“The first time that we put all these map overlays together, it was the ‘wow’ factor,” Elkin says.

One experiment that's attracted attention from the neighbors and ag journalists is his multiple soybean variety placement (see details in this video, narrated by Ben Rahe). He pulls an air cart behind his planter, enabling him to plant offensive varieties where conditions are favorable, and defensive varieties in tougher, high-pH soils.

“I have to be 5% ahead of everyone else to stay alive in today's economic environment,” Elkin says. “Farming is no different than a Nascar race. We all have the same gas, tires, shock absorbers; it's just how you combine and drive them that wins the race. We use our records to consistently finish among the top 10.”

Elkin's yield and soil sampling maps date back to 1995. “With that amount of yield data, we can sort out the weather extremes and really bank on the rest of it,” Rahe says.

“The data reduces the number of guesses we have to make by informing our decisions,” Elkin says. “We may not always know why a given part of a field is off by 10 bu., but we can narrow the cause to just a few factors.”

Elkin can cross-check and anonymously pool his farm results with his fellow Premier Crop Systems clients. Collectively, they represent 30,000-40,000 acres of local hybrid and agronomic data in a 60-mile radius.

“Using their data, our growers can rate hybrids and varieties by profit in their fields,” says Dan Frieberg, Premier Crop Systems co-owner. “Just as dairy producers use DHIA records to benchmark each cow's performance, our growers can base their decisions on real-world results.”

Below are the types of agronomic decisions that Darle Elkin, Webster City, IA, has been able to make with more confidence using his 14 years of agronomic data:

• I'm going to add 160 more acres of corn this year; which fields are best suited to corn?
• I need to spray my corn-on-corn fields for volunteer corn due to a windstorm last fall; where did I plant LibertyLink hybrids so that I can use glufosinate to kill the Roundup Ready volunteer corn from last year?
• Parts of this field have a pH of 8; how can I plant a defensive variety there while still optimizing yield on my better ground in that field?
• Which seed companies and hybrid families made me the most money over the long term, excluding years of extreme weather?
• Which plant population is best for this zone of this field?
• Did an extra 2,000 plants/acre make me money?
• Which fields do I need to monitor more closely for potassium (K) deficiency (where I used manure and K might be the limiting nutrient)? When do I need to apply more? Am I keeping up with what the crop is removing?
• This field is pattern-tiled, so why are yields down 10 bu. compared to the rest of my operation?
• Why is this check plot full of yellow beans? Now we know for sure that this type of variety won't hold across this alkalinity and soil type. Next year we need to plant a defensive variety here.