Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for loading a railcar with crop material. A grain cart has a frame, ground wheels, a hitch assembly, a storage container and an auger assembly having a discharge end for removing particulate material from the storage container discharging it out the discharge end. A spout can be moveably connected to the discharge end of the auger. The method can include loading the storage container of the grain cart with crop material, maneuvering the grain cart adjacent to a railcar using a tow vehicle and discharging crop material from the storage container of the grain cart into the railcar using the auger assembly. A mobile computer or other processing device can be used to determine how much crop material is being loaded into the railcar during the loading by the grain cart.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for loading a railcar with crop material. A grain cart has a frame, ground wheels, a hitch assembly, a storage container and an auger assembly having a discharge end for removing particulate material from the storage container discharging it out the discharge end. A spout can be moveably connected to the discharge end of the auger. The method can include loading the storage container of the grain cart with crop material, maneuvering the grain cart adjacent to a railcar using a tow vehicle and discharging crop material from the storage container of the grain cart into the railcar using the auger assembly. A mobile computer or other processing device can be used to determine how much crop material is being loaded into the railcar during the loading by the grain cart.

Abstract: A system and method for weighing and loading particulate material while the particulate material is passing through the system is provided. The system can include a roadway, an opening positioned in the roadway and at least one bulkweigher provided below the opening. A rail car or a trailer can be positioned above the opening in the roadway and particulate material discharged from the rail car or trailer through the opening into the at least one bulkweigher. The bulkweigher can weigh the particulate material as it is being discharged and, after the particulate material has been weighed by the at least one bulkweigher, the bulkweigher can discharge the particulate material onto a conveyor to be loaded into another rail car or trailer.

Abstract: A portable processing plant apparatus is transported to a location convenient to a freight supplier or like destination and then set up to receive gross agricultural commodities and discharge clean agricultural commodities into a clean commodity receptacle, such as a rail car. A batch of commodity from a farm location is received into a storage bin. The batch is conveyed in a stream through a gross scale, cleaning module, and net scale and into a receptacle, such as a rail car. A gap is created between the stream of one batch and the stream of the next, and a computer is operative to control flow of the commodity streams. The computer can store batch identity information, and record the source farm location of the commodity in each receptacle.

Abstract: A portable processing plant apparatus is transported to a location convenient to a freight supplier or like destination and then set up to receive gross agricultural commodities and discharge clean agricultural commodities into a clean commodity receptacle, such as a rail car. A batch of commodity from a farm location is received into a storage bin. The batch is conveyed in a stream through a gross scale, cleaning module, and net scale and into a receptacle, such as a rail car. A gap is created between the stream of one batch and the stream of the next, and a computer is operative to control flow of the commodity streams. The computer can store batch identity information, and record the source farm location of the commodity in each receptacle.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed that provides for the scheduling of delivery jobs using estimated arrival times that are repeatedly updated while the delivery job progresses. A number of delivery vehicles are dispatched on a first set of delivery jobs such that the delivery vehicles are scheduled to arrive at a bottleneck point at intervals, to prevent delays at the bottleneck point. As each delivery vehicle progresses on an assigned delivery job, location information of the delivery vehicle is used to update an estimated time of arrival at the bottleneck point. When a delivery vehicle completes an assigned delivery job and is ready to be dispatched on a remaining delivery job, the estimated delivery durations of the remaining delivery jobs and the estimated times of arrival of the delivery vehicles currently on assigned delivery jobs are used to assign one of the remaining delivery jobs to the delivery vehicle.

Abstract: Seeds are sorted according to color by placing the seeds in uniform rows of indentations in a rotating drum and passing the seeds beneath a digital/imaging camera and strobe lights which create images of the seeds. The images are fed to a computer, which also receives information from a drum speed sensor. The computer generates a signal which causes a blast of air to blow through an opening in the bottom of any identation containing a discolored seed to reject such seed. Rejected seeds are fed into a reject hopper, and the selected or good seeds remaining in the drum indentations fall from the drum into another hopper.