One of the 10 largest dairy operations in BC, Donia Farms, has been supplying milk for the province since 1953. With 700 cows to care for, on 800 acres of farm land with 35 machines to maintain, it’s no easy task keeping on top of fuel utilization. During the spring, tractors and combines can burn up to 13,000L of diesel after irrigating manure and 8,300L after harvesting corn. With all the usage, this local farmer needed an easier way to dispense, track, and report consumption on the farm.

The Need

Donia Farms had three objectives; to track fuel usage, make it more convenient to distribute and add security. David Van Keulen, a dairy farmer at Donia Farms searched for a system to manage their daily farm fuel operations. He actually stumbled upon a gas station set-up with a fuel control system designed by Computrol. “We needed a way to track our diesel usage and the gas-station had exactly what we were looking for,” said Van Keulen. Computrol recommended the newly launched FLEET 220, designed for small to mid-size businesses. The FLEET 220 provides David with data records that include; date, time, pump, product, driver I.D., and quantities. This was the first customer for Computrol in the agricultural vertical as it traditionally supplies systems to transportation, municipalities and resources however this farmer’s requirements were the same as many of its other clients.

Results

The ability to provide fuel in a convenient manner through a dual access system, with ID codes for the staff and FOB’s for the machine meant no more carrying of separate keys for each machine. This distribution method also introduced the added safety benefit of limiting employees from dispensing no more than 300L of fuels at a time. Not only that, this administration method adds a level of security which prevents people from stealing fuel. All the while the integrated software system automates the task of tracking and reporting specific data on fuel usage of each employee and machine creating an audit trail. As a result, Donia Farms can now map and understand utilization trends, which help planning for the future. “The wealth of knowledge you get is invaluable as you gain a much better insight to each machine’s usage, total consumption, and individual efficiencies which all relates back to total life cycle equipment management and overall operations” stated Van Kuelen.

Conclusion

Since installing the rugged, weather resistant FLEET 220 at the Farm, it has added efficiency, security, monitoring and tracking diesel usage. Computrol is available to help other farmers who share equipment, rent equipment, belong to CO-OPS, or like Van Kuelen manage on-site operations.