Method of Marketing and Contracting for the Sale of Agricultural Yield-Increase Related Products

• US 20100106632A1
• Filed: 10/29/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telus Agriculture & Consumer Goods Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Plant Health Care, Inc. (Plant Health Care Plc)
• Inventors: Cloutier, Michael Bradley, Rice, Richard L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,195,541 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

A method of contracting for the sale of a yield-increase and/or crop protection related products includes the steps of mapping, using geo-referencing technology, areas of a field which have been treated with the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product and areas of the field which have not been treated, measuring, using geo-referencing technology, an amount of harvested crop from the field in both the treated and untreated areas, comparing the amount of harvested crop in the treated areas with the amount of harvested crop in the untreated areas to determine a yield increase associated with the treated areas, and charging for application of the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product based on the determined amount of yield increase. The data acquired may be stored in a database for further use and comparison.

Claims

1. A method of contracting for the sale of a yield-increase and/or crop protection related product comprising the steps of:

mapping areas of a field which have been treated with the yield-increase related product and areas of the field which have not been treated;

measuring an amount of harvested crop from the field in both the treated and untreated areas;

comparing the amount of harvested crop in the treated areas with the amount of harvested crop in the untreated areas to determine a yield increase associated with the treated areas; and

charging for application of the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product based on the determined amount of yield increase.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein if application of the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product does not result in a yield increase, the grower is not charged or is charged less than full price.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount charged for application of the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product increases as the determined amount of yield increase increases.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the amount charged for application of the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product is capped at a maximum amount.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping step is performed using geo-referencing technology during application of the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product, and wherein treated/untreated coordinate data is stored in a database.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the geo-referencing technology comprises GPS satellites.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of transferring electronic application data via the Internet or other means, from an applicator'"'"'s geo-referencing data mapping device to at least one of an electronic mailbox, a website and a computer designed for at least one of receipt, storage and manipulation of said electronic application data.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the measuring step is performed using yield monitors provided on harvesting equipment in conjunction with geo-referencing technology during harvesting of the crop, and wherein data indicating the amount of harvested crop in the treated/untreated areas is stored in a database.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the geo-referencing technology comprises GPS satellites.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of transferring electronic application data via the Internet or other means, from a farmer'"'"'s geo-referencing yield monitor/mapping device to at least one of an electronic mailbox, a website and a computer designed for at least one of receipt, storage and manipulation of said electronic application data.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein a processor in a computer automatically determines a yield increase from the treated/untreated coordinate data and the data indicating the amount of harvested crop in the treated/untreated areas, and where the processor automatically bills for the application of the yield-increase and/or crop protection related product based on an agreed upon price structure previously stored in the computer memory.