Herd feeding system with low-cost, efficient, and portable feed bins for feeding individual animals

An apparatus for dispensing feed material to individual animals of a herd, comprising:

• a feed hopper with a body having a first opening for receiving the feed material into an inner space of the body and having a second opening in a lower portion of the body for discharging the feed material from the inner space of the body;
• a lower support structure supporting the feed hopper;
• a feed tray in the lower support structure;
• a feed dispensing mechanism operable to selectively dispense the feed material from the feed hopper into the feed tray via the second opening in the body;
• a sensor assembly sensing data for a first transponder;
• and
• a controller processing the data sensed by the sensor assembly to identify the first transponder and, in response to identification:
• command an access control mechanism to open;
• retrieve a predefined mass of the feed material associated with the first transponder;
• and
• operate the feed dispensing mechanism to dispense into the feed tray a volume of the feed material determined to provide the predefined mass.