What is VRAFY?

VRAFY STANDS FOR VARIABLE RATE ANALYSIS FERTILITY YIELD. This is a software program that has been used in foreign countries like Australia with great success for many years. This app will allow you to import (automatically or manually) yield data and soil test data to allow you to do some things you never have before. We have been using it on our farm as one of the beta testers for the U.S. version over the last year, and it’s amazing.

HERE’S WHY YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY WANT TO BEGIN USING VRAFY ON YOUR FARM THIS FALL.

1. A VARIABLE RATE FERTILIZER APPLICATION MAP CAN BE AUTOMATICALLY CREATED BASED OFF YOUR YIELD MAP.

Here’s why this is so important. Most farmers broadcast one rate of fertilizer across their field. Others do some variable rate based on either large grids (or zones) or old soil tests.

A smart and easy way to apply is based on crop removal. That’s what VRAFY can do for you.

If you had a low-yielding area that only removed a few pounds of P & K, why spend lots of money when only a few dollars will get your fertility level back to where it was before you planted this year’s crop? If you had a high-yielding area that removed lots of P & K, why would you only want to put a little back when your highly productive land is making you lots of money? With VRAFY, almost as soon as you leave the field with your combine and your harvest map is uploaded to the cloud, or at least within 24 hours, a variable rate fertilizer application map will be sent to you, and this can be easily uploaded in a variety of formats to your fertilizer applicator.

Imagine not needing to go to a fertilizer dealer for a recommendation. You can now work with any fertilizer company as the data and the control is finally in your hands.

2. COMPARE YIELDS TO SOIL TEST LEVELS.

We started doing this manually about 5 years ago. The information is powerful, because you can see which fertilizer products are making you money and which ones aren’t. For example, this chart is one of the first charts we created based off yield from our farm. It became crystal clear that yield on our farm was driven by increasing potassium levels, which is why we’ve talked about that so much over the last few years. With VRAFY, comparisons like this one are automated. You can look at yield versus everything from straight nutrients like P & K to nutrient ratios like the phosphorus-to-zinc or magnesium-to-potassium ratio.

All these things will help you fine tune your fertility program so your fertilizer dollars get invested into things that make you money, rather than things that don’t.

3. CREATE ZONE SAMPLING MAPS FROM YIELD, IMAGERY, TOPOGRAPHY, ETC.

Everyone is always searching for a better or different way to set up zones in a field. VRAFY gives you several easy-to-determine and easy-to-administer options.

OTHER FEATURES & WHERE TO LEARN MORE

In addition to these three unique things, VRAFY offers many of the things you’ve seen in past Ag PhD soil testing apps, including creating variable fertilizer application maps, the ability to soil sample at certain GPS points, getting discounted soil testing rates, and having soil test results and even recommendations uploaded automatically into the software.

For more information, go to VRAFY.com or talk to your Hefty agronomist. You can also see informational and training videos about VRAFY on AcresTV. If you haven’t checked out AcresTV, it’s the Hulu or Netflix for agriculture, and it’s free. AcresTV is available on any Smart TV or you can watch online at watchacrestv.com.