Patent ID: 7004401

Claim:
A crop storage control system for reducing defect levels to increase crop quality among remote crop storage facilities, comprising: an operator interface in secure communication with a central computer, wherein the operator interface is configured to transmit a crop quality objective to a central computer; a first controller coupled to a first sensor and a first aeration fan, the first sensor and the first aeration fan being positioned in proximity to a first agricultural crop storage facility located at a first site, wherein the first controller controls the operation of the first aeration fan to achieve a first crop quality objective; a second controller coupled to a second sensor and a second aeration fan, the second sensor and the second aeration fan positioned in proximity to a second agricultural crop storage facility located at a second site, wherein the second controller controls the operation of the second aeration fan to achieve a second crop quality objective; and a central computer in secure communication with the first controller, the second controller, and the operator interface, wherein the central computer enforces at least one of the first and second crop quality objectives by: receiving at least one of the first and second crop quality objectives from the operator interface; generating a secure control policy for controlling at least one of the first and second aeration fans to achieve at least one of the first and second crop quality objectives received from the operator interface, wherein the secure control policy is generated from at least one of the first and second crop quality objectives, and wherein the operator interface has restricted access to the control policy; instantiating the secure control policy so that at least one of the first and second aeration fans are controlled in accordance with the secure control policy; receiving information from at least one of the first and second controllers; evaluating the received information to determine whether at least one of the first and second aeration fans is achieving at least one of the first and second crop quality objectives; and generating a new secure control policy when the evaluated information indicates that at least one of the first and second aeration fans is not achieving at least one of the first and second crop quality objectives.