Non-Irrigated & Irrigated Crop Yield Values

Modified on 2021/11/01 20:34 by Adam — Categorized as: Map or Form

The Surety® Soil Maps utilize the Non-Irrigated and Irrigated Crop Yield Ratings in The NRCS/USDA database and provide a calculated weighted average based on the soils within the Area of Interest.

The displayed crop types will vary from soil to soil. The soil map grid will only display the types of crops that contain data for at least one of the soil types within the currently selected boundary. The units that the numerical values represent will be noted within the title of the crop yield column.

Image

The Crop Yields are available on the Soil Maps by default but can be toggled on/off from the Soils Report Options Page.

Image

Non-Irrigated Crop Yield

To paraphrase the USDA description of Non-Irrigated Crop Yields: "These ratings are an estimated average yield per acre of the displayed non-irrigated crop for the selected area under a high level of management. These ratings can be higher or lower in any given crop year dependent on rainfall, temperatures, and other climate factors.

Yields are recorded in 3 separate values. A low value and a high value are recorded for the range of the specific soil. A third "representative" value indicates the the expected value for the soil component. Only the representative value is used here.

The yield numbers are determined by experience and records of farmers, conservationists, and extension agents. The values from nearby areas also play a factor in determining these values.

The type of soil and crop will determine what level of management is needed to produce the shown yields. Some management techniques include drainage, erosion control, flood protection, correct planting and seeding rates, suitable high yield crop varieties, timely and appropriate tillage, weed, plant disease, and insect control; optimum levels of elements, suitable fertilization methods, and harvesting techniques.

The estimated yields represent the productive capacity of each soil for the selected crop. Yields will increase as new technology is developed. The productivity of a given soil compared with that of other soils will likely not change." (Soil Survey Staff)

Irrigated Crop Yield

The description of the Irrigated Crop yields is identical to the Non-irrigated description except for the assumption that the irrigation system is adapted to the soils and to the crops grown, that good-quality irrigation water is uniformly applied as needed, and that tillage is kept to a minimum. 

Notice: As the NRCS soils database refreshes happen every year (generally October), the existing soils are sometimes becoming reclassified. When this happens, the yield data is not necessarily updated at the same time or ever. In these cases, there will not be yield information for Surety to display in the Soil Maps.

Source:

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Web Soil Survey. Retrieved from
http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx

See Also: