An agricultural harvesting machine includes a header, a feederhouse and a draper belt configured to transport agricultural material to the feederhouse of the agricultural harvesting machine. The agricultural harvesting machine also includes a motor configured to drive the draper belt and a draper belt control system configured to determine a distribution of crop across the header of the agricultural harvesting machine and, based on the distribution of crop, generate a control signal for the motor to modify an operating characteristic of the draper belt.