The Campo Bom Farm consists of 44,000ha of which 18,000ha are cropped with 12,000ha of Soybeans and 6,000ha of Corn. The remaining area is either used as pasture for grazing cattle or rented out to other farmers in the area.
A total of eight MF38 combines on the farm were equipped with yield mapping for the 1999 harvest. The yield maps generated from these combines has been used to improve farm management practices. This has resulted in a significant improvement in average yield across the farm.
The first few year's was used to learn about the technology, how to manage the vast amounts of information and the factors that influence yield on the farm.
The average yield during the 2001 harvest for Soybeans and Corn (Maize) was 48 sacks/ha and 100 sacks/ha respectively. The Fieldstar yield maps produced from the 2001 harvest were used to target areas for further investigation to try and ascertain the reasons for the variation in yield. By using soil sampling it was found that Zinc and Potassium was lower in the medium and low yield areas. As a result the Campo Bom farm applied fertiliser to raise the Zinc and Potassium levels to match the levels in the high yield areas.
The 2002 produced significant increases in yield. The average Soybean yield increased by 17% from 48 to 58 sacks/ha and the average Corn yield increased by 21% from 100 to 134 sacks/ha.
The yield maps from 2002 were used again to further investigate specific areas. Again selective soil sampling was used to compare nutrient levels between high, medium and low yielding areas. It was discovered that Calcium and Magnesium was low in the medium and low yield areas, therefore these elements were applied in the low and medium areas in order to raise them to the levels in the high yield areas.
The 2003 harvest produced another jump in average yield corn from 132 to 149 sacks/ha while the average Soybean yield remained the same.
