Smart Feed Bin: Predictive Grain Monitoring with Real-Time Analytics

The Background

Envision emerged as an agricultural technology company based in North Carolina, US, specializing in mid- to large-capacity on-farm feed storage and inventory management solutions across diverse agricultural markets, including comprehensive livestock operations for hogs and poultry.

Envision's agricultural market applications extend beyond basic storage to include livestock facility monitoring, feed management systems, and environmental controls for swine and poultry houses, supporting the state's $84 billion agricultural economy.

The company's technology solutions address the unique challenges faced by the whole United States' significant hog and poultry industries, which represent major components of the state's agricultural output, providing integrated monitoring and management systems that optimize both grain storage operations and livestock facility performance.

Binvision prevents feed outages, cuts delivery costs, and eliminates guesswork — so you can manage bins without ever leaving the ground.

The Challenge

Farms and agricultural operations faced critical inefficiencies in their grain storage operations that were impacting their ability to maintain optimal inventory levels and manage their farming operations effectively.

Agricultural clients relied on traditional monitoring methods that created reactive environments where problems were discovered too late, causing costly disruptions & emergency situations.

Reactive Manual Monitoring Creating Blind Spots

Agricultural operations depended on manual feed bin inspections that resulted in delayed detection of grain level changes and issues. Farm staff had to physically visit each feed bin to assess grain levels.

Feed Outages Impact on Livestock Operations

Feed deprivation, even for short periods, triggers immediate stress responses in livestock that compromise immune systems, reduce growth rates, and decrease reproduction performance.

Limited Data Analytics Preventing Strategic Planning

The lack of comprehensive consumption data and trend analysis prevented operations from making informed strategic decisions about inventory management and purchasing optimization.

In agricultural environments like hog and poultry farms, connectivity is unreliable, bin configurations vary widely, and there's zero room for downtime. We needed a platform that could handle data at scale, adapt to real-world constraints, and still deliver a seamless user experience.

James Friedrich, Managing Partner, BinVision Team

The Solution

Envision recognized the industry’s need for a comprehensive smart solution that could meet the needs of agricultural clients struggling with grain storage management while still remaining affordable, so they partnered with TagoIO to create BinVision.

TagoIO provided the technological foundation necessary to deliver real-time monitoring solutions to farms and agricultural operations, enabling Envision to transform their clients' reactive management approaches into proactive, data-driven operations.

Real-Time Monitoring and Instant Alert Capabilities

TagoIO enabled Envision to offer continuous, automated monitoring services of grain levels across their clients' feed bin facilities, eliminating the need for manual inspections.

Simplified Technology Architecture

The simplicity of the solution represents a major competitive advantage over complex alternatives. By avoiding the mechanical complexity of multiple camera configurations.

Enhanced Value and Client Cost Optimization

The automation capabilities provided by TagoIO enabled Envision to offer more efficient services while helping clients reduce labor costs associated with manual monitoring.

TagoIO’s full-stack platform allowed us to deliver a real-time solution that’s powerful, user-friendly, and cost-effective — exactly what our customers needed.

James Friedrich, Managing Partner, BinVision Team

The Results

Envision's implementation of TagoIO transformed their grain storage monitoring services, delivering measurable improvements in both operational efficiency & client satisfaction. The comprehensive IoT platform enabled Envision to scale their service offerings while providing superior value to agricultural clients, resulting in significant business growth and enhanced competitiveness.

1. Significant Reduction of Feed Outages

TagoIO's continuous monitoring capabilities enabled Envision to dramatically reduce feed outages for livestock operations, addressing what the company identified as the number one problem. This predictive analysis drastically reduced emergency procurement situations so that operations could plan purchases strategically and proactively, as opposed to reactively.

2. Reduced Response Times

Envision achieved significant reductions in incident response time, as the automated alert system enabled immediate notification of grain level changes. Proactive responses were now possible and powered by real-time analytics as opposed to inaccurate estimates that could be costly.

3. Achieved Operational Cost Reduction

Envision reduced operational costs significantly through streamlined monitoring processes and reduced manual intervention requirements. 

4. Improved Data Accuracy and Reliability

Envision achieved their goal of no more ambiguous feed readings through TagoIO's automated monitoring system, which provides more frequent and reliable data compared to manual estimations.

5. Elimination of Manual Inspections

The solution delivered "no more climbing bins" for agricultural workers, eliminating dangerous manual inspection procedures that previously required personnel to physically access grain storage.