Seed treatment facilities, methods, and apparatus

Abstract

A seed treatment system having a central computerized data store, a user interface, and network connections from the data store to a plurality of retail facilities and a plurality of agricultural produce suppliers. Each retail facility having a seed treatment system configured to uniformly treat batches of seeds with any of a variety of precisely measured chemical formulations. The seed treatment apparatus having a treatment applicator coupled to a plurality of dispensing stations. Each dispensing stations having a pump in fluid communication with a container disposed on a scale. The pump and scale of each dispensing station coupled to a system controller. The system controller is coupled to the data store, configured to provide on-demand agricultural seed treatments to the applicator and chemical usage data from each station to the data store. The data store configured to provide centralized remote monitoring inventory control, supply chain monitoring, and container recycling compliance.

1 . A method of treating seeds at a retail seed treatment facility for delivery of the treated seeds to retail customer, the method comprising:
 selecting a recipe;   simultaneously dispensing liquid seed treatment formulations at individualized flow rates from a kegs through two or more respective fluid lines in accord with the recipe;   providing a flow of a controlled amount of seed through the seed treater,   combining the respective fluid lines into a combined fluid line and the combined fluid line providing the combined fluid to the seed treater for spraying onto the flow of the controlled amount of seed,   mixing the treated seed in a rotating cylinder;   one of delivering the seeds to the retail customer at the retail seed treatment facility or delivering the seeds to the retail customers planting location, or temporarily storing the seeds for pickup by the retail customer.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising controlling the particularized individual flow rates from each keg based upon the recipe stored in a programmable system controller, the programmable system controller in communication with a pump at each of the two or more kegs. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising placing each keg of the two or more kegs on a keg station that includes a scale for measuring the weight of each keg as the fluid is dispensed an. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising comparing with the programmable system controller an expected particularized flow rate as provided by each pump to a controlled flow rate based upon the decreasing weight of the fluid in each respective keg as the fluid therein is dispensed. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further providing a controlled rate of flow of water to the combined fluid line in accord with the recipe and varying said rate of flow of water based on at least one of the following: the ambient humidity and the moisture content of the seeds being treated. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising controlling the spraying of the combined fluid substantially only while the seed is falling. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising printing a report at the retail seed treatment facility based on data from the programmable system controller, the report including pricing and quantities of liquid seed formulations applied, and providing the report to the customer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sending data regarding the treated seed to a remote location by way of a network and storing data regarding the treated seed for access at future planting seasons. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing the two or more kegs with a capacity of from 5 to 50 gallons. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising periodically stirring each of the two or more kegs by way of a stirrer motor. 
     
     
         11 . A method of treating seeds at a seed treatment facility the method comprising:
 selecting a recipe from a user interface connected to a programmable system controller;   simultaneously dispensing liquid seed treatment formulations individualized as controlled by the programmable process controller and in accord with the selected recipe from a two or more dispense stations as selected by the programmable process controller from a bank of dispense stations to the seed treater, each dispense station having a pump controlled by the programmable process controller and a scale connected to the programmable process controller to monitor weight of the fluid at said dispense station, whereby the dispensing is provided by operation of the pumps at the pump stations selected by the programmable process controller;   verifying the operation of each pump by simultaneously monitoring the weight of the fluid during the operation of each said pump;   treating seeds in the seed treater controlled by the programmable process controller;   limiting the seed treatment fluid going to the seed treater to fluid lines extending from the bank of dispense stations.   
     
     
         12 . The method of treating seeds at a seed treatment facility of  claim 11  further comprising combining each respective fluid line from each dispense station into a combined fluid line at a manifold in proximity to the seed treater. 
     
     
         13 . The method of treating seeds at a seed treatment facility of  claim 11  further comprising monitoring the depletion of kegs containing the fluid by the programmable process controller at each dispense station and when empty or approaching empty replacing the particular keg with another keg not empty of fluid and inputting data relating to the placement into the programmable process controller. 
     
     
         14 . A method of controlling the containment of seed treatment liquid formulations comprising:
 receiving liquid formulations of seed treatment chemicals in a two or more kegs from a chemical distribution location at a use location geographically separate from the chemical distribution location, inserting a dispense heads into a two or more the kegs and mechanically pumping the liquid simultaneously in a measured proportional rate according to a recipe directly from the two or more kegs to a continual flow seed treater, the continual flow seed treater having a manifold mounted thereto for combining.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising shipping a two or more kegs to the use location and connecting the two or more kegs to the seed treater such that contents from more than one of the two or more kegs can simultaneously be pumped to the seed treater. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising sending over the internet recipes of particular formulations of the contents of the kegs to the seed treater. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising monitoring the decreasing weight of the kegs during the pumping of the contents of the respective kegs to the seed treater. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the monitoring of the weight step comprises:
 electronically generating and sending weight data on as the weight of the respective kegs decreases as the contents is pumped. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising installing each of the two or more kegs on a keg station that includes a scale whereby the weight of each of the kegs may be monitored. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising the step of monitoring the pumping of each of the kegs by controlling and monitoring a pump dispensing the contents from each particular keg.