SouthWest Ag BINCast at the London Farm Show

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Comment by OntAG Admin on March 12, 2014 at 2:50pm

March 5, 2014 - South West Ag Partners and Weather INnovations (WIN) Consulting LP, of Chatham, are pleased to announce that they will be working together to bring WeatherCentral.ca’s BINcast® Program to all growers in Ontario. South West Ag is joining WeatherCentral.ca as the exclusive sponsor of BINcast  and together with WIN, is launching their collaboration at the London Farm Show.

WeatherCentral.ca, developed by WIN, provides site-specific, weather-based agricultural decision support tools – including BINcast® - which utilizes the latest science and technology to assist farmers in managing their farm businesses.  BINcast® is an advisory tool designed to help producers with aeration management and grain conditioning for grains stored on the farm.  Brian Cofell, Retail Grain Manager for South West Ag, says that “BINcast® takes the guesswork out of operating an aeration system and will result in improved grain quality, better managed moistures, improved grain marketability and improved profits.“ 

“We are running our fans when we should not be, and not running them when we should be” says Cofell, “and it is costing farm businesses in both power and grain quality.”  This is largely the result of 2 factors:  lack of understanding of changing weather and it’s daily influence on grain quality, and the inability of producers to plan for, and optimize, the aeration practices of their grain operation on a 24/7 basis.

BINcast® uses a site–specific weather forecast to predict grain equilibrium moisture content at all registered bin locations. “On any given farm, we can offer an accuracy rating of 90% in our BINcast® weather parameters” says Ian Nichols, WIN President.  BINcast® uses the forecast to provide a 5-day, hourly Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) chart. “It basically tells you when you should be running your fans and when you should not, to achieve your desired EMC. You are conditioning your grain with credible science and technology support.”  
Through South West Ag Partners sponsorship of BINcast®, Ontario farmers are able to get access to the basic level of BINcast® at no charge. Registration to the program is very simple and can be done directly on the WeatherCentral.ca website or by visiting the South West Ag Partners booth during the London Farm Show where their staff will set you and your smart phone up on the program.  

Future versions of the BINcast® Program are in development and promise to bring increased levels of accuracy, automation and value to the program.