Planalytics Set to Release Their 2014 Corn and Soybean Crop Yield Forecasts
Berwyn, PA (PRWEB) June 05, 2014 -- Corn and soybeans are barely in the ground in some areas, but Planalytics will be releasing their initial GreenReport Corn and Soybean Crop Yield Forecasts for 2014 this Friday, June 6th. This marks the thirteenth year that Planalytics, in collaboration with TerraMetrics Agriculture, Inc., has utilized satellite imagery as the basis for producing early-season, bi-weekly assessments of crop conditions and yield potential for these and other key crops, including winter wheat.
“This time of year everyone begins to speculate about these crops’ potential,” said Jed Lafferty, Managing Director, Planalytics Life Sciences. Planalytics is a global business-weather intelligence company that provides insights into the effects of weather on a wide range of products and services, serving clients at both ends of the supply-chain. “Planting got started much earlier than last year in some places, like Iowa, but much later across the northern tier of the country due to cold temperatures and wet soils. By measuring the current amount of biomass or ‘greenness’ on the ground across the country and comparing that to previous years’ conditions and yields, we can provide an early assessment of conditions that our clients use in their decision making,” he adds.
Dr. Jude Kastens, assistant professor at the University of Kansas and part of the TerraMetrics team, elaborates. “We have compiled over 25 years of NDVI data, a standard measure of the amount of chlorophyll that plants produce. This is a very robust data set that, when combined with comparable years' USDA final yield data, enable us to produce estimates of yield potential 8-10 weeks sooner than USDA or other groups that rely on field-surveys.” Adds Lafferty, “…and because we publish every two weeks, our reports reflect and explain changes in crop potential, largely due to weather, as the season progresses”.
Planalytics forecasts crop yields at the national, state and agricultural statistics district (ASD) level beginning with their Winter Wheat Forecast in late March, soon after the crop comes out of dormancy. “This year’s winter wheat crop had indications of below-trend potential from the very start,” said Dr. Kastens. “On March 26th, our initial national estimate of 45.7 bushels per acre was nearly 2 bushels below the 30-year trend and USDA’s final 2013 yield figure of 47.4 bushels. Since that time, due to the effects of continuing drought and a late season freeze in the south-central Plains, our wheat yield estimates have gone down steadily.”
Planalytics GreenReport and Crop Yield Forecasts are available through subscription only. For more information, go to http://www.planalytics.com/green or contact Planalytics at 800.882.5881, extension 902.
David Frieberg, Planalytics, Inc., http://www.planalytics.com, +1 (610) 407-2902, [email protected]
Share this article