Frequently asked questions
Methodology, coverage, pilots. If something here doesn't answer your question, see how we measure or our notes.
Methodology
- How should I read your yield estimates?
- Ahead, even, or behind a normal year — first. Then the range around the bushel, if we show one. The number is not what the elevator will pay.
- How well does the model perform?
- We tell you whether a county is having a better, worse, or ordinary year. That is the useful part. A bushel figure is a range, not a scale ticket — typically within about 20 bushels of how that county finishes. Some years we are closer. We are not calling your field.
- How do you pick the "neighbors" you compare a county to?
- The ten closest counties. If you sit on a state line, some of those neighbors can be across it. This is county-to-county, not field-to-field.
Coverage
- How often does the data refresh?
- Satellites pass roughly twice a week when the sky is clear. We publish one county number per week, on corn and soy only. If clouds won, we say so. Yield, when we show it, is a range at a handful of points in the season — not a field yield, and not every week.
- Which crops do you cover?
- Corn and soy in the contiguous US, anchored to USDA NASS county yield reports. We do not currently support pasture, specialty crops, wheat, or non-CONUS regions.
Pilots
- Is there a pilot or trial?
- Yes. Name eight to twelve Iowa counties. You get one page when that week is in, through harvest. One invoice for the desk — not per county. Email support@yieldvista.ag.
- Can I export the data via API or CSV?
- You get the brief as email or a printed page. We do not sell a public API. If you are on the desk, we can send the same table as a PDF or CSV.
Limits
- Can I trade on this?
- YieldVista is observational data — not investment, trading, agronomic, or risk-management advice. We surface reads; how you use them is on you. See our full disclaimer for the legal version.