New technologies for managing cotton modules

Authors: Wanjura, John; BARNES, EDWARD - Cotton, Inc; Holt, Gregory; Pelletier, Mathew

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2018
Publication Date: 5/31/2018
Citation: Wanjura, J.D., Barnes, E.M., Holt, G.A., Pelletier, M.G. 2018. New technologies for managing cotton modules. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. CD ROM.

Interpretive Summary: A new system for managing cotton modules and harvest information was developed. The system makes use of RFID tags contained on round modules formed by John Deere harvesters and the HID Cotton system from John Deere that collects harvest related data onboard the harvester. The system consists of a mobile application for scanning modules staged at the edge of the field, a module truck based system for scanning modules as they are loaded/unloaded in the field and at the gin yard, and a data management utility that compiles all of the module location and HID data for inventory and reporting purposes by gin users and growers. This system is the first of its kind to allow gins to move away from the system of manually tagging each module or load of modules and utilize electronic means to inventory and track the movement of modules from the field through the gin.

Technical Abstract: Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags incorporated into the plastic wrap used to cover round modules formed by John Deere cotton harvesters provide the foundation of a new system for identifying cotton modules and transferring harvest related data to downstream users. Each RFID tag contains a module identifier (module ID) that is unique to that module. Harvesters equipped with the HID Cotton Pro system from John Deere create a database of harvest related data for each module using the module identifier as the primary key. The module ID can be read from the RFID tag using electronic scanning tools and used to help growers and ginners manage modules and associated information gathered during the harvesting, storage, transportation, and ginning processes. However, to date, no commercial systems have been developed to facilitate the collection of module ID or harvest related information using RFID technology. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop 1) a scanning system for use on module trucks that automates the process of scanning modules and logging position and cotton ownership information as modules are loaded or unloaded, and 2) a data management system that compiles module specific information into one location for use by producers and ginners. Development of these two systems in addition to a previously developed mobile application for scanning modules in the field (RFID Module Scan) and a program for automating the HID file download process (Cotton Harvest File Download Utility) provide the basis of a new system for electronic management of cotton modules using RFID technology.