Performance of Farm-Type Moisture Meters

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1986
Authors
Schmitt, Steven
Bern, Carl
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Bern, Carl
University Professor Emeritus
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Hurburgh, Charles
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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Since 1905, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, now the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE), has been a leader in providing engineering solutions to agricultural problems in the United States and the world. The department’s original mission was to mechanize agriculture. That mission has evolved to encompass a global view of the entire food production system–the wise management of natural resources in the production, processing, storage, handling, and use of food fiber and other biological products.

History
In 1905 Agricultural Engineering was recognized as a subdivision of the Department of Agronomy, and in 1907 it was recognized as a unique department. It was renamed the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in 1990. The department merged with the Department of Industrial Education and Technology in 2004.

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1905–present

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  • Department of Agricultural Engineering (1907–1990)

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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Abstract

Three farm-type moisture meters (Dickey-john DJMC, Dole 400-B, and Electrex DMT-2)* were compared to USDA-approved oven methods on 225 corn samples (10.4% - 33.8% moisturet) and 96 soybean samples (8.0% - 16.6% moisture) from the 1984 crop. In corn, the DJMC read ±0.5 percentage point of the oven up to 27% moisture. The 400-B read ±0.5 percentage point of the oven up to 28% moisture. The DMT-2 read equivalent to the oven at 11% moisture, but read progressively lower than the oven as moisture increased. At 25% corn moisture, DMT-2 read 4.4 percentage points less than the oven. In soybeans, DJMC tested a relatively constant 0.52 percentage points higher than the oven, 400-B read ±0.25 points, and DMT-2 varied linearly from 1.2 points high at 10% moisture to 1.5 point low at 17% moisture. Calibration correction equations are given for all three meters. Variability (with respect to the oven) of the farm-type meters increased as corn moisture increased, with an average coefficient of variation (CV) of 4.2%. Three trade-type meters, included for reference purposes, had an average CV of 2.4% on the same samples. In soybeans, variability was not a function of moisture content; the farm and trade meters had standard deviations relative to the oven of 0.37 and 0.26 points respectively. The major share of variability originated from sample-to-sample variations in electrical properties, followed by differences among individual units of the same brand then variations among replicate meter tests and oven tests on a sample.

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This article is from Transactions of the ASAE 29 (1986): 1118–1123. Posted with permissino.

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Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 1986
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