New Technologies for Managing Cotton Modules

The use of RFID transponders in the module tags on round modules formed by John Deere harvesters has opened up new possibilities for managing modules and harvest data.  Tools are needed to help integrate this new technology and provide additional value to growers and ginners.  A mobile application was developed to facilitate the collection and transmission of cotton module identification, position, and ownership data.  The application utilizes two scanning tools to collect and organize the data. The first tool allows the user to associate a predefined number of module serial numbers with a load number which is generally used by a gin to manage transportation and track seed cotton, lint, and seed weights through the ginning process.  The second scanning tool generates a continuous list of module serial numbers as they are scanned.  This tool would be useful for generating general module inventory lists anywhere module tags can be scanned from the field to the gin.  Both tools allow the user to transmit the collected data to the desired recipient via a comma separated value file attached to an email.  First year results of infield testing and evaluation will be presented.