FORT BENTON, Mont. — Precision ag company Triangle Ag-Services based in Fort Benton, Mont., has announced that it is the first North American distributor of the CropScan 3000H On Combine Quality Grain Analyzer, designed and manufactured in Australia by Next Instruments. Their current dealer network includes suppliers in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

The CropScan 3000H is an analyzer, mounted to the clean grain elevator, that uses NIR (near infrared) technology to measure protein, oil and moisture in wheat, barley and canola. The data that is collected can be used to segregate or blend grain as it is being harvested or transferred to grain bins. The data can be stored in the Cloud and retrieved using the CropNet software from a smart phone, tablet or remote PC, for use by the grower when making marketing decisions.

By connecting a GPS receiver, farmers can use the data collected to create detailed field maps that show protein, moisture and oil data throughout a field. Combined with a yield map, profitability maps can be created using both the quantity and quality attributes of the crop. Based on extensive research linking fertilizer rates with protein, variable rate prescription maps can be created using protein and yield data. Farmers can verify whether different treatments, such as straight rate fertilizer compared to variable rate, provide a positive return.

The CropScan 3000H consists of a remote sampling head, a NIR diode array spectrometer, touch screen PC and cabling. The remote sampling head is fitted to the clean grain elevator of a combine and it traps grain as it is being harvested in order to collect NIR spectral data. The touch screen PC applies calibration models to the NIR spectral data and computes protein, moisture and oil approximately every 11 seconds across the field. The results are displayed on the touch screen PC that is located in cab. The touch screen PC displays the moving average, bin average and a real-time field map for protein or oil.

“Farmers know that analyzing protein in the field is important for their business, whether they use the information for marketing or agronomic decisions. Triangle Ag-Services is looking forward to providing the CropScan 3000H in Montana and other areas where quality plays a role in production,” reports DeImna Heiken, president of Triangle Ag-Services.

“Next Instruments has been manufacturing NIR analyzers for farmers for 18 years. The CropScan 3000H On Combine Analyzer offers grain growers a powerful tool that can pay for itself in a single harvest when used to blend grain in the field or in the silo. However the long term agronomic benefits include the ability to generate variable nitrogen rate applications and diagnostic tools to highlight problem areas in their fields,” said Phil Clancy, CEO, Next Instruments Pty Ltd.
For more information, visit www.CropScanAg.com.