The agricultural industry provides products and services that are vital to everyday life, and in order to continue delivering quality goods and maintain profit margins, these applications require the highest level of precision in all aspects of production. The ability to record data and provide real-time reports is arguably as important as precision in these times of volatile commodity/input prices. To ensure these operations achieve the necessary accuracy and data management, indicator technology has evolved to offer enhanced performance functionalities, enterprise connectivity and custom features that can be tailored to meet specific process needs.

With each agricultural application, operators are required to keep track of a wide variety of variables, such as using Dry Matter percentage in ingredients to figure rations instead of As Fed pounds. Managing large quantities of data increases the likelihood that human error and miscalculations can occur — costing companies additional expenses in lost production, inventory and revenue.

As a direct response to growing industry demands, indicator technology has been designed to meet the unique challenges associated with agricultural applications. By understanding the performance and integration capabilities offered by today’s indicator solutions, users can experience improved production, product quality and profitability.  

Indicator Technology

Scale indicators are typically defined as compact alphanumeric terminals designed to identify load measurements for diverse weighing applications. Originally, indicators were simply used as a means to display readings in a way that allowed operators to view load and material weights easily and quickly. However, to accommodate changes in weighing technology and growing industry demands, indicators have adapted, becoming sophisticated data management devices that ensure user-friendly configuration and operation.

Designed to accommodate virtually any process requirement, from simple to complex, indicators range from entry-level units for weighing to multi-function weight transmitters that support a wide range of standard interfaces. Today, indicators more closely resemble PCs as they have become more software driven, enabling them to adapt to evolving requirements. By integrating into existing networks and with scale equipment, indicators can save valuable time and expense on costly system upgrades by offering the scalability to accommodate future process changes. 

Additionally, with the increased automation of agricultural applications, improving productivity to maintain/improve profit margins has become a primary concern in most industries. This requires data to be instantly visible, reliable and accessible across facility networks in order to streamline production and gain maximum process efficiency. Implementing indicators equipped with universal connectivity features, such as web browsers, file download options, wireless, Bluetooth and bi-directional communications, makes it significantly easier for processors to receive and transfer critical data. This provides operators with the necessary data management to meet today’s fast-paced agricultural environments.

Simplifying Agriculture Applications with Indicators

With the range of features and capabilities that are inherent in today’s indicator solutions, operators can tailor these devices to meet distinct performance needs. By understanding their vast functionality and their potential for process management, operators can use indicators as a control tool that improves efficiency and directly impacts productivity and profitability.

Features driving productivity