.

Software Tip: Make sure you clear out your inputs in the “Working Group” area before starting this lesson. Selecting the green double arrow button will accomplish this.

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1. Click on the “Inputs” Tab. Find all the inputs that will be used for the harvest record. Expand the categories by selecting the plus (+) symbol. The first input we will look for is the Combine. Expand the Machines category and find the Combine.

1. Double left-click on the Combine and this will move it down to the “Working Group”.

2. Now move the other inputs to be used in the harvest operation into the “Working Group” area. This will be a person (Robert Farmer), and the Corn Header.

Note: If you move the wrong input to the “Working Group” area, use the green arrow button to remove that item from the working group.

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3. Once all inputs are selected, choose the “Apply To Fields” button. In the Apply Working Group

dialog box, open your client name (Figure A). Now find Field 10 and select it by placing a checkmark next to the name (Figure B). Finally select the “Record Completed Jobs” button (Figure C).

A . B.

C.

4. The Farming Dialog Box Appears. Next verify that “2016 Corn” is selected for the Crop enterprise, if not, select it from the list. The Job Type should be “Harvesting” and it should be defaulted for you.

5. Enter the harvest date. In this example, we are using 11/1/2016. The Start Time is 11 AM and the End Time is 6 PM. By entering the start/stop time, total hours will be calculated for you.

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6. The People and Equipment records will be entered for you, based on the above information.

7. Enter 145 bushels per acre and $4.00 for the Unit Price. The total quantity of bushels will be filled automatically. The Harvest Destination can also be left blank. Since you are not using a restricted chemical, skip the field/weather information. Click OK.

8. The harvest record is now entered in the software. This can be viewed by going to the “Job” Tab.

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9. Now print the Enterprise Statement Report. Select the “Client/Farm/Field” Tab and navigate

through the list of fields. Right-click on Field 10 and choose Reports.

10. The Reports dialog box appears. Find the “Enterprise” category and select Statement – Traditional. Click OK.

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11. Select the enterprise for 2016 Corn for Field 10. Click the Report Tab.

12. The Enterprise Statement Report will appear. Select the Printer button to send the report to

the printer. In the Print dialog box, click OK.

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Lesson #6: Purchasing Supplies with Accounting


Educational CD


Lesson #6 Goal: Keeping accurate records on inventory supplies is a tough task for most farming operations.

Multiple supplies are purchased at various times of the year, yet it takes management skills to track the cost and quantity. It is not unusual to purchase the same supply from two different businesses. The cost for the supply is rarely the same. This lesson will demonstrate how to enter a supply purchase for chemicals and seed. The checkbook will be used to pay for these items.

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1. Go to the Accounting menu and choose Payments and Purchases. Then select Record Payment/Purchase.

2. We must first add a new vendor. From the vendor drop-down list, choose Add/Edit.

3. The Contacts dialog box appears. Click on the Add button. The Contact Properties dialog box appears. Since we are setting up a new business, confirm the business checkmark (this will gray out the personal information). Now enter the Full Name – My County Co-op. Then click on the Address tab and fill out the address – 1500 E HWY 310 – Lakeside, IN 69182. Go to the Contact tab enter the Business Phone – 800-000-0000. Click OK. Click OK again.

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4. Enter the date for the transaction of 8/1/16. Enter a Description for the transaction of “Inventory Supply Purchase”. Now select the inventory supply icon to purchase the seed and chemical.

5. The Supplies Inventory Purchase dialog box appears. In the Description area enter the name of the new supply. We will enter P1234 Seed Corn. In the Account drop-down list, choose Seed. Enter the quantity of 25 bags. The Unit Cost is $125. There will be no Discount. Click OK.

6. Since this is a new supply that has not been purchased in the past, we must enter the supply properties for the seed variety. Select the Seed button and choose Corn from the commodity drop-down list.

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7. Now enter the Units. The Purchased Units will be Bags and the distributed unit will be Population. A conversion of purchased units to distributed units must be entered. In this example, we will enter 80,000 kernels per bag. The Unit Cost area is used for entering future planning records. Enter $125/per bag and a Default Application Rate of 28,500 pop/acre. The Minimum Application Value is entered as 0, and the Maximum will be 40,000. Click OK.

8. The Payment and Purchase Box will appear with the seed variety details. Now we must purchase a chemical to be included in the same transaction. Select the inventory supply icon to purchase the chemical.

9. The Supplies Inventory Purchase dialog box appears. From the supply drop-down list, choose

Atrazine 4L. Enter the quantity of 30 gallons. The cost per gallon is $50. Click OK.

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10. Under “How You Paid”, choose the check payment method by clicking on the Check button.

11. Confirm the details on check preview screen. The default checking account will be Hometown Bank Checking. Click OK.

12. The Payment and Purchase dialog box appears. Click Record to complete the transaction. Click

Done to exit.

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13. To print an Inventory Supply Report, click on the Accounting menu. Now select Inventory Maintenance – Inventory Reports and find the Supplies.

14. Select the Printer button to send the report to the printer.

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Lesson #7: Purchasing Equipment with Accounting


Educational CD


Lesson #7 Goal: Many of you have family members who have purchased trucks, cars, and recreational vehicles

for everyday use. It is an everyday part of life that many of us take for granted. Agriculture is similar when it comes to purchasing new or used equipment. Machines need replaced over time and farm equipment is no different. This lesson will teach you how to purchase a new piece of equipment with a down payment and loan. Most growers experience these types of transactions as old equipment is replaced with newer equipment.

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1. Go to the Accounting menu and choose Payments and Purchases. Then select Record Payment/Purchase.

2. We must first add a new vendor. From the vendor drop-down list, choose Add/Edit.

3. The Contacts dialog box appears. Click on the Add button. The Contact Properties dialog box appears. Since we are setting up a new business, confirm the business checkmark (this will gray out the personal information). Now enter the Full Name – Farm Equipment Company. Then Click on the Address tab and fill out the address – Hwy 90 – Littletown, OH 91385. Contact tab Business phone – 800-000-0000. Click OK. Click OK again.

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4. Enter a Description for the transaction. We will enter Front Wheel Assist Tractor (#1234). Enter a date of 8/1/16. Now select the tractor icon to purchase the new machine.

5. The Equipment Purchase dialog box appears. In the Description area, enter the name of this new machine. We will enter 2001 Front Wheel Assist Tractor. In the Account drop-down list, we will choose Machinery & Equipment. Our cost is $50,000. Click OK.

6. The Machine Properties dialog box appears. Now we can enter the details for the new tractor purchase.

Category – Tractors Connected Farm – Vehicle Make – My Tractor Company Model – 1234, Year – 2001, Serial #, Costing Unit – hour, Costing Rate – $25

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7. Click on the “Options” Tab at the top of the dialog box. Fuelable will be selected by default. Make sure you have Diesel selected for the Fuel option. Enter 0.5 gal/hr for the burn rate. The Enterprise Type is “Passive”. Click OK.

8. The Payments and Purchases dialog box will appear. Since we are making a down payment with a check, click on the “Check” button under “How You Paid”.

Confirm the checking account to use for the transaction. We will use “Hometown Bank Checking” and change the payment to $10,000. It will default to the full $50,000, so this must be changed manually. Click OK.

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9. The Payments and Purchases dialog box will appear. Click on the “Loan” button to pay the remaining balance.

10. The Loan Payment dialog box appears. Enter the loan description, such as 01 FW Assist Tractor

Loan. The total loan amount is $40,000. Enter $5,000 of principle due this year. The program will automatically enter $35,000 of principle due at end of year. Click OK.

11. The Payments and Purchases dialog box appears. Click Record to complete the transaction.

Click Done to exit.

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12. To print a purchase report, click on the Accounting menu. Now select Payments and Purchases and find the Purchases Report.

13. The Purchases Report dialog box appears. Use your pointer and select the Farm Equipment

Company vendor. Enter the date Range for 1/1/16 to 8/30/16. Click the Print button.

14. Select the Printer button to send the report to the printer.

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Lesson #8: Drawing a Field Boundary Using Aerial Imagery


Educational CD


High Speed Internet

Lesson #8 Goal: Growers and custom applicators rely on field boundary maps to verify acreage, navigation, and

job accuracy. If growers utilize GPS (Global Positioning System) for mapping field boundaries, it can eliminate paying for insurance on non-planted land. Custom applicators use these maps to correctly and accurately apply chemicals and fertilizers. Not only do they aid in finding the field, but they also clearly show the field boundary and any areas requiring special attention. If mistakes are made during application (such as applying a neighbor field), serious consequences can occur. GPS is the only true method to guarantee the accuracy of field location and size. This lesson will teach how to use the mapping tools to draw a field boundary from an aerial image to calculate acreage, and print a boundary map.

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1. To display the aerial photographs, click on the “Background Imagery” button above the

map. Next, zoom out on the map until you see the map for Kansas using the Zoom Out button.

2. Zoom in on the area near Beloit, KS using the zoom tool . (see map below)

Note: If additional zooming is needed to see more detail, continue to left click with the zoom

tool until the desired detail level is achieved.

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2. Travel south of Beloit on State Route 14 to the corner of M Rd. To move the map, click on the select tool and then use the arrow keys on the keyboard. The field that we will be using for this exercise is on the southeast corner of the intersection.

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3. Right-click on Field “13” and select Edit Boundaries from the menu.

4. The “Map” Tab will now be changed to “Map-Editing”. Drawing tools will be displayed in this mode.

5. Find the field located on the aerial photo.

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6. In order to use the drawing tools, zoom to the aerial photo and locate the field. Select the Zoom Tool. Once selected the left-click will zoom in and right-click will zoom out.

7. Once the aerial photo of the field has been enlarged. Click the Include Polygon Tool to draw the field boundary. This is the best tool for drawing enclosed objects.

8. Start by left-clicking on one of the corners of the field. A red dot will appear. Continue to left click each time there is a turn in the line until you are completely around the field. Next, right-click and select Finish from the menu.

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9. The field will have a transparent gray color. To save the field boundary, select the Save and Close button on the toolbar.

10. The field boundary will now be saved. In the “Views” area, click on Field Boundaries. This will change the field to a shade of gray and display the tillable acres in the legend area.

11. Now print this map using the Printer tool. Once the Print Map dialog box appears, choose Print.

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Lesson #9: Creating a Soil Sample Map


Educational CD


Lesson #9 Goal: It is impossible for anyone to see, taste or feel the fertility level of a given soil. The only way to definitively measure fertility is sending actual soil samples to an accredited laboratory for analysis. Growers and custom applicators are becoming more reliant on information about the actual soil chemistry in the field. A soil test is an important measure of the soil's ability to supply nutrient elements needed for good plant growth. A planned soil sample map can make the job of pulling soil samples go much quicker. In this lesson you will learn how to create a soil sample map for a field based on 7.5 acre grids. The job that is created can be used as a work order for the Trimble Ag Software Mobile program or as a work order for many of the data consoles available. At the completion of this lesson you will be asked to print out the map with the numbered sample points.

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1. To display the field boundary, In the Farm tab, highlight field 13.

2. In the Map tab, right-click inside the field boundary and then select Make Sampling Grid.

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3. In the Create Sampling Grid dialog, configure the following options: a. In the Layer Type section select Points, and Planned Job.

Note: This will create a planned job that can be sent out to the Mobile program or to a data console.

b. In the Grid section, Select the size of the Grid as 7.5 Acres and for the Pattern, select “Uniform.” This places the points in the center of each grid.

c. Select that you want the Layer Data Item to be Sample ID and specify the number to start assigning IDs as 100. Click OK.

4. The cursor changes to a grid.

#

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5. Click in the southwest corner of the field, move the cursor along the left side of the field to the northwest corner and then click again. #

6. The Farming box will appear, the Job Name will be filled in with “13 – Soil Test” (this is a combination of the field name and the job type). The Job Name can be changed so that it is easier to see this is the planned sampling map. Add the word planned at the end of the Job Name so that it reads “13 – Soil Test Planned”. Also set the date of the planned job to December 5, 2016. Click OK.

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7. The soil sample grid is created, the layer is added to Displayed Layers, and the sample points will appear on the Map tab. You may need to use to the zoom out button to zoom out on the map to see the points, as well as the field boundary.

8. To add labels for the Soil Sample Point IDs:

a. Click the Display Options button and then make sure that “Show Labels” is selected, and that “Sample ID” is checked.

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b. Click the Edit Layer button to show the Map – Editing toolbar.

c. Click-and-drag around all target points and right-click and select Add Label.

d. The sample ID will show on top of the points on the map. Click the Save and Close

button to save the changes to the map.

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10. Now print this map using the Printer tool.

11. Select the Print button.

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Lesson #10: Importing Yield Data


Educational CD


Lesson #10 Goal: Combines have the ability to use GPS technology in order to record information while

harvesting a field. The yield monitor is connected to the GPS receiver to record attributes such as: dry yield, wet yield, moisture, loads, markers, and elevation. This important data is stored on a memory card in the yield monitor. Growers can take these cards out of the yield monitor and import the data into Farm Works for further analysis. Companies who manufacture yield monitors include Trimble, Ag Leader, Case New Holland, John Deere, AGCO, CLAAS, Loup Technologies, Micro-Trak, and several others. Farm Works is compatible with all of these companies. This lesson will show you how to import yield data from a John Deere monitor and print a yield map.

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1. Left click the Read Job Data button located on the “Job/Resource Tools” Bar. You can also access this option by navigating to the File menu.

2. The Read Job Data box appears. If you have installed the proper data drivers from the Trimble installation CD (or website), all companies will appear in this dialog box. Open the John Deere Green Star3 Data driver by selecting the plus symbol. Select the option for GreenStar3 Data (Beta).

3. Select the Browse button to search for the yield files.

Note: There is harvest and planting data in this folder, if the students select the incorrect folder they will get planting data and not yield data.

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4. The “Browse for Folder” dialog box appears. Navigate to your Lesson Plan CD drive letter, and Open the John Deere Data folder, next select the Ochsner east harvest folder. Click Select Folder.

5. You will be returned to the Read Job Data dialog box and the box will be populated with all of the data from the monitor. All of the jobs should be preselected.

Tip: To highlight multiple files at one time on the screen, select the first desired file and hold your Shift key. Now select the bottom file and the series of files will be highlighted.

Some growers connect lower quality GPS receivers to the yield monitor. This is typically good enough for yield mapping. However, there are times that lower quality GPS signals will accidentally plot a point or two outside of the field boundary. In order to fix this, the software created an option called “Delete Fly Away Points”. When loading in yield data, we will want to always have this selected.

The boxes on the left will be left unchecked for this import except for “Update Field Boundary” Having this box checked will allow the program to update the field boundary within the program.

Software Tip:

Import fields without tasks will set up any fields that were entered on the monitor regardless of if there are any tasks (jobs) recorded for that field.

Skip confirming farm/field information will skip over setting up the Client/Farm/Field information. The program will automatically set up these files.

Skip confirming supplies/equipment/people will skip over setting up the information boxes for those items. The program will automatically set up these files.

6. Click OK.

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7. The import process will begin with an easy-to-use import wizard. The first dialog box window

will display a Linker option. These Linker windows are built into the program in order to match up items between the yield monitor and Desktop Software. The first linker is the “People”. Here you will see that the Person on the yield monitor (Operation Resources) is called “Doug Pales”. On the Desktop Resources side you can see the 2 people we had previously set up in the program. Since Doug is a “new” person for this project there is nothing to change. Click OK.

8. On the Linker: equipment screen, the “JD 635FD” should be linked to the Combine, and the “JD S680” should be linked to the Grain Platform. To link the equipment, select the Operation Resource on the left and then select the corresponding item in the Desktop Resources on the right and click the Link button. Once all items have been linked, click OK.

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9. On the Linker Field screen, the Custom Farming\Darwyn Ochsner\Ochsner - E be should be setup as a new client, new farm, and new field, so you can click OK on that screen.

10. The Person Properties screen will appear you can click OK on that screen to accept the default information for Doug. Click OK through the Client, and Farm screens as well. This data can always be edited later if desired. In the Field Properties screen enter the Tillable Acres as 150. Software Note: The Tillable acres are what the program uses on all reports.

11. The program will go through the reading process at this point. Once completed, the jobs will be located under the appropriate field in the Client/Farm/Field tree. The enterprise for 2016 Soybeans will also show. Indented under the 2016 Soybeans you will see the Harvest job.

12. Click on the Jobs tab to display the yield files. There will be a new job with the name “Harvest”

13. To view the job to verify that it has the correct information, right click on the job and choose Properties.

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14. In the Farming Box, the 1st column is the totals box. Anything changed in this column will copy across (or distribute to) all columns. Change the Job Name to “Harvest - Soybeans”, enter a Unit Price of “$10.50”, and select “Off Farm” as the Harvest Destination. Click OK to record the changes to the job.

15. To view the map of the yield data, left click on the view box in front of the job (Notice that the

job name updated). Click on the Map tab.

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16. The yield map will appear. The bottom of the Map tab will offer different views of the yield map (also called attributes). A yield map will offer many views. You change the map view and corresponding legend for the layer by selecting the desired attribute. For instance, left clicking on Dry Yield will offer different attributes than clicking on Elevation. All growers have a strong interest in viewing Dry Yield. This is very important information for tracking high and low yielding areas within the field. Click on Dry Yield.

17. The yield map displays valuable information for a field. The green color represents high yielding areas and the red represents low yielding areas.

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18. Next we will need to have a boundary for this field. This exercise will allow you to import a field boundary. (Note: field boundaries can be hand drawn, see Chapter 8) To import the boundary for this field, right click on the field name and choose “Import Boundaries”.

19. Browse to the Boundary folder on the CD, select the file Ochsner E.shp, and then click Open.

Note: There are 2 field boundaries in this folder, if the students select the incorrect field boundary, the contouring of the data will not work correctly.

20. Click OK to confirm the Coordinate System as Latitude/Longitude.

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21. The imported boundary for the field will appear, next click the “Save and Close” button to accept the new boundary.

22. To smooth and contour the yield map, navigate back to the Views area. In this example, find the Dry Yield attribute and select the Add View button.

23. The New View window appears. Select the Contour button and enter the following details for the new view.

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24. Click OK.

Software Note: The “Average” method is used since there are many data points that are close together. Marking the option for “Fill Blanks” will ensure that the map is clipped to the field boundaries, and the “Smoothing” percentage is how free-flowing the lines between colors will be.

25. After a few moments of calculations, a smoothed / contoured map appears. This offers a view

that averages the data to show a map that is easier for most farmers to understand. This type of calculation is common for viewing yield maps.

26. Print the contoured yield map by clicking on the Print button.

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27. The Print Map screen will appear. Select “Standard Portrait” in the Layout section, set the Map

Area to “Window”, use “Best Fit” for the scale, and mark the box for “Use Default Information”. Click on the Print button at the bottom of the box.

28. The map will appear in a print preview window. Click on the printer icon in the upper right corner of the report to send the report to the printer.

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Lesson #11: Importing Soil Type Maps


Educational CD


UTM Map of USA (available on Educational CD)

Lesson #11 Goal: As producers are looking for more precise ways to manage their fields, soil types are becoming

more critical for making those management decisions. This lesson will introduce the students to working with soil type maps. Many producers are moving away from a standard square grid for soil sampling, and instead they are using soil type maps to create Management Zones. They will soil sample within those management zones and create prescription maps for the zones, taking into consideration the yield potential for the specific soil types. In this lesson, you will learn how to import soil type maps from the Educational CD. You will also learn some basic concepts of adding labels to maps.

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1. We must have a boundary drawn or imported for the field we want to import the soil types to. This allows the program to “clip to boundaries”.

2. From the Client/Farm/Field tree on the left side, right click on the Ochsner – E field, and go to

import background.

3. Browse to the CD and select the Soil Types folder.

4. Open the “KS123” folder and then the “spatial” folder.

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5. Select the “soilmu_a_ks123.shp” file, check the box for “Clip background to field boundary” and click the Open button.

6. In the Shapefile Import screen, the Coordinate System will be selected as “Latitude/Longitude”,

for this map. Click OK.

7. The program will process the master soil type map for the county and clip it down to the field’s

boundary. The soil type map will appear on the screen.

Note: If the Soil Type Map does not clip to the field boundary, the check box was not selected.

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8. In the views box below the map, select “MUSYM”. This will show the soil types for this field.

9. To add the soil types as labels to the field, click on the Edit Layer button above the map to enter

the editing mode.

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10. To highlight the entire field, left click and drag around the entire field using the select tool .

11. Right click on the map and choose Add Label.

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12. Select MUSYM from the list and Click OK.

13. The soil type labels for all of the zones will be added to the screen.

14. Save and Close the changes to the map.

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15. Now print this map using the Printer tool.

16. The Print Map screen will appear. Select “Standard Portrait” in the Layout section, set the Map

Area to “Window”, use “Best Fit” for the scale, and mark the box for “Use Default Information”. Click on the Print button at the bottom of the box.

17. The map will appear in a print preview window. Click on the printer icon in the upper right

corner of the report to send the report to the printer.

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Lesson #12: Importing Soil Lab Data


Educational CD


Soil Tests Results.csv file from the Educational CD

Lesson #12 Goal: Producers have soil sampled their fields and then used that information to make management decisions for many years. Farm Works allows this data to be imported into the program. Once the data is imported, the program can create contoured and gridded views of the data. These maps can then be used to make decisions for different regions within the field and not just the field as a whole. This lesson will teach how to import soil lab data from the Educational CD. Once the data has been imported, a gridded view of the map of the data will be made and printed.

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1. Select Read Job Data on the File menu or select the Read Job Data button on the toolbar at the top of the program.

2. In the Read Job Data dialog box that opens, under Generic Import, select “Soil Sample (*.csv,

*.txt)”

3. Browse to the Soil Sample folder located on the CD to locate the file “Ochsner E Soil Tests

Results.csv”. Click the Open button.

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4. In the Read Job Data dialog box, select the file and press OK.

5. Choose the radio button for “Join Data File with an Existing Shape File”.

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6. Browse to the CD, and then into the Soil Sample Folder and select the “Ochsner E

Sample Points.shp” file. Click Open.

7. Templates can be saved to make the import process much faster if you will be importing more than one file. In this example we will not be using these

8. Select the type of Delimiter as Comma Delimited.

9. The Header Row is how many rows of information there are in the file before the data

for the 1st sample location. The program will skip these rows when importing the data. For this data file, we will use 1.

10. The Title Row is the row in the file that contains the name of the attribute to be

imported. (Client, Field, pH, K, OM, …) For this data file we will use 1.

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11. You must select an attribute to match the rows in the data file to the points in the Shape File.

SampleID is the attribute that will need to be selected for both Shape File and Text Column.

12. The check boxes in the “Used” row are to select which attributes from the lab should be

imported. If the correct Title Row was selected above, the Title row will populate with the names for these attributes. For this exercise, de-select the following: Grower, Farm, H%, and Field.

Note: There is a scroll bar across the bottom to view all of the columns.

13. Enter the Attribute Type in each column based off of the list below:

Sample ID = Number

CEC = Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)

OM = Organic Matter (OM)

PH = Soil pH (pH)

BPH = Buffer pH

P1 = Phosphorus (P)

CA = Calcium (CA)

MG = Magnesium (Mg)

K = Potassium (K)

CA% = Calcium (CA) Base Saturation

MG% = Magnesium (Mg) Base Saturation

K% = Potassium (K) Base Saturation

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14. To save the template to import a similar file at a later time, select the Save Template button

and give the template a name. For this exercise, use “My Soil Lab”

Note: This is useful if you will be using the same lab to do your soil analysis each time. Soil Labs seldom change the format of the data they return to their customers.

15. When you press OK, the Farming dialog box appears where you can enter all of the applicable information. Be sure to select the Field Name – Ochsner – E,

16. Fill in any other information about the Soil Sampling, such as “2016 Soybeans” as the Crop Enterprise, and Click the OK button to accept the changes.

17. To view the map, locate it in the tree view on the left. It will be located under the 2016 Soybean Crop, and double click on the “ochsner e soil tests results” layer.

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18. To create a gridded view of the map, select the desired attribute in the views box at the bottom of the screen. For this example, find the Soil pH attribute and select the Add View button.

19. The New View window appears. Select the Grid button and enter the following details for the

new view. Click OK.

Software Tip: The Method for “Inverse Distance” is used since there are only a few data points and the program will need to calculate the values for the areas between those points. The “Search Radius” is the distance from the center point to look for points to use in the calculation. “Neighbors” is the number of neighboring points to use in the calculation.

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18. The Print Map screen will appear. Select “Standard Portrait” in the Layout section; set the Map

Area to “Window”; choose “Best Fit” for the scale; and select the box for “Use Default Information”. Click on the Print button at the bottom of the box.

19. The map will appear in a print preview window. Click on the printer icon in the upper right corner of the report to send the report to the printer.

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Lesson #13: Creating a Basic Prescription Map


Educational CD


Lesson #13 Goal: You will learn how to use the soil lab data to create a simple prescription map based on pH

from a chart that they will be given. Once the prescription map has been made, the planned job report will be printed. The planning reports are good resources for the applicator to take to the field with them to record notes on the actual circumstances surrounding the application.

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1. Load the Soil Sample layer that was created in Lesson 12. To do this, double left click on the “soil test results” that is located under Custom Farming -> Darwyn Ochsner -> Ochsner - E -> 2016 Soybeans.

2. Display the Soil pH gridded view. Click the plus sign next to Soil pH and then select the “grid 50ft

IDW 70% smooth” attribute view.

3. Switch to the inputs tab and place the Lime supply into the working group.

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4. Right click on the gridded view and choose “Create Simple Application”.

5. In the Farming box that opens, set up a crop enterprise for “2017 Corn”. To do this, click in the

drop down box next to Crop Enterprise and choose Add.

6. In the Crop Properties box, choose Corn as the Commodity, 2017 as the Year, and Corn as the Account. Click OK.

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7. Set the Start and Stop Dates to December 1, 2016. The completed Farming box should look like

this:

8. Click OK. 9. The rates that appear in the values boxes in the upper left corner are the pH values for the

different colors. Change the application rates for those colors based on the chart below.

pH Value Lime Rate

6.0 & up 1.0 Tons

5.75 – 5.99 1.5 Tons

5.50 – 5.74 2.0 Tons

5.25 – 5.49 2.5 Tons

5.00 – 5.24 3.0 Tons

4.75 – 4.99 3.5 Tons

Below 4.75 4.0 Tons

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10. The Value chart should look like this when complete:

Software Note: The program will re-order the application rates from highest to lowest as each

entry is made. Pay close attention to the values you are changing. 11. At the bottom left, the program will calculate the total product needed for this job. This is

based on the new rates that have been entered. The cost for the job will also be displayed. This is based on the information that was entered on the Supply Properties screen. Click Save and Close.

12. The program will adjust the colors on the map to correspond with the application rates that

were entered, combining any like application rates. To print this job, go to the jobs tab.

13. Right click on the job and choose Print and then “Plan Report”.

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Lesson #14: Creating a Prescription Map Using a Formula


Educational CD


Entering Formulas resource sheet (available as a PDF on the CD for each student or team)

Lesson #14 Goal: Many times multiple variables will need to be taken into account when creating application recommendations for a field or zone. By creating a formula based application map, this goal can be accomplished. There are many resources available for these formulas including state universities and chemical and fertilizer companies. In this lesson you will learn how to use the soil lab data to create a formula based prescription map based on pH and CEC. Once the prescription map has been made, the planned job report will be printed. The planning reports are good resources for the applicator to take to the field with them to record notes on the actual circumstances surrounding the application.

.

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Setting up the Formula

1. Go to the Resources menu and select Formulas.

2. In the formulas box, select the Add button on the right.

3. Enter “Lime based on CEC and pH” in the Name box

4. For the Formula Variables enter “CEC” in the Name box and select “Cation Exchange Capacity” from the drop down list in the type column. Click the green plus sign to add an additional variable. Enter “pH” in the Name box and select “Soil pH (pH)” from the drop down list in the type column. Note: The program is case sensitive on the Formula Variables, it is crucial that they are entered exactly the same in the Formula box as they were set up in the Formula Variables section.

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5. In the Formula box we will need to enter the desired formula. Use the resource sheet for “Entering Formulas” as a guide. Information on application formulas can be obtained from local universities or many other resources. The information for this formula is as follows: If the CEC is greater than or equal to 36, then the application rate should be 4 times the pH subtracted from 25.80. If the CEC is between 24 and 36, then the application rate should be 6.67 times the pH subtracted from 42.35. If the CEC is between 16 and 24, then the application rate should be 5.68 times the pH subtracted from 36.22. If the CEC is between 8 and 16, then the application rate should be 3.84 times the pH subtracted from 24.81. If the CEC is lower than 8, then the application rate should be 2 times the pH subtracted from 13.40.

6. This should be entered into the program as follows:

CEC >= 36 ? ( 25.80 - (4.00 * pH)): CEC >= 24 ? ( 42.35 - (6.67 * pH)): CEC >= 16 ? ( 36.22 - (5.68 * pH)): CEC >= 8 ? ( 24.81 - (3.84 * pH)): ( 13.40 - (2.00 * pH))

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7. The completed Formula Edit box should appear as follows:

8. Click OK to save the formula. Click OK again to exit the formulas screen.

Creating the Prescription Map

1. Load the Soil Sample layer that was created in Lesson 12. To do this, double left click on the

“soil test results” that is located under Custom Farming -> Darwyn Ochsner -> Ochsner - E -> 2016 Soybeans.

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2. Display the Soil pH gridded view. Click the plus sign next to Soil pH and then select the “grid 50ft

IDW 70% smooth” attribute view.

3. Place the Lime supply into the working group.

4. Right click on the gridded view and choose “Create Formula Application”

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5. Select the “Lime based on CEC and pH”. A preview of the formula will appear in the box, allowing for you to verify that it is the desired formula.

6. In the Settings section, set the Rounding to 0.5 (this will round the application rates to the

nearest ½ ton. Set the Minimum application rate to 0 and leave the Maximum rate blank (this will set no upper limit). The Default Rate should be set to 1. Click OK

7. In the farming box, select “2017 Corn” from the drop down list as the crop enterprise, and

Spreading as the Job Type if they are not already filled in.

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8. Set the Start and Stop Dates to December 1, 2016. The completed farming box should look like

this:

9. Click OK.

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10. The VRA summary screen should look similar to this:

11. Next we will use the adjust button to change this map so that 50% of the needed Lime is

applied this year. To do this, click on the Adjust button.

12. Enter the total quantity applied as 187 Ton.

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13. The summary area will update with the new values.

14. The VRA Summary area will update with the new application values.

15. Click the Save and Close button to save the job. 16. To print this job, go to the jobs tab.

17. Right click on the job and choose Print and then “Plan Report”

Working with Formulas in TABS Software

1. Formulas can be done on an area/polygon layer or on a gridded view of a point layer.

2. Any data item that is to be used in a formula must be a defined attribute type such as pH, N, P, K, etc. Attribute Types can be created by going to the “Resources” menu and by selecting “Attribute Types”. a. Any attribute that is set up as “Number” cannot be used in a formula.

3. Existing formulas will be listed in the drop-down list. You can select an existing formula to use it or edit it. Or select <New> to create a new formula.

4. Use + to add all the variables used in the formula a. Variables are Case Sensitive (thus pH is not the same as PH). b. Select from “Type” and then enter the Name as you want to use it in the formula. c. Select “Constant” for anything that you want to manually enter a value for

i. When you set up a constant in a formula, the program will ask you for the value when you run the equation.

ii. Example is when a formula uses a “Yield Goal” where the user wants to enter the yield goal for next year’s crop to be used in the formula.

5. The following operators are available: ? – is “If/then” so the statement pH<5 ? 6 means that if the pH is less than 5 it will use 6 : - is “else” so the statement pH<5 ? 6: 7 means that if the pH is less than 5 it will use 6 otherwise it will use 7

NOTE – Every If statement must have at least one then statement. Thus you cannot have: pH<5 ? 6 At a minimum you’d need: pH<5 ? 6 : 0 in which case the rate would be 6 when pH is less than 5 and zero in all other scenarios. If you have multiple “If” statements, the program will work through the statements sequentially. If the

first “If” applies, it will not look at any remaining statements. < less than <= less than or equal to > greater than >= greater than or equal to & -- represents “and” so the statement pH<=5 & pH >= 4 ? 1,000 : 0 means that if the pH is less than or equal

to 5 AND greater than or equal to 4 it will use a rate of 1,000. Otherwise it will use a rate of zero. + addition - subtraction * - Multiplication. / - division ^ - Is used for Power. So x^2 is X squared

( ) used for setting priorities. The program will default to doing division first then multiplication then addition and subtraction. So X+2*3/4 would take 3 divided by 4 then multiplied by 2 then add to x. You can specify which goes first by ((x+2)3)/4 which would result in X +2 happening first and the result multiplied by 3 and the result divided by 4.

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Lesson #15: Entering a Harvested Crop Sales Contract


Educational CD


Lesson #15 Goal: You will learn how to enter in the information for a sales contract for a commodity. At the

completion of this lesson, the you will print a Harvested Crop Sales Contract report.

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1. Select Accounting, and then Income, Sales and Deposits. Next left click on Harvested Crop Sales Contracts.

2. The first step will be to set up production information for each crop that is being sold, click Edit Crops & Production.

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3. In the Harvested Crop Production Properties dialog box a. Select the 2016 Soybean Crop enterprise b. Click the Get Actual button next to acres to retrieve the actual number of acres assigned as

2016 Soybean. c. Since the crop harvest has been recorded in this software, click Get Actual next to Total

Production to retrieve the total bushels that were harvested and the yield per acre. d. Enter the estimated sales price as $11.00 e. Click Record and then Close.

4. To setup a contract, in the Harvested Crop Sales Contracts dialog box, click Add.

5. In the Harvested Crop Contract Properties dialog box, set up the following:

a. In the Vendor box, select Add/Edit from the drop down list.

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b. Set up a new vendor by selecting the Add button.

New Vendor information: ADM

123 Farmer Way Big City, IN 00000 Business Phone: 800-111-1111

Click OK to save.

c. In the Crop and Production box, select the 2016 Soybeans. d. In the Description box enter “contract number 131313”. e. Type - There are no pre-defined Types. For this example choose add/edit from the drop down

list. Enter the contract type as “Flat Sales Contract”.

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f. Futures Price- This is the Board of Trade (or other exchange) price for this contract. Enter 12.01.

g. Basis - The difference between the Futures Price and the cash price you are receiving. This value is typically negative. Enter -0.35.

h. Futures Date – Enter January 1, 2017. i. Basis Date – Enter January 1, 2017 j. Quantity – Enter 5000 bushels for this contract.

k. Delivery Start Date - The first date that you can physically deliver the crop to the vendor for

this contract. Enter January 1, 2017 l. Delivery End Date – The date that the crop for this contract has be delivered by. Enter

January 31, 2017. m. Status – The current status of the contract. Select Open.

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6. Once the contract is entered, the contract screen will show all contracts that have been setup within the system.

7. Click the Reports button.

8. Select the Harv. Crop Contract – by Crop and Type as the Report Type (if not selected by default).

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9. Check the box for “2016 Soybeans” to show all contracts set up for that crop enterprise, and click the Preview Button

10. The report will appear in a print preview window. Click on the printer icon in the upper portion of

the report to send the report to the printer.

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