Why I Believe In
GrainTrac Remote Bin Monitoring Allows Users to Monitor Grain Temperature Throughout Bins

Tri-States Grain Conditioning’s Grain Trac remote bin monitoring system is designed to automatically track and report information, such as grain temperature and allows the user to control their aeration remotely.

According to Sales Manager Greg Van Sickle (800-438-8367), “Grain Trac removes the guesswork from grain storage and reduces the number of necessary trips to the bin site by remotely monitoring grain temperature.

“You can control your system remotely in real time with a smartphone or computer,” says Van Sickle. “Customizable notifications alert you to hot spots as they begin, rather than discovering them after the damage has been done.”

Here is what some users say about the Grain Trac remote bin monitoring system:

James Wages | General Manager | Humboldt Cotton LLC | Humboldt, TN

“We installed our first Grain Trac in September 2017. It’s in a flat storage building for cottonseed. We’ve always had temperature monitoring equipment in there, but it was a very simple, manual system. We didn’t like using it, so we ended up not checking the temperature as often as we should have.

“I’ve always wanted a way to check temperatures in the building in real time. One system we considered was way too expensive and required a computer to be installed with it. I learned about the Grain Trac when I saw it at another gin. I asked about it and it sounded exactly like what we had been looking for. So we called Tri-States and got one for ourselves. We were hooked when they told us how inexpensive it would be.

“The Grain Trac has worked well for us. I pull it up on my phone once a week and make sure everything looks good. You can even set up alarms that trigger at certain temperatures, but I haven’t set them because it only takes two seconds to check temperatures on my phone.

“What I like best about the Grain Trac is definitely the app. It shows you what they call a gradient of the house. So, it will show you almost like a pie chart with a range of colors for temperatures. Then I can just take my thumb and drag over it, and it’ll tell me exactly what temperature it is. The ability to quickly and easily see temperatures in real time is great.

“It’s just so simple. We haven’t touched the hardware since it was installed. If the electricity goes out, it comes right back up. We haven’t had any kind of issues to where we’ve had to go reset it. It’s been trouble-free.”

Jim Holter | Manager | Stickney Coop | Stickney, SD

“We installed our first Grain Trac back in 2010, and as we’ve added bins, we’ve added temperature cables and monitoring right away. We ultimately chose Tri-States because of the service.

“When we call them, they always take care of us. You can tell just how knowledgeable they are.

“The product is excellent, and it performs exactly as it should. I have the app on my phone and the computer. I can track it from anywhere. I can wake up at 3 a.m. worrying about it and look on my phone see there’s nothing to worry about.

“There was a time when we had a bin starting to warm up, and thanks to this system, we realized it before it got too hot. You could see the rising temperature on the charts, so we knew we had to act soon before it went out of condition.

“What I like best about Grain Trac is the charting of the temperature cables on the computer and then as well the handheld aspect of it. I like looking at the charts because I can see not only current temperatures, but I can see where it’s been and where it’s trending.”

Adam McFarland | Location Manager | Farmers Cooperative| Osceola, IA

“It was in 2010 when we put up the first bin that was capable of housing the Grain Trac system. We have multiple units now. As we’ve kept building, we’ve kept installing more Grain Tracs. It’s been great so far.

“We were introduced to the Grain Trac system through a recommendation from another cooperative in Iowa that really liked it.

“The main thing is just reading the temperatures in the whole bin, and as we move product and put new product in there, we can keep an eye on the quality of the grain. In prior years, we’ve held over some inventory from year to year, and it’s enabled us to make sure our grain stays in condition without entering the bin to check. This system has allowed us to detect any spots that we need to address so we can act on it pretty quickly, before it develops into a big problem.

“I really like that you don’t have to climb the bins every week to measure volume or temperature. You look at weather patterns, especially during harvest or even during the winter, and you can decide when to run the aeration system to cool grain, for example.

“When we’ve had a temperature spike in a bin, we’ve been able to watch it on a chart, and you’ll see a couple of cables just starting to climb. That’s allowed us to make adjustments before it gets out of hand. This system doesn’t just tell you there’s a problem, it tells you exactly where and what’s wrong. I’m a believer in this product because it eliminates any worry.”

Reprinted from Grain Journal May/June 2019