Dylan’s Research Essay 

Dylan Ries 

Mr.Rudebusch 

Composition IV 

18 January 2021 

I firmly established a fact that buying new combines for the high tech computers 

that keep books for you is way too expensive and there is an alternative solution for it 

called FarmTRX. FarmTRX helps keep books and logs of your yield, moisture, and how 

many hours you have been on the field. Many reviews on this app are very confident 

about the app saying it is worth every penny. Some even say that the accuracy for yield 

is more accurate than the new harvester that you buy at a dealership. 

The FarmTRX app proves that there are many ways to show that this app is more 

efficient to track yields. The FarmTRX app allows you to do this while saving a lot of 

money in not having to buy a new harvester. This app can track more than you know 

because there are various modes on this app to help with different crops, it also helps 

with crop rotation. The harvesters may be a complete waste of money and time because 

the yield computers may not be as accurate. “According to the FarmTRX website, the 

FarmTRX retrofit yield monitors can be used with any age combine, installed in a few 

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hours and calibrated in minutes”. Using the FarmTRX subscription service app, data is 

cleaned, processed within seconds of being uploaded to the cloud. Moments later yield 

maps appear. Frustrated with high-cost commercial yield monitors producing 

low-quality data, Perry Casson decided to build his own. The fact that the founder 

Casson had one foot on his Saskatchewan farm and another in the world of high 

technology software didn’t hurt in creating FarmTRX. After making his mark 

developing software and hardware for cell phone networks in the 1980s and 1990s, he 

returned home to his family farm in 2003. A year later he co-founded a software 

company specializing in GPS-based tracking of vehicles. 

While running multiple fertilizer tests on-farm plots in 2015, the frustration 

with available yield monitors peaked. In a few days he built a data processor. This 

software helped with the programming. The three years they had introduced the 

yield monitor and a subscription service to process the data and produce yield maps. 

“They priced the yield monitor roughly around $2,500”, says an employee of 

FarmTRX. The optional subscription service cleans up the data and matches 

multiple combines, produces usable yield maps from anywhere to 10 to 50 cents an 

acre. The monitor can be installed in four hours or less. It includes a GPS receiver, 

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Bluetooth connectivity and data storage for at least five years on an internal SD card. 

Self-cleaning optical sensors measure the height of the grain on each passing paddle. 

The unit’s Bluetooth connection eliminates the need for an in-cab display. The mobile 

app for Android or Apple IOS allows a phone or tablet to be used for real-time data 

review. ​ At its most basic, the yield monitor measures and displays yield data in 

real-time in the cab, at a terminal, or on a mobile device. “They looked at yield 

monitor data coming off of other yield monitors, it was shocking how difficult it was to 

get accurate data with some of them,” says the owner of FarmTRX. Some yield 

monitors require a huge investment in learning and they try to make it as easy as 

possible to use. Monitoring yields doesn’t have to be a hard activity. Using the GPS 

point location, uploaded data is automatically located within the field boundary. 

Calibration is simple and can be done immediately after installation or automatically 

in the cloud at a later time using the web app. All that’s needed is to enter the total 

known yield from particular fields. Calibration is needed only once a season. The raw 

data can be shared with others in various formats. It can be moved to Climate 

Fieldview or one of the other default export settings. Bluetooth sharing eliminates the 

need for cards or flash drives and their potential loss. FarmTRX emphasizes that all 

yield data and maps are the property of the farmer. FarmTRX says more changes are 

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ahead for the FarmTRX company. They will be introducing a moisture sensor later 

this summer so farmers around the world can purchase this product and save money.  

All in all, the FarmTRX is the better choice for tracking your progress in the 

field and keeping records of your yield for the year. This app is the best way for 

farmers to keep up to date with the records and their earnings of the year. The Farm 

TRX is a tool that can be used and updated from year to year without huge changes or 

costs to the farmer. My thesis says that FarmTRX is inexpensive and reasonable to 

farmers that want to save their equipment from going out of style and keep up to date.  

  

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Work Cited 

“Developing the FarmTRX Moisture Sensor: Powerful Insights at an Accessible 

Price.” ​FarmTRX​, 8 Oct. 2020, 

www.farmtrx.com/blog/developing-farmtrx-moisture-sensor/​. 

“Farm Machinery – Combine News, Reviews, and Tests.” F

​ armers Weekly​, 

www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/harvest-equipment/combines​. 

“Low-Cost Yield Monitor Fits Old And New Combines.” F

​ ARM SHOW  

Magazine - Farming, Ranching & Agriculture News, Clever Farm Shop 

Inventions, Ranch & Farming Tips, Time-Saving Tricks, Shortcuts & the 

Best Farm Shop Hacks & Ways to Boost Your Farm Income! Learn about 

DIY Workshop Projects, Barn Shop Hacks, Time-Saving Farming Tips, 

Farm & Ag Equipment Reviews, Ag Equipment Buying Guides, Workshop 

Inventions​, w
​ ww.farmshow.com/a_article.php?aid=35091​. 

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 Viewing a thread - Ever Heard of "Farm TRX" Yield Monitor?​, 

talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=838514&mid=7349950. 

  

  

  

  

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