Warm grain gets to the flaker before anyone knows
On a feedlot, grain is your biggest cost, and it sits in silos beside the mill for weeks. Without grain bin temperature monitoring, a heating pocket can go through the mill and into the ration.
Nobody's selling this grain, so there's no rejected load to warn you. The loss shows up as feed value: less energy in the ration and cattle that don't eat it as well.
- Mould is reported to cut starch, fat and digestible energy, and often hurts palatability (Qld DPI feedlot grain paper).
- Grain goes in hot after harvest.
What one warm pocket can cost a feedlot
- Three silos holding 1,500 t of grain in total.
- Grain valued at $400/t, so $600,000 in the silos.
- A pocket of about 100 t loses $60/t of feed value if found at the next monthly probe.
| Grain at risk in the pocket | 100 t |
|---|---|
| Lost feed value at $60/t | $6,000 |
| Share of the 1,500 t held | under 7% |
One caught pocket can cover a fair share of the cables on one silo. These numbers are illustrative only.
What we put on your silos
We set the cable count per silo at the site visit, with the silo maker or an engineer.
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Multi-point temperature cables
Hang from the roof and give a temperature profile right through the grain.
A sensor every 1 to 3 m
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Headspace and ambient sensors
Read the air under the roof and one shaded spot on site, so you know when to aerate.
Sealed, outside the grain
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LoRaWAN roof node
Sits outside the steel shell and sends each silo's readings by radio.
Reads every 15 to 60 min
-
Fan current sensor
Shows when each aeration fan ran, wired in under our electrical contractor licence 1513082.
Fan run time logged
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Gateway with Starlink or 4G
Collects readings from the silo group and sends them to your phone.
Mains power, battery backup
How grain bin temperature monitoring works at your mill
- 1
Cables hang from the roof
Each silo gets several cables with a sensor every 1 to 3 m of grain height.
- 2
A roof node sends the readings
The node sits outside the steel shell and sends by radio every 15 to 60 minutes.
- 3
A gateway passes them on
It has line of sight across the silo group and reaches us by Starlink or 4G.
- 4
The mill manager and nutritionist get the text
It checks each sensor against its neighbours and trend, then sends an SMS.
What lands on your phone when a silo heats
We start with set alert values, then tune them to each silo and grain.
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Mon 5:40 am
Silo 2 cable 2 sensor 3 at 27 °C, 3.5 °C above its neighbours for 12 h. Probe that depth. Check the aeration.
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Tue 5:40 am
Silo 2 cable 2 sensor 3 at 30 °C, up 3 °C in 24 h. Urgent: draw from another silo and run the fan.
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Thu 6:10 am
Silo 2 cable 2 sensor 3 back to 23 °C after 26 h of fan run. Profile is even.
Messages go to the people you nominate, by SMS to any phone and by email, with the reading and the time in every alert.
A monthly probe versus a reading every hour
| Topic | Today | With monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| How often | About once a month | Every 15 to 60 minutes |
| A pocket warms | Found at the next probe, if at all | An SMS within days |
| Aeration working | Fan ran, result unknown | The profile shows if grain cooled |
What grain bin temperature monitoring costs
We set a fixed price after a short scoping call or site visit. It depends on silo and cable numbers, distance to the gateway and backhaul. Ongoing support is available as a plan after handover.
Price grain bin monitoringThe fixed price covers
- Cables, nodes and sensors for each silo
- Gateway and Starlink or 4G backhaul
- Installation and electrical work under licence 1513082
- Alert set-up, commissioning and training
- Ongoing support plan: we keep it running, fix faults and tune alerts
Grain bin temperature monitoring beside a working mill
We hang cables when a silo is empty or low, working from the roof. Nobody goes into the grain.
Your silo maker or engineer approves the suspension points. A contractor you engage does any roof or structural work. We do the electrical work under licence 1513082.
Check grain on hand with feedlot silo level monitoring. Hay sheds beside the mill suit feedlot hay temperature monitoring. Fans next? See grain aeration fan monitoring.
What this won't do
- A cable only reads near itself, so a pocket a metre away can be missed.
- It doesn't measure moisture. You still need a meter or a sample.
- It's not fire detection or a certified safety system. It doesn't replace silo entry, confined space or fumigation procedures.
- Readings come every few minutes at best. You get alerts and trends, and it doesn't run your fans.