“When the samples came back, the data painted a clear picture: copper and potassium levels were low, almost exactly along the same line where the yield monitor had shown a drop,” Jesse said. “To the line where it lodged, his copper was below 0.8 ppm. It just jumped out on his map – where his yield was bad, copper and potassium were low. Where it was good, the levels were fine. So, we decided to make a variable rate map to put pounds per acre where they need to go.”

In another field, Matt was experiencing some unexplained variability in his soybean yields. Historically, he always considered this field in particular as containing better soil that didn’t cause problems – in his mind, it was one he didn’t need to worry about. Previously, his fertilizer applicator had pulled soil samples, but his program had been a flat rate based on a composite sample taken from five spots in the field mixed together into a single test.

However, his perspective changed a bit once he took a closer look at his yield maps.

VRAFY’s analysis matching oat harvest data to soil test information revealed a nutrient shortage in both potassium and copper that significantly affected yield on Matt Stenberg’s farm. With this information in hand, Stenberg was empowered to take precise, corrective action.

“It’s always been a good chunk of dirt for us, but when we looked at the maps, we saw a 10% to 15% drop in spots,” Matt said. “We did grids and found I had super low pH in about 40 acres of the field, and I would never have guessed that. Between that pH spot and another spot with low boron, it was like – oh, my goodness, I think we can fix these problems cheaper than a guy thinks because we can apply directly on these spots and not have to blanket the whole field. I thought I’d never need lime because of all the 8.0 pHes we have, but you look at VRAFY and can see there’s a problem here. We can fix it.”

“We would have never discovered that issue using a standard 12-core soil sample,” Jesse said. “In a traditional composite sample, even a single core taken from a high-calcium spot could skew the entire test, falsely suggesting a higher pH than what was really happening across the field. By breaking the field down into smaller grids, we were able to see the true variation in soil conditions.”

“That experience turned us into firm believers in the power of VRAFY. The system’s ability to grid sample and match soil data directly to yield results gave us insights that traditional sampling could never provide. Without that information, we might have written the area off as marginal ground and reduced fertility there when, in reality, the problem was nutrient deficiency. With VRAFY, we could see the real issue and fix it.”

ANOTHER BENEFIT BOTH JESSE AND MATT APPRECIATE ABOUT VRAFY IS HOW EASY THE SOFTWARE IS TO USE FOR BOTH FARMER AND AGRONOMIST.

Color-coded nutrient maps make it incredibly easy to visualize where nutrients are high or low, and seeing these patterns across the field provides a clear path to correction and fine-tuning fertility plans.

“I like the data and being able to overlay the maps,” Matt said. “You’re getting so many points of data from the combine that you can apply to the yield map. It was fun because we correlated on our fields why it wasn’t going so well. We overlaid the maps and it was perfect and lined up. It was neat to see the precision. I think the more people use VRAFY, I think it’s going to be the way of the future.”

“What we love most about VRAFY is that it lets us place fertility exactly where it’s needed,” Jesse said. “It gives us the tools to bring soil fertility levels into balance, creating the best possible environment for microorganisms to thrive. When soil nutrients are out of balance, problems arise; but with VRAFY, we can see those imbalances and correct them before they limit crop performance.”