Monday, 13 July 2020 10:32

Maize moisture in a moment

Written by  Staff Reporters

With forage maize playing such an important part of the New Zealand fodder supply chain, a useful hand-held moisture measuring device might prove useful for making good management decisions.

Using an integral near-infrared (NIR) sensor, the device is said to deliver a result in seconds via an app on a mobile device, thereby by-passing the need for laboratory analysis.

SCiO for Corn has been developed by Israeli tech company Consumer Physics, miniaturising a traditional NIR spectrometer in a pocket-sized device that connects to cloud-based algorithms.

The raw data and results are displayed on the smart device and accompanied by a trend chart showing how the crop is developing. In the paddock, non-destructive testing is carried out by sampling five or six corn cobs, then tapping the mobile app. The result is delivered within a few seconds and the company says precision and accuracy is on par with a traditional lab analysis.

The device can measure moisture between 8 and 80%. The higher values might be of interest to maize grain growers or seed producers, the latter looking to collect maturity data for the development of future varieties.

www.consumerphysics.com

More like this

Drones, AI making cattle counting a dream

PGG Wrightson has launched a new stock-counting service using drones and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which it says removes all the hassle for farmers, while achieving 99.9% accuracy.

Carry on with clever feed planning

In many parts of the country, dairy farmers have enjoyed favourable growing conditions throughout winter and spring, leading to reduced use of stored and imported feed and higher-than-expected production to date.

Maize grain shortage looming?

If there is a maize grain shortage next season, farmers will have to look for an alternative and that may not be easy.

Featured

Massey Research Field Day attracts huge interest

More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.

Expo set to wow again

Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.

A year of global challenges

As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.

Boost for hort exports

The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.

National

OSPRI's costly software upgrade

Animal disease management agency OSPRI has announced sweeping governance changes as it seeks to recover from the expensive failure of…

Machinery & Products

BA Pumps expand

Cambridge based BA Pumps & Sprayers, specialists in New Zealand-made spraying equipment, has acquired Tokoroa Engineering’s product range, including the…

Entries open for innovation award

Fieldays and its renowned Innovation Awards are celebrating their 57th year, marking a longstanding tradition in the agricultural calendar, with…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Chinese strategy

OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.

Not fair

OPINION: The Listener's latest piece on winter grazing among Southland dairy farmers leaves much to be desired.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter