If you’ve ever lost a bin of canola to spoilage, you know the benefits of equipping your farm with a grain bin monitoring system.

Choosing a system for your farm isn’t difficult, but there are several things you must consider. The path you choose will be determined by your needs.

Advancing agriculture

Cables and hand-held monitors that provide on-site readings have served growers well and are still an option. However, more and more growers are moving to wireless technology — and for good reason.

Remote monitoring systems, like those from OPI Blue and AGI SureTrack, make grain inventory levels and grain temperature and moisture readings accessible to you anywhere you go via your mobile or desktop device.

It’s impressive technology and upgrades are available to provide even greater oversight, including automated fan control.

The cost to setup a remote bin monitoring system starts at a few thousand dollars and increases with each additional bin. Factors affecting setup costs include:

• The number of bins you’re interested in monitoring, as well as the distance between them.
• The number of temperature and moisture cables needed.
• Additional costs from user fees and cellular data plans.

Built to your needs

Investing in a monitoring system is a major decision, but you don’t have to do the whole farm.

Many growers will start small by only installing a remote system on a few bins, while others may just install temperature cables. After all, you can always add additional bins, cables and upgrades in subsequent years.

No matter your needs or budget, there’s an option for you. The experienced team at your local Co-op will be able to answer all of your questions and help you adopt this exciting new technology.