Better management with grain-monitoring technology

Waterlogged fields made the 2019 growing season difficult for Doug Morehouse. Extremely late planting made the corn coming from his Indiana fields average more than 28% moisture, so the fifth-generation farmer was forced to dry almost every bushel before it went into the bin. Drier weather offered a reprieve the following year. 

Because Mother Nature is unpredictable, effectively managing stored grain from one season to the next can be a challenge. When the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN) offered Morehouse an opportunity to test products from TeleSense, an internet of things technology company that provides solutions to improve grain storage, he jumped at the chance. 

Launched in December 2017, WHIN is an alliance of 10 north-central Indiana counties; its goal is to create a large repertoire of internet-based technologies that reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and optimize an operation for its members (which includes Morehouse) to choose from. WHIN vets each company thoroughly plus it negotiates a deeply subsidized price for farmers, so they can try a product or service without having to invest a lot of money or end up regretting it.

Testing TeleSense

In 2019 and 2020, Morehouse evaluated the TeleSense SensorBall and SensorSpear. The cable-free technologies monitor grain temperature and moisture. SensorBalls are bracketed to the bin’s sidewalls; SensorSpears go in the grain after bins are filled. Data are accessed through the TeleSense app.

“I had some high-moisture corn in the bin the first year, so I was eager for the technology to work,” Morehouse recalls. “When the SensorBalls told me the temperature of my grain was in the 30s [°F.], even though the ambient temperature never dropped below the mid-50s, I thought they were useless.”

Reaching out to the company, he learned that because so much moisture was being pushed through the bin, evaporative cooling was driving down the grain’s temperature. The technology was doing its job and telling him what he needed to know.

The SensorSpears also proved their worth. “I did the sniff test in a bin, and I didn’t detect any bad odors,” he says. “When I inserted the spear into the grain, the system caught a hot spot I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

As he continues to learn the nuances of grain management, so, too, does TeleSense. It’s an iterative process that’s led to products like Spider, which was recently installed on Morehouse’s bins. SensorSpears and SensorBalls are replaced by two Spider devices. One is installed in the headspace, another in the plenum or fan transition. The pair relies on cellular connectivity to measure temperature, moisture, and CO2.

“The suite of moisture-control tools dramatically expands the value of what we provide customers,” says Max Mathison, sales manager for TeleSense. “Doug will now be able to quantify the amount of moisture he’s removing from the bins. He can also get recommendations on when to turn fans on, off, or up.”

“We’re listening to the air as it moves through the grain because it carries information,” says Naeem Zafar, TeleSense founder and CEO. “The air not only knows the temperature and moisture, but also the CO2 level, which is a leading indicator of an infestation. Knowing when levels are in the danger zone allows you to take action before it’s too late.” 

As the company continues to rethink the problem and as the value of its products becomes clear, a realistic price point has also surfaced. “If TeleSense can keep the cost below 2¢ a bushel, it will have a product most farmers will want to use to actively manage stored grain,” Morehouse says.