E-Bale

E Bale: On farm Trial results March 2006

Electronic identification technology and new bale labels were tested on 1000 bales of wool in March 2006.

The trial followed a recommendation from a joint project between AWEX and Australian Wool Innovation that identified the best possible technology and overall viability of an electronic identification scheme incorporated into the bale.

Each trial label incorporated a radio frequency identification tag using dual frequency technology.  

Trial Design

- 1080 Bales and RFID tags

- 6 wool clips

- 2 Brokers

- 4 Wool stores 

 The main focus of the trial was to ascertain how the RFID technology and tags performed from on-farm through to instore environments.  

Trial results

Data collected showed that only 1.37 per cent of tags were damaged from the shearing shed to the store. 3.7 per cent were damaged in-store and a further 1 per cent of tags were damaged post-coring.

The Dual frequency RF technology worked very well in the shed, in-store and when the packs were in the new bundles of 50. There were not enough opportunities to read the tags in the tripacked bale format.

The trial also ascertained that  the biggest pressure points for the RFID tags were caused by forklift movement and the coring process.

Tag packaging design is a vital area to get right as it is the most expensive cost component of the electronic tags.

The next stage of trials will focus on this area, commencing with the wool pack manufacturing stage. Wool pack manufacturing sees the packs come under higher pressure than dumping as they are pressed into bundles of fifty. If there is no problem in the tags surviving this stage the trial will then move to the in-store enironment.

The next stage of trials will test two different tag formats and will be a cooperative project with AWEX, Australian Wool Innovation and Australian Wool Handlers.

This trial represents a small but crucial step towards a viable RFID solution for the wool industry.

Download a copy of the e-Bale Report

For further information contact AWEX, +61 2 9428 6100  or email: awex@awex.com.au