How to Choose the Best Weighing Application for your Farm

Covering everything from tracking the health of your livestock, to managing your crop yield ready for sale, weighing is part of almost all processes in a farm. 

As a result, precise and accurate weighing is an absolutely critical part of effective farm management. 

With the right weighing technology and the best fit solution for your specific context, you can increase profitability, make improved decision-making, increase efficiency, and reduce any areas of waste. 

At Parker Farm, we are weighing technology specialists, supplying a range of state-of-the-art farm weighing solutions. Our systems can cater to all site sizes and contexts, including everything from heavy-duty vehicle weighing to more challenging weighing processes, such as livestock weighing.

In this guide, our expert team have provided a guide comparing the most commonly used farm weighing applications. 

This includes a summary of each type, their best fit use cases, and the areas where you can expect to see the best return on your investment. 

Pit Mounted Weighbridges

Pit mounted weighbridges are designed to sit flush with the ground. This allows vehicles to drive directly onto the weighing platform (without the need for ramps or other supports). 

Main use cases: 

• Farms that commonly use vehicles
• Sites that have a high traffic flow
• Sites that have limited or restricted space 
• Sites where convenient access is needed from a number of different directions 

Benefits: 

• Fast and efficient vehicle weighing
• Flexible and streamlined design
• Can be used in sites where space is limited 
• High safety standards (as the unit has no raised edges)

Surface Mounted Weighbridges

Surface mounted weighbridges are designed to be installed above the ground. For vehicles to access the ramp, ramps are needed. But, these weighbridges are quick, easy and cost-effective to install (compared to pit mounted weighbridges).

Main use cases: 

• Farms that need weighing technology, but are looking for a solution with a lower upfront cost
• Farms that need a temporary installation (and have enough space for the addition of a ramp)

Benefits: 

• Quick and easy to install 
• Low upfront costs 
• Complete flexibility in locating and moving the unit 
• No significant groundwork requirements 
• Still with the ability to weigh large items, and manage heavy traffic 

Portable Axle Scales

Portable axle scales are another great, flexible weighing solution. They work by measuring individual axle weights, allowing users to weigh vehicles, without requiring permanent infrastructure. 

Main use cases: 

• Ideally suited for farms that have multiple weighing points
• Can be brought in to support seasonal processes 
• Widely used to support one-off use cases, e.g. compliance checks for vehicle loads

Benefits: 

• Perfectly portable 
• Quick and easy to set up and use (and then put away)
• Suitable for use in various locations
• Offers complete flexibility 
• Cost-effective (and significantly cheaper than full weighbridge systems)

Livestock Weighing Scales

Livestock weighing scales are specifically designed to weigh animals accurately. They are a key part of effectively monitoring the health and growth of animals.

Main use cases: 

• Monitoring livestock’s health 
• Tracking livestock’s growth rates 
• Managing and monitoring feed efficiency
• Ensuring animals are at market weight requirements

Benefits: 

• Keeping livestock healthy
• Improved feed management 
• More effective cost control and profitability for farms with livestock 
• Ensuring accurate pricing when selling livestock 
• Supporting more informed decision-making (e.g. regarding livestock feeding, selling, breeding, etc)  

Grain Weighing Scales

Grain weighing systems are specifically designed to measure crops and grains that have been harvested. 

Main use cases: 

• Measuring harvested grain
• Monitoring grain storage levels
• Managing grain sales and year-on-year farm logistics

Benefits: 

• Improving the accuracy of grain data (including yields)
• Reducing waste 
• Optimising crop storage 
• Minimising the risk of any financial loss (due to inaccurate pricing)
• Improving financial reporting
• Facilitating more precise decision-making 

Hopper & Silo Weighing

Hopper and silo weighing systems are integrated into storage units. They are designed to continuously monitor the weight of materials stored in the units (e.g. grain, fertiliser or feed).

Main use cases: 

• Monitoring the weight of stored materials 
• Tracking how these stored materials are used (e.g. rate of feed consumption)
• Streamlining and automating inventory tracking

Benefits: 

• Monitors and records weight in real-time 
• Minimises the need for manual labour and weight recordings 
• Improves stock control 
• Facilitates improved planning
• Reduces the risk of having too much or too few resources 
• Improves all round operational efficiency.

At Parker Farm, we supply and install the full range of weighing technologies, with solutions precisely engineered to suit all farm sizes, layouts, contexts, requirements and priorities. 

To find out more about any of these weighing solutions, or to get dedicated advice for your specific operations, don’t hesitate to get in touch.