Patent Description:
Modern planters such as that disclosed in <CIT> are able to vary the population while planting and to use a "prescription map" prescribing a population (and thus seed spacing) for each location in the field. In planters like that disclosed in the '<NUM> patent, an electronic planter monitor receives the planter's current location in the field from a GPS receiver and consults the prescription map to determine the currently desired population while planting. <CIT> discloses means for defining planting prescriptions.

When creating a prescription map to optimize yield, it is desirable to set different populations for different soil types and conditions. For example, the optimal population is likely higher with more productive soils. Thus in many cases it is desirable to increase the population when planting in more productive soils and decrease the population when planting in less productive soils.

In order to identify soil types and productivity in a given field, services such as the Soil Data Mart maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") provide soil data maps such as soil type maps. The soil data maps comprise sets of polygons, each of which constitutes the border around each differentiated soil type or condition. The vertices of the polygons correspond to a latitude and longitude. Each polygon is associated with a data set, which may include the soil type and the estimated yield for various crops.

In <FIG>, a tractor <NUM> is schematically illustrated drawing a variable rate application implement <NUM> (e.g., a planter) through a field along a direction of travel indicated by an arrow <NUM>. A soil map <NUM> comprises a polygon <NUM> having soil type <NUM>, with the area outside polygon <NUM> having soil type <NUM>. The soil map <NUM> may be converted to a prescription map requiring a seed population <NUM> inside the polygon <NUM> and a seed population <NUM> outside the polygon <NUM>. As the planter <NUM> moves across the field as shown in <FIG>, it will plant at population <NUM> until crossing the boundary into polygon <NUM>, at which point it plants at population <NUM> until exiting polygon <NUM>. Since the planter <NUM> generally includes multiple row units arranged transverse to the direction of travel, the row units are preferably controlled separately such that, e.g., if the rightmost row unit enters polygon <NUM> before the leftmost row unit, the rightmost row unit will begin planting at population <NUM> first. As illustrated in <FIG>, the prescription map may also be converted to a raster image <NUM> instructing the planter to plant at certain populations in discrete areas or "rasters" of the same size.

Several commercially available software programs assist the user in creating planting prescription maps using soil maps and other field data maps. For example, using one commercially available farm management program, the user obtains an image file containing relevant aerial or satellite imagery and obtains a "shape file" comprising soil polygons for a geographical subdivision (e.g., a county) of interest from a soil data server. Typical soil data servers will place the user's soil map requests in a queue; when the user's request is reached, the soil data server searches for the requested boundary, creates a corresponding shape file and alerts the user that the shape file download is available. Once the user has obtained the soil map and aerial imagery, such programs display both images side by side and allows the user to select corresponding points comprising a field boundary on both images. The program then uses the corresponding points to "clip" the polygons in the soil map to the field boundary and displays the clipped soil map laid over the aerial image. Some farm management software programs additionally allow the user to import a field boundary driven and recorded using a global positioning receiver. Once transferred to the software, the GPS boundary may be used to clip aerial imagery to the field boundary.

Commercially available systems described require multiple complex steps to appropriately match field boundaries, aerial imagery and soil data imagery. Such systems also require a dedicated software program on the user's computer to perform the various operations involved. Due to these inconveniences many users choose to employ an agronomy service to generate prescriptions. Thus there is a need for a simpler, faster and more intuitive method of generating prescription maps.

The invention is defined by the attached claims.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, <FIG> schematically illustrates a prescription system <NUM>. The prescription system <NUM> includes a user computer <NUM>, a planter monitor <NUM>, a data transfer device <NUM>, a global positioning receiver <NUM>, a user interface <NUM>, a map service <NUM>, a soil data server <NUM>, a system server <NUM>, and a system database <NUM>.

The planter monitor <NUM> is in electrical communication with the global positioning receiver <NUM>. The planter monitor <NUM> is in data communication with the user computer <NUM> preferably through the data transfer device <NUM> such as a USB or flash drive. The user computer <NUM> is in data communication with the user interface <NUM> through an Internet connection <NUM>. The user interface is preferably accessible using an Internet browser on the user computer <NUM>, but may be accessible using a dedicated program stored on the user computer <NUM>. The map service <NUM> and system server <NUM> provide data to the user interface <NUM>. The system server <NUM> is in electrical communication with the system database <NUM>. The system server <NUM> is in data communication with the soil data server <NUM> through an Internet connection <NUM>.

A preferred prescription generation process <NUM> for using the prescription system <NUM> to generate a seed population prescription is illustrated in <FIG>. The user preferably logs into user interface <NUM> at step <NUM> by providing identifying information such as a username and password as is known in the art. At step <NUM>, the user interface <NUM> displays a map from a map service <NUM>, and enables the user to navigate to the field of interest by providing location information through the user interface <NUM> or by manipulating the map. At step <NUM>, the user interface preferably enables the user to enter unique identifying information for the field into the user interface <NUM>. At step <NUM>, the user interface enables the user to draw a boundary within the field on the map. At step <NUM>, the system server <NUM> accesses soil data from the soil data server <NUM> and generates a soil map illustrating soil types within the boundary drawn by the user. The system server <NUM> also provides soil data related to each soil type to the user interface <NUM>, which preferably generates and displays a table summarizing the soil data at step <NUM>. The user interface then allows the user to enter a desired crop input application parameter, e.g., seed population, for each soil type at step <NUM>, resulting in a prescription for the entire field which may be stored in the system database <NUM>. At step <NUM>, the user interface enables the user to export the prescription to a mobile device, e.g., the planter monitor <NUM>, using the data transfer device <NUM>. During planting, the planter monitor <NUM> determines its location in the field using the global positioning receiver <NUM> as is known in the art and sets the population rate associated with the corresponding location on the prescription map.

The prescription generation process <NUM> is illustrated further in <FIG> with reference to the user interface <NUM>. As illustrated <FIG>, the user interface <NUM> displays a map <NUM> obtained from a map service <NUM> such as Google Maps or TerraServer. The map <NUM> comprises a navigable aerial image map including a layer of aerial or satellite images and may additionally include layers identifying street names and other reference information. The area displayed on map <NUM> may be manipulated by the user by dragging the map, using a pan control <NUM> or a zoom control <NUM> as is known in the art. The field selection dialog <NUM> includes a "New Field" tab <NUM>. Using the New Field tab <NUM>, the user may enter the location (e.g., city and state or latitude and longitude) of the field of interest in location field <NUM>, which preferably results in a request to the map service <NUM> to display the desired location. The user may also enter data into a "Client" field <NUM> and a "Farm Name" field <NUM>, and may further enter data into a "Field Name" field <NUM> such that the new field is associated with a specific client and farm for later access by the user. The user may also enter data into an expected "Tillable Acres" field <NUM> of the field. Once the user selects the "Draw Boundary" link <NUM>, the system server <NUM> preferably saves data entered on the New Field tab <NUM> to the system database and opens a boundary selection dialog <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a boundary selection dialog <NUM> instructs the user to draw a boundary around the field of interest. The user uses a cursor <NUM> to select each vertex <NUM> of the field, and the user interface <NUM> displays a resulting boundary <NUM> connecting the vertices <NUM>. Once the user returns to and selects the first vertex <NUM>-<NUM>, a field creation dialog <NUM> allowing the user to create the field or cancel creation of the boundary <NUM>. While the user draws the boundary <NUM> by selecting additional vertices (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM> through <NUM>-<NUM> as illustrated), boundary selection dialog <NUM> preferably displays the latitude and longitude of the cursor <NUM>. The prescription system <NUM> preferably obtains the geographic locations (e.g., in latitude and longitude or in GPS coordinates) corresponding to each vertex of the boundary <NUM> from the map service <NUM> and stores the geographic locations in the memory of the computer <NUM> or in the system database <NUM>. When the user has created a complete boundary <NUM>, the boundary selection dialog <NUM> preferably displays a calculated field size, preferably displayed in calculated acreage (<NUM> in <FIG>) for comparison with the expected tillable acres entered in field <NUM>. The calculated acreage may be determined using the distances between the geographic locations corresponding to vertices <NUM> as is known in the art.

When the user chooses to create the field using the field creation dialog <NUM>, the prescription system <NUM> generates a soil map <NUM> corresponding to the extents of the boundary <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. As discussed in further detail later herein, the system server <NUM> obtains soil type polygons and associated soil data intersecting with or entirely within the field boundary <NUM> from a soil data server <NUM> such as that maintained by the Natural Resources Conservation Service ("NRCS"). The soil map <NUM> comprises the portions of the soil type polygons within the boundary <NUM>. In <FIG>, the soil map polygons <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> have been clipped to the boundary <NUM>.

At the stage illustrated in <FIG>, the user may confirm the accurate placement of the boundary by adjusting the transparency of the soil map <NUM> using transparency adjuster <NUM> or by comparing the field calculated acres to the estimated tillable acres.

Continuing to refer to <FIG>, the user interface <NUM> preferably displays a table in a "Soil Type Rx" tab <NUM> in a "Create Prescription" dialog <NUM> displaying data associated with each soil map polygon. In the example of <FIG>, three management zones <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are shown which are associated with respective management zone rows <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> in the Create Prescription dialog <NUM> of the Soil Type Rx tab <NUM>. As discussed further below with respect to <FIG>, it should be appreciated that the soil map polygons <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> were part of the same soil polygon obtained from the soil data server that were split into two separate soil map polygons by the boundary <NUM>, such that both soil map polygons <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> correspond to the single management zone row <NUM>. As illustrated, the correspondence of polygons and management zones is preferably indicated by hatching or coloring on the user interface <NUM>. The data displayed for each management zone row may include estimated yield data <NUM>, acreage data <NUM>, and soil type data <NUM>. It should be appreciated that multiple categories of soil data may be available for each management zone row; the system preferably selects the most relevant data to display based on a predetermined preference schedule. Each management zone row <NUM>-<NUM> also preferably includes a default population value in population fields <NUM>. In the illustrated example, the default population is set at zero, but in other embodiments the default population could be set at a non-zero value such as <NUM>,<NUM> seeds per acre.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the user interface <NUM> also allows the user to create a prescription for the field by entering a desired population in the "Population" field <NUM> (e.g., in seeds per acre) for each soil map polygon by entering a numerical value or by using adjustment arrows <NUM> to adjust the population (e.g., in increments of <NUM> seeds per acre) associated with each Population field <NUM>. Once the user has entered at least one population, the Create Prescription dialog <NUM> preferably displays the average population in the "Average Population" field <NUM> representing the calculated average population across the field. The user may also enter data in an estimated "Double Plant" percentage field <NUM> representing the estimated percentage of the field that will have to be passed over multiple times. The prescription creation dialog preferably displays estimated seed units in an "Estimated Seed Units" field <NUM> required for the field, having a value which the system server <NUM> calculates using an appropriate equation, e.g.: <MAT>.

Under some circumstances, it is desirable to create multiple prescriptions for a single field. As an example, the user may desire to set a prescription for each hybrid or type of hybrid that may be planted in the field of interest. Under such circumstances, the user may create a new prescription for the same field using drop-down "Attribute" menu <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment the Attribute is generically named "Population. " When the user creates a new prescription, it is created under a user-entered attribute name (e.g., a hybrid type such as "flex" or "semi-flex"), the populations entered in Population fields <NUM> preferably return to the default value and the user may enter and save new desired populations entered in the Population fields <NUM> for each management zone row <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. There are several applications in which it is useful to set multiple prescriptions to the same field. In the simplest application, the user may not know which hybrid will be used for the field while creating prescriptions and the user may choose the appropriate prescription in the field once the hybrid has been selected. In a more complex application, each row unit or section of row units on the planter that is individually controlled may be controlled by a different prescription. Thus the user may plant multiple hybrids in the same field by providing different hybrids to various row units and control each row unit using the appropriate prescription. It should be appreciated that prescriptions may be created for other attributes using the system described herein; for example, a prescription may be created for a given hybrid with and without nitrogen application.

Once the user has entered the prescription and selected the "Save" link <NUM>, the user interface <NUM> preferably displays a prescription "Export" dialog <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. The selection fields <NUM> allow the user to search only fields corresponding to the client and farm of interest. The row corresponding to each field (e.g., "North Field" in <FIG>) includes a textual export status <NUM> and an export status icon <NUM> indicating whether the field has been exported. When the user selects the "Export Fields" link <NUM>, the soil map data is exported from the user computer <NUM> to the data transfer device <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, the user transfers the soil map data from the data transfer device <NUM> to the planter monitor <NUM>. The planter monitor <NUM> may comprise a graphical user interface <NUM> such as a touch screen display as well as a central processing unit and a memory. The planter monitor <NUM> preferably displays a boundary <NUM> and soil map polygons <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. Prescription windows <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> preferably display the current population, soil type, and other data (e.g., a crop productivity index) corresponding to each management zone. The planter monitor <NUM> preferably displays data corresponding to the entire boundary <NUM> such as "Map Acres" field <NUM> and "Average Population" field <NUM>. The planter monitor <NUM> preferably allows the user to modify the prescription in the field using, e.g. a touch screen interface. In the illustrated embodiment of <FIG>, the user may use arrows <NUM> to navigate between prescription windows <NUM>-<NUM> and may use prescription adjustment arrows <NUM> to adjust the population for a given boundary in increments of, e.g., <NUM> seeds per acre. The user may also use the "Select All Soil Types" button <NUM> to select all soil types for simultaneous adjustment using the prescription adjustment arrows <NUM>. Once the population has been altered the user may select the "Enter" button <NUM> to save the altered prescription, which may be exported to the data transfer device <NUM> and imported to the user computer <NUM>.

A preferred method of generating the soil map <NUM> is illustrated in <FIG>. The steps generally indicated at <NUM> are preferably performed by the Internet browser or dedicated program on the user computer; the steps generally indicated at <NUM> are preferably performed by the system server <NUM>. At step <NUM>, the user interface <NUM> activates boundary drawing tools allowing the user to draw a field boundary <NUM> over a map <NUM> as described above. At step <NUM>, the Internet browser or dedicated program on user computer <NUM> preferably converts the resulting boundary vertices <NUM> into a document in standard format readable by the soil data server, such as a standardized markup language document, e.g., an extensible markup language ("XML") document. At step <NUM>, a request is sent to the soil data server <NUM> in order to obtain the soil map polygons that intersect the boundary <NUM> defined by the boundary vertices <NUM>. At step <NUM>, a request is sent to the soil data server <NUM> also for soil data associated with the polygons obtained at step <NUM>. The requests sent at steps <NUM>,<NUM> are preferably a standardized format, e.g., a markup language, readable by the soil data server. The process just described with respect to steps <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> is faster than requesting an entire shape file corresponding to a geographical or political subdivision (e.g., a county) because such a shape file includes irrelevant soil polygons.

At step <NUM>, the system server <NUM> clips the soil map polygons to the boundary <NUM>. This operation may be performed by using an appropriate application programming interface such as JTS Topology Suite, available from Vivid Solutions in Victoria, British Columbia, to create polygons that represent the topological or geometric union between the boundary <NUM> and each original soil polygon. It should be appreciated that the original soil map polygons returned by the soil data server <NUM> may extend for miles beyond the boundary <NUM>; as such, it is advantageous to perform clipping operations on the system server <NUM> rather than transferring the original polygons to the user computer <NUM>. Transferring the potentially large original polygons to the user computer <NUM> and using a potentially less powerful processor on user computer <NUM> to perform the clipping operations requires longer processing times and likely requires a dedicated program on the user computer <NUM>.

At step <NUM>, the system server <NUM> associates each clipped soil map polygon with a "management zone. " When first obtained from the soil data server <NUM>, each original polygon is typically associated with a key or other unique identifier, which key is also associated with each article of data pertaining to that polygon. However, a single polygon can be converted into multiple polygons after being clipped to a boundary (see polygons <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> in <FIG>). In such cases, the key associated with the original polygon must be associated with each resulting polygon. Each polygon associated with the equivalent unique identifier (e.g., the same unique key) is preferably identified with the same management zone. Thus in <FIG>, polygons <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> are part of the same management zone.

At step <NUM>, the system server <NUM> preferably attaches the data (e.g., soil type and corn yield) associated with each unique key to the corresponding management zone.

At step <NUM>, the system server <NUM> preferably converts the data returned from the soil data server to a format usable by a web application platform such as Adobe Flash, e.g., an XML document. At step <NUM>, the Internet browser or dedicated program on user computer <NUM> receives the XML document and uses it to create application objects such as the content of management zone rows <NUM>-<NUM> discussed above with reference to <FIG>. It should be appreciated that each management zone row <NUM>-<NUM> corresponds to a management zone, and the data illustrated in each management zone row <NUM>-<NUM> (with the exception of the user-entered prescription and the calculated acreage of the management zone) is the data from the soil data server <NUM> associated with the same key.

At step <NUM>, the user interface <NUM> sends the latitude and longitude of the multiple vector points corresponding to the boundaries of the clipped polygons to the map service <NUM>, along with instructions for the color of the polygons. The vector points and instructions are preferably compatible with the application program interface provided by the map service <NUM>. At step <NUM>, the map service <NUM> generates a map overlay representing the clipped soil polygons which is positioned and sized to match the boundary <NUM> on the map <NUM>. It should be appreciated that the map service <NUM> includes a remote map server as well as an application program interface provided by the map server that runs on the user computer <NUM>; as such, the creation of the map overlay may be carried out either on the remote map server or on the user computer <NUM>. It should also be appreciated that as the user subsequently drags the map <NUM> or uses the pan control <NUM> or the zoom control <NUM>, the map service <NUM> updates the map overlay such that the soil polygons remain positioned and sized to match the location and scale of boundary <NUM>.

In creating a population prescription, it is sometimes desirable to set prescriptions based not only on varying soil types but on other external factors such as irrigation. Thus the user interface <NUM> preferably allows the user to add external shapes such as irrigation pivots to the prescription map. As illustrated in <FIG>, the "Create Prescription" dialog <NUM> may include "Shapes" tab <NUM> for adding shapes including links <NUM> and <NUM> which launch drawing tools to draw full and partial pivots, respectively. When, e.g., the Draw Full Pivot link <NUM> is selected, an instructive dialog <NUM> is displayed instructing the user to use the cursor <NUM> to draw an irrigation boundary. In the illustrated embodiment, the user first uses the cursor <NUM> to place a center point <NUM>. As the cursor <NUM> is moved away from the center point <NUM>, the user interface <NUM> displays the circumference of the pivot and the instructive dialog <NUM> displays the calculated area under the pivot. It should be appreciated that the map layer <NUM> may assist the user in selecting the appropriate pivot radius, as the user is often able to visually discern the irrigated area from the aerial or satellite imagery. Once the user has selected the appropriate location for the pivot circumference, the user interface <NUM> creates a shape <NUM> representing the pivot area.

The step of adding a pivot area shape <NUM> or other external shape may be performed before or after the user interface <NUM> displays the soil polygons within the boundary <NUM>. In the example illustrated in <FIG>, the pivot area shape <NUM> has been added to a soil map including soil polygons <NUM> and <NUM>. It will be appreciated that both soil polygons have portions within the pivot area and outside the pivot area. As illustrated in <FIG>, a Soil Type Rx tab <NUM> of the Create Prescription dialog <NUM> preferably allows a user to set separate population prescriptions for the portions of each soil polygon that are inside and outside the pivot area using an inside pivot prescription field <NUM> and an outside pivot prescription field <NUM>.

Depending on circumstances and available technology, users may prefer to create prescriptions entirely on the planter monitor <NUM>. For these purposes, a distinct prescription system <NUM> for creating a prescription is illustrated schematically in <FIG>. The prescription system <NUM> includes user computer <NUM>, soil map database <NUM>, data transfer device <NUM>, planter monitor <NUM>, and global positioning receiver <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, a process <NUM> is illustrated for using the prescription system <NUM> to generate a prescription. At step <NUM>, a soil map for a relevant area is imported to the planter monitor <NUM>, preferably using the data transfer device <NUM>. The planter monitor <NUM> is preferably configured to control the rate of application input, e.g., the seed population rate. It should be appreciated that in the process <NUM>, it is necessary to obtain soil data for an area larger than the planned field boundary since the exact boundary is not known when the soil data is imported to the planter monitor <NUM>. Thus the user may obtain soil data for an entire county or other geographical subdivision using user computer <NUM>. Such bulk data may be downloaded in shape file format from a soil map database <NUM> such as that maintained by the NRCS.

At step <NUM>, the user drives the boundary of the field of interest while the planter monitor <NUM> records a series of global positioning vertices reported by the global positioning receiver <NUM>, thus recording a filed boundary <NUM>. A preferred display <NUM> for guiding the user through this process is illustrated in <FIG>. An icon <NUM> represents the location of the global positioning receiver <NUM>. When the user selects the "Record Field Boundary" button <NUM>, the status bar <NUM> indicates that the planter monitor <NUM> is recording the boundary <NUM>. A "start of boundary" icon <NUM> represents the first recorded vertex of the boundary <NUM>. The user may pause recording at any time by selecting the "Pause" button <NUM> and may preferably select the Pause button again to resume recording the boundary <NUM> after navigating back to the last recorded location. The indicator <NUM> reports the distance between the boundary being recorded and the physical location of the global positioning receiver <NUM>, along with an arrow indicating the direction (preferably from the perspective of the operator while driving the tractor) in which the boundary is offset from the global positioning receiver. Once the user has returned sufficiently close to the beginning of boundary <NUM>, the user selects the "End Field Boundary" button <NUM> to store the boundary. The boundary <NUM> may be saved under a unique filename using the "Name" field <NUM>.

Returning to <FIG>, at step <NUM> the planter monitor <NUM> generates a boundary file (preferably an XML file) representing the field boundary <NUM> from the recorded global positioning vertices. At step <NUM>, the planter monitor <NUM> identifies relevant soil map polygons intersecting the field boundary. At step <NUM>, the planter monitor <NUM> generates management zones; as discussed elsewhere herein, each management zone corresponds to the portion or portions of each relevant polygon within the field boundary. At step <NUM>, the planter monitor <NUM> displays a control map comprising the set of management zones. The control map preferably includes a default application parameter (e.g., seed population) associated with each management zone At step <NUM>, the planter monitor <NUM> enables the user to modify the default application parameter using an interface such as graphical user interface <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Once the user has created the prescription, the control map may be used to control input application and may be saved to the data transfer device <NUM>.

Although the foregoing description describes methods of creating seed planting prescriptions, it should be appreciated that the same methods could be used to generate spatially dependant crop input prescriptions for any variable rate crop input such as fertilizer. Moreover, although the foregoing description describes methods of using a soil map to create a prescription, the same or similar methods could be used to generate a prescription based on any map of field data. For example, the user could import a yield map containing polygons or rasters associated with various yields from a prior year and prescribe application rates for each such polygon or raster.

Claim 1:
A method for generating seed planting prescriptions, said method comprising:
displaying, through a user interface (<NUM>) on a user display screen, a navigable aerial map of a geographic area from a map service, said navigable aerial map having associated geographic location data and comprises a layer of aerial or satellite images;
enabling, through the user interface, a user to navigate (<NUM>) said navigable aerial map to view a field of interest by providing location information of the field of interest or by manipulating the map,
enabling, through the user interface, the user to draw a boundary (<NUM>) within the field on the map,
generating a soil map corresponding to the extends of the boundary by accessing a soil data server maintaining multiple polygons (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), each polygon associated with a data set including a soil type, wherein the generated soil map comprises the portions of the soil type polygons within the boundary clipped to the boundary,
displaying on the user display screen, a portion of the soil map within said boundary,
receiving first user input entering (<NUM>) a first seed population for a first soil type, of the soil types associated with the polygons of the generated soil map, through said user interface (<NUM>) and
receiving second user input entering(<NUM>) a second seed population for a second soil type, of the soil types associated with the polygons of the generated soil map, through said user interface (<NUM>) resulting in a planting prescription for the at least two different soil types of the field of interest;
enabling, through the user interface, the user to export (<NUM>) the prescription to a planter monitor (<NUM>) using a data transfer device (<NUM>) to enable the planter monitor (<NUM>) to set a seed population rate associated with a determined location on the field of interest, wherein the step of accessing a soil data server is
performed by accessing only polygons (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) intersecting with or entirely within said boundary (<NUM>).