Liquid Agronomy Center Automation
Liquid Mass Flow Metering & Blending With Unstaffed Operations
PROJECT: Luckey Farmers Inc., Bradner, OH
OVERVIEW
Luckey Farmers had an existing UAN tank on-site that was not automated; the tank was in a good location to serve current customers and grow with them as they expanded.
WHAT THEY NEEDED
The customer was looking at designing a facility very similar to its Graytown location, with a few modifications. They wanted to add a 24/7 bay to allow it to serve its customers without an employee on-site.
In addition, it needed other liquid fertilizers to do some blending, as well as chemical dispensing that would utilize bulk chemical tanks and shuttles. All of this had to interface with its existing agronomy and accounting software to make billing easier and less time-consuming.
WHAT WE DESIGNED
Kahler Automation started with the design from Luckey Farmers’ Graytown, OH, location, adding a 24/7 bay for a total of three bays. We used separate meters for each bay so they had the ability to simultaneously dispense straight product or splash-blend in the truck out of all bays at the same time.
We also provided meters for the bulk chemicals, so they could inject into the carrier line for hot loading or divert to pistol grips to fill shuttles or trucks. We provided a weigh tank with the ability to inject chemicals from shuttles or hand-added materials for hot loading on less-used products. Kahler Automation provided a pre-wired motor control center that saved labor and simplified the electricians’ job onsite.
Kahler’s Terminal Management and Plant Supervisor software were able to interface to their accounting package, tying everything together and reducing paperwork for their office staff. Luckey Farmers is able to successfully stage orders allowing them to maximize use of all three bays at once.
