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Title:
METHOD FOR COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF INFORMATION RELATED TO BALING OF NUTRIENT CONTAINING BALES
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/050412
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
Method for collection and processing of information related to baling of nutrient containing bales, comprising collecting quality and/or quantity information of the content for the individual bales in real time during baling, storing the primary information together with secondary information related to the baling process with a defined identity in a remote data bank and tagging each bale with an identity tag linking the bale to said identity. The quality information is typically collected using NIR scanning and the retrieval of information using RFID technology and wireless connection to the remote databank.

Inventors:
SKRAASTAD HALVOR (NO)
LERVIK MAGNUS NORDAAS (NO)
KAMBESTAD GJERMUND (NO)
Application Number:
PCT/NO2018/050222
Publication Date:
March 14, 2019
Filing Date:
September 05, 2018
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
ORKEL DEV AS (NO)
International Classes:
A01F15/08; G01N21/00; G06Q50/02
Foreign References:
US20070175341A12007-08-02
US20150310323A12015-10-29
US20160081276A12016-03-24
US8516954B22013-08-27
US20170287303A12017-10-05
EP3228180A12017-10-11
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
CURO AS (NO)
Download PDF:
Claims:
Claims

1. Method for collection and processing of information related to baling of nutrient containing bales characterized in comprising collecting primary information of the content for the individual bales in real time during baling, storing the primary information together with secondary information related to the baling process with a defined identity in a remote data bank and tagging each bale with an identity tag linking the bale to said identity.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data is stored automatically in real time during baling.

3. Method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein primary information of the content includes information related to at least one of i) quantitative information, ii) qualitative information. 4. Method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the qualitative information includes at least one of calories, protein content, water content, digestibility, kind and composition of the material.

5. Method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the content of the bales is selected from the group consisting of materials from land farming, sea farming, raw materials for forage, and manure. 6. Method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the secondary information includes at least one of, owner, baling date, baling location, batch number, operator.

7. Method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the baling is conducted with a compacting baler.

8. Method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the qualitative information at least partially is obtained by:

i. real time Near Infrared (NI ) scanning during baling,

ii. comparing the obtained NI R scan with a library of N IR spectra linked to qualitative data from historical scans,

iii. assigning qualitative parameters to each bale based on the best match with existing NI R spectra.

9. Method as claimed in claim 8 in which a sample of the material baled is subsequently subjected to wet analysis to thereby update the library of N IR spectra.

10. Method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the information stored for any bale or any batch of bales in the remote data bank is updated in accordance with the result of the wet analysis on material from same bale or from a bale within same batch of bales.

11. Method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the identity tag holds an identity code that is selected from the group consisting of i) a manually applied identity code, ii) an automatically generated and applied identity code intended to be read automatically.

12. Method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the information stored in the remote data bank is accessible at the site of each bale by reading the identity tag on the bale and remotely connecting the data bank.

13. Method as claimed in claim 12, wherein reading the identity tag is conducted in a manner selected among the group consisting of i) manually reading the identity code, ii) using equipment based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technique, iii) using equipment based on reading of quick response code.

Description:
Method for collection and processing of information related to baling of nutrient containing bales

The present invention relates to a method for collection and processing of information related to baling of nutrient containing bales as indicated by the preamble of claim 1.

Background In land based farming, bales of nutrient containing material have become widely used in recent years, primarily as a means to store forage for the animals on the farms. The forage is largely based on grass, but can incorporate also other forms of nutrient material valuable for growth of the animals and their ability to produce milk etc. Such other nutrient material comprises maize, forage mixes (TM ), crimped grain etc. Bales of these kinds can be used also in sea farming and for related use like raw material for forage, e.g. based on pulp from various fruit, and chicken feathers but also use, such as for manure from cattle, chicken etc. to be used as fertilizer.

The bales can have different forms and sizes, depending upon raw material, type of baler used etc. Furthermore, it has become quite common to pack different materials in one and the same bale in order to have ready for use a diversified, highly useful forage from one and the same bale. This is often referred to as total mixed rations (TMR).

While the size of the bales is a factor that can be visually controlled quite easily, the content of each bale may vary significantly in dependence upon the materials used, the composition of the materials and when different materials are packed into one and the same bale. There may also be legal requirements for tracking and documenting the origin of agricultural crop materials.

Generally, there is a desire to know as much as possible about the quality and the composition of the forage in order to feed the animals the appropriate amount, not too much and not too little. While the farmer or other user typically knows by experience what forage to use and in what amounts, as long as the composition is one and the same, this knowledge is less available when the composition of the forage becomes more complex. In addition to that, the nutrient value of the forage may vary with regard to where the forage has been harvested, the weather during the growth season, the water content in the material etc.

Systems have been proposed and introduced in order to assist the farmer in this respect and to maintain a general overview of the situation. Preferably, the information should be specific down to the content of each single bale and readily and immediately available to the user. General information related to constituent determination of crops in round baler is provided in Landteknik 3, 2011, p 180-182, by Walther velt et al. The publication focuses a.o. on the need for accurate determination of the constituents. Moisture measurements using NIR technology was used to assess moisture content and contents of other ingredients. In DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) 2015 "BALES" project review (https://energy.gov/ sites/prod/files/2015/04/f21/terrestrial_feedstocks_comer_12 3106.pdf) additional information related to general and specific aspects of forage baling are discussed, hereunder use of NIR scanning of material.

Random samples of baled forage in Canada in 2013 [Canadian Cattlemen, October 22, 2014, Debbie Furber].

] revealed that more than 60 % of the baled forage had lower energy content than anticipated. If not adjusted for, this leads to an undesired loss of production. Unless taken into account when feeding the cows, a significant reduction in milk production will follow.

Tagging bales using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to keep track of the material harvested is well known as such, cf. e.g. http://harvesttec.com/agco-bale-id/ from 2017. The data is stored locally, on the tag. The information typically stored along with the ID number, is weight, date and time, field name, average moisture, high moisture and amount of hay preservative.

Objectives

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a system, a method, related to collecting and processing information related to baling of nutrient containing bales, providing the end user immediate and reliable information of content and/or quality of each and every bale, that being for land based or sea based farming or other use.

The present invention

The above mentioned objective is achieved by the method according to the present invention as defined by claim 1.

Preferred embodiments are defined by the dependent claims.

It should be noted that as used herein, "primary information" refers to all information related to qualitative and quantitative content in a bale. "Secondary information" refers to any information about the bale which is not directly related to quality or quantity, such as the owner of the bale, the date of harvesting and/ or baling, the geographical cite for the harvest, the machine used for the harvest or the baling, the operator, the weather, etc. Including relevant secondary information may be highly valuable in some situations as elaborated below.

A "compacting baler" is a baler which compacts the material to be baled in a manner so that only a minimum of air is left behind in the bale when packed, thereby extending the useful lifetime thereof, since deterioration of the product is directly related a.o. to the amounts of oxygen present. A "compacting baler" is also a baler capable of baling fine chopped materials (like fine chopped maize plants), unlike traditional balers, which are traditionally used for baling longer materials like hay, grass etc. It is preferred that the data is stored in real time during baling, which requires some kind of automation as indicated in more detail below. Oftentimes, primary data about the product is generated automatically by sensors etc., while secondary information is added by the compacting baler's control system and/or an operator; some of the secondary information being common information for a batch or group of bales while other secondary information may be specific for each and every bale.

The present invention allows information to be acquired and stored rapidly and reliably and to certain extent automatically. It is of great significance for the end user as elaborated below, and it may also be used to provide reliable statistical data. When storing the primary (product) data together with relevant secondary data, such as the time for material intake (harvest), time for harvest, site or region for harvest, owner, etc. these data may be used for years to come to track development over time and to compare product quality from site to site, from region to region.

Typically, according to the present invention, it is not required that the tag on each bale contains any product information, only information about the bale identity.

The present invention in further detail. The primary information can be sampled automatically or registered manually and will typically be a combination of automatically and manually registered information. For instance, the operator will register manually his name or a code linked to his name, the owner or a code for the owner, a batch number and the relevant composition of materials, such as e.g. 40 % maize, 30 % grain, 30% hay. During baling, sensors may intermittently or continuously register parameters relevant for the quality of the product, such as the calorimetric value, the protein value, water etc. An instrument of particular use in this connection is a near infrared (NIR) scanner, which from a scan generates a spectrum which has proven effective to determine a number of qualitative factors of interest e.g. in relation to forage baling. With a number of spectra from earlier scans stored in a library/ databank with associate qualitative values, the spectrum of any new scan can immediately and automatically be compared with the stored scans and the material presently being baled can be assigned - at least for the time being - qualitative values belonging to the historical scan being most similar to the present one.

From time to time, or in particular if there is little resemblance between a new scan and all historical scans, a sample of the material being baled is taken and used for wet analysis of its content to get better and more reliable data for the qualitative values. When the result thereof is received, the qualitative data for the bale - or for the batch of bales - are updated and the new spectrum and associate quality data are stored to the library.

The ability of updating data in the data bank is a general feature of the invention and may be useful in other connections than the one described above, For instance, if harmful material such as pieces of glass should be detected in a bale, the data for all bales belonging to the same batch or baled the same cite and/ or the same day, can be marked as potentially dangerous and discarded or investigated further.

Each and every bale which is baled according to the present invention is assigned an identity number or code and marked with an identity tag carrying such number or code to which the information about this particular bale is linked. Placing the identity tag on the bale may be done manually or automatically, as a final stage of the wrapping of the material. In its simplest form, the operator simply writes the identity number or code on the bale in a manner in which it can be read by any later user of the bale. In a more sophisticated version, the baling machine places identity tags with pre-assigned identity number or code for electronic identification by the end user. Naturally, it is also possible to manually place identity tags in the bale intended for electronic recognition and vice versa.

The user of the material baled, e.g. a farmer, can access the data related to the bales in a number of ways. If the identity tag simply bears a number or code readable by the naked eye, the user reads the number or code and enters it into a relevant computer end user hardware, such as e.g. a smartphone, to access the data related thereto. In more sophisticated version, the end user is provided with the benefit of short-distance electronic reading of the identity tag in question with relevant equipment, such as equipment known as radio frequency identification ( FID) and near field communication (NFC). Another technique that allows similar automatic short distance reading, is use of quick response (Q. ) codes to be scanned by the user.

There are evident advantages of automatic tagging and automatic, electronic reading of the tags, such as elimination of a number of possible human errors, problems in reading handwritten information, problems in reading in low light etc. For some purposes and applications, however, manual tagging and reading is sufficiently effective and reliable.

Figure 1 is a flow chart illustration of one example of the process of collecting and storing information according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a flow chart illustration of a certain use of the stored information in an example of land- farming.

Figure 3 is another flow chart illustration of use of the stored information in an example of land- farming.

Referring to figure 1, the process starts at the top, and illustrates that already during material intake, information is collected and stored in a remote database, here referred to as a "cloud". While storing this primary information, information about the weather, temperature and rain in particular, in the local region may also be collected and stored, preferred automatically, from an available online weather database. The staggered arrows indicate electronic transfer of information, typically in a wireless manner. The staggered lines from box 110 and box 130 to box 170 (weather reports) indicate that collecting and storing weather data at this stage is triggered, manually or automatically, by the operator in charge of the material intake during performance of material intake and baling respectively. As a response thereof, weather data is transferred and stored in the cloud. A similar method can be used during or after baling in order to add data from other online available sources.

Next step is the baling of the material, a step which may take place immediately thereafter or several days thereafter, all depending upon application in question. The baling may take place indoors or outdoors, and if taking place outdoors, again weather data may be relevant to collect and store together with the primary data related to the product itself. At this stage, as mentioned before, the primary data may be acquired using techniques like NIR scanning and comparison with a library of existing spectra from earlier scans. Optionally, material is also collected for later wet analysis to obtain additional or more precise property information of the material being baled. This is symbolized by the broken line from box 130 to box 135. In such a case, the information about the bale and/ or the batch of material being baled may be updated at any later time, subsequent the findings of such a wet analysis. This may take place days or even weeks later, but preferably before the content of the bale is finally used. The updating of the information in the cloud is indicated by a broken, staggered arrow. To the extent that the information found by the wet analysis also includes one or more additional NIR spectra, not only the information about the bale or batch of bales is updated but also the library of spectra. Thus, the new information revealed by wet analysis for the bale or batch in question, will come to immediate beneficial use next time a similar scan or other automatic test is performed during baling.

During baling, additional, secondary information is stored in the cloud and linked to the primary information as explained, illustrated by box 140 in Fig. 1. Such secondary information may be any information about the owner, site, date etc, needed in order to handle the bale in the correct manner and any information desirable in order to provide relevant statistical data for future use. Such secondary information may be, if quality issues are discovered in a production batch of bales, a quality warning and an offer to get a refund or replacement. A mandatory step of the process is the assigning of a unique identity to each bale and to tag each bale accordingly. The tag may be applied in a manner allowing it be read automatically by relevant end user equipment, such as a mobile phone with a Q. scanner, a near-field communication (NFC) reader or a reader using RFI D technique. In simpler versions the tag bears a number or an alphanumerical code to be entered manually by the end user into a smart phone or other device, which in turn is provided with means to access the associated data in the cloud. The assigning of identity should preferably be computerized or at least computer assisted in order to eliminate the possibility of assigning same id number or code to more than one bale.

Now referring to Fig. 2 illustrating use of the information stored. While Fig. 1 referred generally to acquiring and storing data for any baling process under the present invention, Figure 2 is related more specifically to land-farming, an application of high relevance for the present invention.

At the time for feeding the animals, the farmer uses his smartphone or other dedicated equipment to scan the bale ID. Alternatively, he simply reads it as written and types it to an application on the phone. From the phone, or similar equipment, a query is then sent to the remote database, the "cloud", to access the information, primary and secondary, stored about that bale. The farmer received that information, does a basic check of possible information from the forage seller about quality issues and that the bale has the general content desired, e.g. a combination of maize, grain, and hay within any desired ratio. He furthermore consults his forage plan, which may also be stored to an application on the smart phone and checks that the primary information is within preferred limits, e.g. if the levels of proteins are satisfactory. If it is not, he, with or without consulting a nutritionist, adds feed concentrates in order to reach the desired levels and weighs out the adequate amounts and starts feeding. If the levels are satisfactory, he omits the step of addition of feed concentrate and starts feeding with the bale forage alone.

Figure 3 is a flow chart illustration mainly similar to Figure 2 in most respects, but which shows a particular situation in which the present invention is useful. The steps 310 to 330 are equal to the steps 210-230 of Fig. 2. In step 340, however, the farmer receives a warning from seller which will typically regard some kind of quality issue inherent with the bale in question and possibly the batch of bales to which the bale in question belongs. This may typically be useful when the seller finds quality issues of one bale of a batch and thus needs to recall all the bales of the same batch. The information received may even be of a grave nature implicating that the bale has to be discarded, cf. step 344 in which case the farmer will receive a replacement shipping or a refund.

In step 350 of Fig. 3 is illustrated the fact that, in absence of a warning from the seller, the forage may still be divided into at least two categories 352,354, depending on quality and that the forage of the very best quality 354 is given to demanding cattle only while good, but not top quality forage 352, is given to other animals.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention represents an advantage in that highly reliable primary and secondary information related to the baled material is stored at the time of baling and kept safe in a manner allowing updating of the stored information when or if additional information is received at a later time. The bales hold just a respective id, making it possible at any time to check the information stored, knowing that the information received is the most updated information available. Information may be updated at the level of the individual bales but also at a batch level such as all bales made from a certain pile of material, all bales made at a certain site and/ or all bales made a certain date.