Wireless barn alerts and monitoring
19 May 2022
2 minute read
By: Rebco Valley Pork is a family-owned operation near Courtland, MN, with contract finishing sites in Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota. We spoke with Ryan Bode about his experience with the BarnTalk monitoring system.
"Our existing alarm systems are traditional types with alarm alerts sent from a call center. I put the BarnTalk system in one of my own barns first. Installation was a "piece-of-cake"; I just downloaded the phone app, scanned the barcode on the Gateway unit, and the barn data appeared on my phone."
"Most of the ventilation controllers in our operation do not have a remote access feature. With BarnTalk, I get real-time information on the conditions in every barn. As soon as a grower installs a unit, they can simply invite me to access their system. We are definitely planning to add BarnTalk monitoring to more farms."
One of the contract growers for Rebco Valley Pork is Mark Perkins from Mankato, MN. Mark recently installed a BarnTalk system on one of his sites.
"The hardwired sensors in our present alarm systems are a constant maintenance problem. We get a false alarm when they fail or, even worst, no alarm at all."
Wireless temperature sensors simplify installation. Water metering and dry contact sensors are also available.
"Installing the wireless BarnTalk sensors was easy as they said it would be... not having to run wires and not needing internet access is a big deal. Just hang them from the ceiling, pair them up with the Gateway, and you are in business. It is simple to raise and lower the sensors as the pigs grow. I can even move the sensor to a different part of the room. Just take it down and rehang it—no wires to run."
"I am away from our production sites for most of the day, so being able to check on things remotely is important. Along with temperature sensors, I also installed a water meter. A spike might mean I have a busted water line, or a decrease could signal the pigs are getting sick.
"We will be switching the second site over this summer even though I have remote access to the barn through my ventilation controller. The cell service at the site is not very reliable, and there are times I cannot access the controller. The BarnTalk does not seem to have the same problem because it connects through multiple carriers."
CLICK to learn more about the BarnTalk system.
