by Jared Wheeler, Assumption, IL

This includes setting up variety locator so that the combine will know what variety it is harvesting without having to change it on the display. At the end of the year this data can be used to generate a report that shows which varieties performed the best. You can learn more about this service by clicking here.

Setting up variety locator is something that many of our customers struggle with each year. Here are some things to remember. You cannot just take the screen out of the planting tractor and install it in the combine and expect it to work. The data has to be downloaded into Apex first and then new setup data must be saved for the display. When saving new setup data, you also cannot just check mark the variety locator box. You will have to click the “setup variety locator” on the left hand side (see picture below) and another screen will pop up.

Variety Locator

Choose the select all button at the top of this screen to select all of the planting files. If you happen to have more than one planting file for one field name then an error will pop up and you will have to choose which file you want to use. Common examples of this are caused when corn and soybeans are both planted under one field name and the other is when an area has been replanted in that field. In most cases you will want to choose the original corn planting file unless you ripped up the majority of the field and replanted it in a different variety. Basically the combine would get confused if it had to look at two different maps and try to decide which variety is really planted in that part of the field. This is why Apex will only let you choose one file per field. Once this is done you are now ready to save the new setup data.

The June 2014 AMS Newsletter is now available on our website and can be viewed by clicking here. Many customers have started getting the print version in their mailboxes. The print version has a training calendar in it that can be disregarded. We are currently working on revising our summer training schedule and will post a revised schedule soon. Our training schedule can be found online by clicking here.