LAUSR

2389 The yield goal concept has been used for cereal crops, but has not been comprehensively examined using actual yield data from long-term experiments. Before 1957, N rate recommendations were based on soil criteria and crop management. Since 1970, the yield goal approach has been a popular method for determining the N rate for maize (Zea mays L.) in the central Great Plains (Fernandez et al., 2009). Dahnke et al. (1988) defined yield goal as the “yield per acre you hope to grow.” This was further clarified in noting that what you hope to grow and what you end up with are two different things. Yield goals range from past average yields, to potential yield, to expected yields. Dahnke et al. (1988) further delineated that potential yield was the highest possible yield obtainable with ideal management, soil, and weather. For this paper, what is defined as potential yield would be “maximum yield,” since “potential yield” is bound to specific soil and weather conditions that can change. Rehm and Schmitt (1989) noted that with favorable soil moisture at planting it would be wise to aim 10 to 20% higher over the recent average when selecting a grain yield goal. They also suggested that if soil moisture is limiting, use of history and past maximums (used to generate averages) may not be the best method for setting a grain yield goal for the upcoming crop. Use of farm and/or county averages was discouraged for cutting-edge farmers more focused on high farm profitability (Rehm and Schmitt, 1989). A practical range for a yield goal should be between average to near maximum yield, observed by you or a neighbor under similar conditions (Dahnke et al., 1988). North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension Service had recommended that the yield goal could be the best achievable yield in the last 4 to 5 yr and that is usually 30 to 33% higher than the average yield. Nonetheless, this has been updated to reflect that NDSU no longer employs yield goals in any of the crops for which they make N fertilizer recommendations (Dave Franzen, North Dakota State University, personal communication, February 2017). Prior studies from Black and Bauer (1988) understood yield goals as needing to be based on how much water is available to the winter wheat crop from stored soil water to a depth of 1.5 m in the spring plus the anticipated amount of growing Can Yield Goals Be Predicted?