Feed data throughout batch aids management
A contract grower for BQP, John Jackson of JE & J Jackson optimises shed space on the farm housing 2200 bed and breakfast pigs. The sheds are serviced with storage silos and supply augers, a recent review identified the need to replace three silos with new. The existing silos were old and had age related issues, the feed didn’t flow as well, water ingress was degrading the feed quality and obviously this has financial implications so it was decided to invest in some new silos. ‘We had some Collinson silos onsite and the quality is exceptional and so Collinson it was’ John said.
John turned to his equipment supplier, Jamie Chapman of TC Farm Services and was pleasantly surprised when Jamie came back to let him know that Collinson had a Special Offer for Silo Monitoring on all new silos as a promotion of this newly launched product.
“The new low-cost Silo Monitoring system is universal in the sense that it will fit ANY manufacturers silos, a real game changer for the animal feed industry”
FeedAlert is also suitable for existing silos, it is quickly and easily installed on the leg of the silo, the system senses tension change in the leg and cleverly converts it to Kg, to give a reliable weight reading of each silo daily. It was an optional item but John could see the potential this type of data would give him so it was a very definite ‘yes!’
The silos were delivered in September ’22, finished in an attractive juniper green plasteel finish, the monitoring systems were installed by the driver on delivery. Being new, set-up was easy, the silo was set at zero following the installation, after filling each silo was calibrated by entering the delivered weight in Kg, this set the scale of the silo and the monitoring was live. The weight is updated daily at 11.30pm, and can be viewed on a display local to the silo, it alternates between the date the reading was taken and the weight but John also has the data on his phone for convenience, so it can be accessed wherever and whenever.
John told us ‘Previously we had to wait until the end of the batch to work out FCR, now we can monitor feed consumed on a daily basis, having this daily data would also be a good indicator of any health issues so we could proactive in taking action, rather than being reactive to visual issues, which often have a firmer hold however fortunately we haven’t had to rely on this as yet but it is definitely a bonus.’
“The data is reliable, it helps us manage more accurate delivery timings and quantities, the reminders are great, the system also means we can manage feed changes more precisely and ordering delivery quantities more accurately towards the end of the batch so feed isn’t left in the silo, it helps the efficiency of the feed management”
John said ‘we have four other silos on site, we’re making some changes at the farm and it is in our plan to invest in silo monitoring for these as we work through this, there is a Rural Payments grant available for silo monitoring at the moment and so we’re going to take advantage of this too.‘
