SmartYield™ Site Suitability Assessment USER Guide

About SmartYield™

SmartYield™ was developed to help the agricultural community select the right crop for the right environment, reduce production and investment risk, and make smarter agricultural decisions.

The SmartYield™ Site Suitability Assessment combines site characteristics, historical climate data and fixed crop biological requirements within a structured, yield-based methodology to evaluate crop suitability and production potential for a specific location.

Assessment results include crop suitability rankings, Yield Discount, potential rainfed yield, Best Plant Week, key production limitations and an Irrigation What-If scenario.

Globally Validated

The SmartYield™ methodology has been successfully tested through a comprehensive Global Validation Program across diverse agricultural and climate environments.

Across 32 validation locations in 20 countries, SmartYield™ identified:

• 98% of documented crop candidates within the Top 7
• 87% within the Top 5
• 67% within the Top 3

The results demonstrated strong alignment between SmartYield™ crop rankings and documented regional crop production systems, supporting its application as a consistent early-stage agricultural decision-support tool.

About the SmartYield™ User Guide

The SmartYield™ User Guide provides a practical introduction to the Site Suitability Assessment process and helps USERS understand the information SmartYield™ evaluates, how Assessment results are produced and how to interpret and apply the Report.

Section 1 — Understanding SmartYield™

Introduces the SmartYield™ workflow and assessment framework, including:

• SmartYield™ Climate Classification based on the Köppen Climate Classification system
• The science behind the SmartYield™ methodology
• 38 site and climate variables that may negatively influence crop yield
• Winter and Summer field crops currently included in the SmartYield™ Crop Register
• Suitability Classification based on Yield Discount (%)
• SmartYield™ Global Validation Program and results

Section 2 — Site & Climate Data Inputs

Guides USERS through completing the Site Attributes Input Form and explains the historical climate data used by SmartYield™.

It also explains how weekly climate data is evaluated across the year and combined with site information to support the Assessment.

Section 3 — Understanding Crop Biology

Explains the importance of crop biological requirements and how growing conditions interact with the four principal crop growth stages:

Establishment → Vegetative → Reproductive → Maturing

This helps USERS understand why different crops can respond differently to the same site and climate conditions.

Section 4 — Understanding Your Assessment Report

Provides practical guidance for understanding and interpreting the SmartYield™ Assessment Report, including Suitability Classification, Yield Discount, crop rankings, potential yield, Best Plant Week, Climate Alignment, Irrigation What-If results and production risks.

Section 5 — SmartYield™ Ecosystem

Introduces the broader SmartYield™ Ecosystem and the resources available to support agricultural decision-making, including:

• SmartYield™ Knowledge Resources and Field Crop Guides
• SmartYield™ Membership
• SmartYield™ Advisor Network
• Information for agricultural professionals interested in becoming a SmartYield™ Advisor

Who Is This Guide For?

The SmartYield™ User Guide is suitable for landowners, producers, agricultural investors, Advisors, agribusiness professionals, agricultural students and others seeking to better understand crop suitability and the SmartYield™ assessment process.

SmartYield™ — Helping the agricultural community select the right crop for the right environment.