When Grain Bins Are Far From The Farm: Remote Grain Moisture Monitoring With 4G

For a farmer with grain bins close to the farm office, checking stored grain is relatively simple.

For a farmer with storage bins several miles away, it is a different story.

A routine moisture check may mean getting into a truck, driving to the storage site, checking the grain, recording the readings, and then driving back.

When several grain bins are spread across different locations, these short inspections can add up to a considerable amount of driving time.

The question is not whether grain should be inspected.

It is:

Does someone need to drive to the grain bin every time just to find out whether the moisture condition has changed?

A remote grain moisture monitoring system provides another option.

With a suitable grain moisture sensor, RTU data collector and 4G gateway, measurements can be collected at the storage site and sent to a remote monitoring platform. The farmer can then check the available data from a phone or computer before deciding whether a site visit is necessary.

Why Grain Moisture Is Worth Monitoring

Moisture is not simply a number recorded during harvest.

It continues to matter after grain has entered storage.

The USDA Agricultural Research Service has studied sensors capable of measuring grain moisture during storage and described the possibility of using sensors supported on cables inside grain bins to obtain continuous, in-situ information.

University extension guidance also emphasizes monitoring grain temperature and moisture during storage, particularly when outdoor temperatures change. North Dakota State University Extension, for example, recommends checking stored grain periodically and watching for changes in temperature and moisture rather than relying on a single observation. 

That makes continuous or regularly collected data useful for one simple reason:

a single measurement tells you what was happening at one moment; a series of measurements shows how conditions are changing.

The Problem with Distant Grain Bins

Consider a farm with several grain bins located away from the main farm.

The farmer wants to know:

• What is the current moisture level?
• Has the reading changed since the previous check?
• Is the grain temperature stable?
• Which bin, if any, needs closer attention?

Without remote monitoring, the first step is usually a trip to the storage site.

For one nearby bin, that may not matter.

For several bins located several miles away, it becomes part of the daily workload.

The trip may take much longer than the actual measurement.

It does not eliminate physical inspections.

It helps determine when a physical inspection is worth making.

How a Remote Grain Moisture Monitoring System Works

The equipment required depends on the storage site and the type of sensors being used, but a typical system has several basic parts.

The basic communication path is straightforward:

Moisture Sensor → RTU → 4G Gateway → Monitoring Platform → Phone

There is no need to make this diagram the centerpiece of the system. The important part is that each component has a specific job.

The sensor measures.

The RTU collects.

The gateway communicates.

The platform stores and displays the information.

The basic idea is straightforward.

A moisture sensor is installed at the appropriate measuring location. The sensor connects to a local data collector, such as an RTU. The RTU reads the sensor data and communicates with a 4G gateway.

The gateway provides the connection between the storage site and the remote monitoring platform.

From there, the data can be viewed from a phone or computer.

A typical system includes

For a simple installation, the equipment at the grain bin does not necessarily need to be complicated. What matters is that the sensor, collector, communication interface and remote platform work together reliably.

For grain-storage projects that require both temperature and moisture measurement, ZSTC provides temperature and moisture cables for distributed monitoring applications.

ZSTC Temperature and Moisture Cables

A Typical Farm Situation

Imagine a farmer who manages several grain bins at a storage site away from the main farm.

The farmer normally checks moisture regularly because the stored grain will remain in the bins for an extended period.

There are two ways to approach the routine check.

With manual inspection, the farmer needs to travel to the site before obtaining the latest reading.

With remote monitoring, the farmer can first open the monitoring application and look at the current data.

Suppose the readings have remained stable over the previous several days.

There may be no need to make a separate trip simply to obtain another moisture reading.

Now consider the opposite situation.

One bin shows a noticeable change compared with its previous readings.

That does not automatically mean that there is a problem. The data may need to be checked against the measurement conditions, sensor status and other relevant information.

But it gives the farmer a reason to investigate that particular bin.

This is one of the practical advantages of remote monitoring:

the data can help determine where a physical inspection is worth making.

What About Temperature?

Moisture is not the only parameter worth monitoring in many grain-storage applications.

Temperature can also be collected at the storage site.

A system that combines moisture and temperature measurements gives the operator more information when reviewing a change in storage conditions.

For example, if a moisture reading changes, the operator can look at the corresponding temperature data and the historical trend rather than considering the moisture value by itself.

The actual sensor arrangement depends on the grain type, storage structure and monitoring requirements.

For larger storage systems, multiple measuring points may also be used rather than relying on a single sensor location.

Temperature monitoring is already widely used in grain storage. Oklahoma State University Extension - Grain Handling Automation and Controls discusses temperature monitoring and automation in grain handling and storage.

ZSTC also provides grain temperature cables and grain temperature monitoring systems for applications requiring multiple temperature measuring points.

ZSTC Grain Temperature Monitoring System

For farms with grain bins located far from the main farm, regular moisture checks can involve a significant amount of driving.

Remote grain moisture monitoring does not eliminate physical inspections, and it should not be treated as a replacement for them.

Its role is more practical.

It allows the farmer to check available moisture and temperature data before travelling to the storage site.

A grain moisture sensor, RTU data collector, 4G gateway and remote monitoring platform can turn a routine question - "Do I need to go check the grain?" - into a question that can often be answered from a phone first.

For farms managing distant or multiple grain-storage locations, that can make routine monitoring easier to organize and help ensure that time spent travelling to the grain bins is focused on situations that actually require attention.

Remote monitoring does not mean checking the grain less carefully.

It means having more information before making the trip.

Explore Grain Monitoring Solutions

For temperature, moisture and grain-storage monitoring applications, visit:

ZSTC - Grain Temperature & Moisture Monitoring Solutions