The new Prairie Precision Sustainability Network has a pilot program to help farmers map the historic profitability of zones within fields. It flags areas that are perpetually unprofitable. Farmers can then decide what areas may benefit from different management practices.

A close up screenshot of a field with bright highlighted colours on it, showing a map of yield overlaid on the field itself.

How to create a field profit map

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Bragging rights are based on bushels per acre but what really matters is profit. Farmers have a new tool to convert yield maps into profit maps, providing an essential next step toward precision management.

A screenshot of Climate Fieldview, which shows a field with bright highlighted colours on it, showing a map of yield overlaid on the field itself.

This is the 2024 revenue map for Jason Casselman’s field of CDC Forest green peas. The field ranges from revenue of less than $300 per acre (dark red) to a revenue of over $1,000 per acre (dark green). The whole north half of the field is far more profitable than the south half. Without going through this exercise, farmers may not realize this significant variability.

Paul Galpern, researcher at the University of Calgary, is one of the project leaders with the Prairie Precision Sustainability Network (PPSN). He answered some of my questions about identifying profitability differences within a field, and the tools, time and cost required.

The PPSN is a collaboration of research teams from University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary looking at yield maps and satellite imagery to build a predictive model for individual fields. They are working with about 70 growers across Western Canada and since 2022 have collected data on over 700,000 acres.

We know the whole field is getting the same amount of rain and sunshine during the growing season. So what sets those good areas apart from the rest of the field? This is something we need to figure out.

Four years of combine yield data and satellite imagery provide enough information to show consistent patterns of yield variability, Galpern says. These patterns identify which acres are consistently underperforming and not profitable in an annual cropping system and which acres have characteristics that contribute to reliably higher yields.

PPSN developed the Field Profitability and Marginality Tool to give participants in the project the ability to enter crop price and input costs for a field, overlay that with yield history and satellite imagery, and determine profit potential on each acre.

When I watched Galpern demonstrate the tool, he showed how it can flag unprofitable acres as well as the most productive areas. This is an excellent opportunity to dig into what is going on in these areas and find out what soil quality factors contribute to consistently higher yields.

We know the whole field is getting the same amount of rain and sunshine during the growing season. So what sets those good areas apart from the rest of the field? This is something we need to figure out. It might be less compaction, improved soil aeration, ideal soil pH, better balanced fertility, deeper topsoil, less salinity or something else that can be measured.

The Field Profitability and Marginality Tool shows the acres that have low chance of return in an annual cropping system. And it highlights the importance of a change in management on those acres to tip the scales from losing money to providing an economic return.

The ideal approach is not to abandon those acres that are less suited to annual cropping, but to use a different strategy to improve the return from those acres. One idea is seeding these areas to perennial forage, which provides an opportunity to harvest an alternative cash crop as hay and while creating additional biodiversity in the landscape. Local markets and other financial incentive programs can help determine what level of management is required on these acres. The goal is to not create additional problems by letting weeds and unwanted vegetation take over. Growers must figure out the best strategy for them.

A screenshot of Prarie Precision Sustainability Network tool, which shows a field profitability and marginality tool.

This is an actual sample map from a participant in the Prairie Precision Sustainability Network pilot program. Coloured areas show parts of the field that are not profitable over the long term.

The PPSN is looking for more growers across Western Canada. Participants provide yield data and crop plans in return for access to the Field Profitability and Marginality Tool. Researchers involved can also provide them with options and recommendations to improve profitability in marginal areas.

Even if growers don’t participate in the PPSN pilot program, they can start evaluating their own harvest maps based on revenue per acre, not just yield. This was a real game changer for me. Seeing how parts of a field were consistently carrying the load has encouraged me to do more targeted soil sampling and compare more profitable acres to the rest of the field. Through this closer examination, I can see the inherent quality factors contributing to increased profitability. I can then adjust my fertility levels in those low-profit acres to get them more productive.