Efficient Monitoring of Livestock Feed Inventories

Understanding the current inventory of livestock feed is crucial to modern farm operations. While typically accomplished via monitoring the weight of feed bins, commercially available calibrated load cells suitable for this purpose can be prohibitive in cost. Here, we describe an approach to using uncalibrated load cells, which are inexpensive to produce, that then undergo a persistent, non-linear calibration process during manufacturing. By comparing the output signal from multiple load cells on an individual feed bin, we also diagnose failures in the field, continuing functional operation prior to repair.