New Holland hay bales talk via RFID
24 May, 2010
category: RFID
New Holland Agriculture announced the launch of CropID, an individual bale identification system for large square balers.
Using RFID technology, the CropID system works by encasing a microchip and its antenna in a tag, wrapped around the twine as the bale is tied. Data stored on the tag include the bale’s information, such as the bale number, the field number or name, the date and time it was baled, the high and average moisture content, the amount of preservative applied, if any, and the bale weight.
This enables commercial growers to uniquely tag and sort bales based on a wide range of criteria, so that shipments or storage can be arranged according to the hay types that best meet the clients’ needs.
Identifying quality, moisture content, or other characteristics of specific bales is now a simple process, allowing growers to easily decide which bales is the best match for specific customers, or need to be set aside for further curing.
In addition to helping growers keep shipments and stacks consistent, the CropID system also has several other uses, such as tracking the amount of hay on hand from each field and cutting.