Yield Per Acre: The KPI Every Farmer Should Track (But Many Don’t)
- Joshua Brock
- Jul 31
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 12
This is the second in a series of articles expanding on the original, “From Seed to Success: How KPIs Can Transform Your Market Garden”. With each article in the “Farm KPIs” series, we dive deeper into a specific metric (crops, livestock, financial, etc.) by defining what it is, why it’s important, how to track it, and how to put the data into practical use.
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For many of us, farming isn’t just a business, it’s a passion. Why else would we spend hours in the scorching heat, dealing with temperamental equipment, or putting our noses to the grind stone, day after day?
At the end of day, however, a farm is a business, and the survival and success (or failure) of any business comes down to numbers so it’s important to understand the metrics related to the health of your farm.
Want to get better results from your fields without guessing? A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) we highly recommend you start tracking if you don’t already, is your Yield Per Acre. It is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to measure farm performance. Let’s dive into what it is, how to measure and track it, and how to put this data into practical use in your operation.
What is “Yield Per Acre”?
Yield Per Acre (or Yield Per Hectare for those of our farmers of the metric realm) measures how much of a crop you harvest from each unit of land. It’s typically expressed in pounds, tons, or bushels per acre or hectare.
As with the majority of metrics we discuss in this series, the math is easier than swapping out the starter on your tractor:
📊 Yield = Total Harvested Amount ÷ Total Acres (or Hectares) Planted
For instance, if you harvested 20,000 lbs of tomatoes from 2 acres, your yield per acre is 10,000 lbs/acre.
Why Yield Per Acre Matters (Even on Small Farms)
We get it - many of our newer or smaller-scale farms sometimes focus more on the total harvest, but that number by itself doesn’t reveal the full story. Certainly it’s an exciting moment when you realize your harvest this season was better than the one before, but when you’re dealing with multiple beds or fields, incorporating yield per acre can be incredibly revealing.
For example, if two farmers both harvest 10,000 lbs of squash—but Farmer Sarah did it on half the land that Farmer John did, Sarah used their resources more efficiently.
Tracking yield per acre helps you:
Compare field performance: Is one plot underperforming and why is that?
Identify nutrient or pest issues early: Sudden yield drop in one field over another? Time to investigate.
Evaluate new practices: Did that organic compost you integrated improve yield?
Make better informed planting decisions: Choose varieties or rotations that perform best.
Boost profitability: More yield = more income from the same land.
Additionally in our original article, “From Seed to Success: How KPIs Can Transform Your Market Garden”, we offered some additional nuggets of information:
Some ways to optimize yield per acre can be improving soil health, selecting the right seeds, implementing precise irrigation, enhancing nutrient management, and practicing integrated pest and weed management. This includes optimizing planting times, utilizing fertilizers, managing pests, and optimizing water usage. Another way to optimize your yield per acre can be by growing vertically. This increases the area that you have to grow.
Common Mistakes Farmers Make
Especially for those just starting out, it's easy to miss the value of this metric. When you feel like you barely have time to complete your work in the field, how can you justify spending an additional amount of time at the end of the day or end of the season running numbers?
Well, here are a few reasons farmers skip tracking yield per acre—and why you shouldn't:
How to Start Tracking Yield Per Acre
You don’t necessarily need software to get started - however we will show you just how easy it is to track your yields in Farmbrite in just a moment – in the simplest form, all you need is just a scale, a notebook (or phone), and a few numbers.
Step-by-Step Old School Style
Record total amount harvested for each crop (lbs, bushels, kg, etc.).
Note the number of acres or beds that crop came from.
Plug the numbers into the formula:Total harvest ÷ Acres planted = Yield per Acre
Repeat each season to see trends.
The Farmbrite Way
Because we know everyone has a slightly different “method to their madness”, we’ve given our users a few ways to record their harvests. For further reading, you can check out our help article, “Harvesting Crops” where we walk you through each step of the process.
However you navigate to the New Record for harvesting, you simply enter in a few details related to the crop you’re harvesting: amount (quantity, barrels, bushels, etc.), date, batch and trace numbers (should you choose to use them), grade/size, estimated revenue per the amount of unit you’re using, and any notes you’d like to add. You can also use our Bulk Harvest option when you want to record multiple harvests all at once.
Once the data is entered, Farmbrite takes care of the math for you and provides the results in our Yield Comparison report. This report compares varieties of the same crop type to see which one is most productive during specific periods. You can choose to run this for weeks, months, or yearly production.
What’s a “Good” Yield?
This answer will differ from farm to farm, and it varies by crop, region, soil, and farm system, but here are a few rough benchmarks (U.S., conventional system) for some of the most common crops:
Just to note that organic and regenerative farms may have lower yields initially, but higher long-term sustainability and value. Again, only you know the overall priorities for your farm and can then set the appropriate goals and take the steps necessary to reach those goals.
Some Thoughts for Improving Yield
You feel like you’ve tried everything under the sun, but if your yield per acre isn’t where you want it, consider these suggestions:
Soil testing – Know your nutrient levels and pH.
Crop rotation – Reduce disease cycles and improve fertility.
Optimize irrigation – Over or under-watering tanks yields fast.
Pest and disease scouting – Catch problems early.
Plant spacing – Too tight or too sparse both reduce potential.
Again, based on the priorities you and your family or staff have established, and whether they are long or short term, you may or may not be content with certain metrics such as your yield per acre, but at least you’ll have numbers to back up farm decisions you may have been making solely with your gut intuition. And in the end, if you’ve done your homework and recorded your farm data, you may find yourself saying “See…I knew I was right!”. Give yourself that chuck-in-the-arm you know you deserve!
Final Thoughts
Yield per acre is a powerful, straight forward KPI that even the smallest farm can and really should track. Start this season—even with one crop—and watch how much more you learn about your land, your practices, and your profitability.
Want help adapting these practices for a specific crop or farm size? Farmbrite is a farm management software that is farmer made to help you streamline and organize your farm operation. and Drop us a line—we’re happy to help you get tracking with your crop and livestock management. And as always, Happy Farming!
Joshua, his wife Jenn, and their dog Rooster, live in PA. Joshua is the owner and operator of Hoffman Appalachian Farm where they grow Certified Naturally Grown hops. Joshua has over twelve years of experience in growing crops, including growing in an organic system. In his spare time he enjoys trail running, backpacking, and cycling.