System, apparatus and method for marking and tracking bulk flowable material

A material identification system, comprising:

• a plurality of property identification markers;
• an automated marker dispenser capable of periodically dispensing said plurality of property identification markers into a flowing bulk flowable material;
• and
• a property identification marker preparation component capable of associating information with said plurality of property identification markers while said automated marker dispenser periodically dispenses property identification markers into a flowing bulk flowable material;
• wherein said plurality of property identification markers carry information identifying a physical characteristic of a bulk flowable material in which said property identification marker is placed.

A method of indicating whether a bulk flowable material contains a genetically modified organism, comprising the steps of:

• causing a harvested bulk flowable material to flow;
• preparing a property identification marker by associating identification data with the property identification marker, said preparing step being performed concurrent with said causing step;
• and
• dispensing a plurality of readily-identifiable property identification markers into the flowing bulk flowable material to indicate whether the harvested bulk flowable material contains a genetically modified organism.

A method of identifying a genetic characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a harvested bulk flowable material to flow;
• preparing a property identification marker by associating identification data with the property identification marker, said preparing step being performed concurrent with said causing step;
• and
• dispensing a plurality of readily-identifiable property identification markers into the flowing harvested bulk flowable material to indicate a genetic characteristic of the harvested bulk flowable material that cannot be visually perceived by an unaided human eye.

A method of associating an environmental treatment with a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a harvested bulk flowable material to flow;
• storing information related to the harvested bulk flowable material on a readily-identifiable property identification marker, said storing step being performed concurrent with said causing step;
• and
• dispensing a plurality of readily-identifiable property identification markers into the flowing harvested bulk flowable material to indicate that a given environmental treatment has been performed on an area from which the bulk flowable material had been collected, the performance of the environmental treatment being not capable of visual detection by viewing the harvested bulk flowable material with an unaided human eye.

A method of identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material in a manner that will travel with the bulk flowable material and that will reduce the need for subsequent testing of the bulk flowable material for presence of the characteristic, comprising the steps of:

• determining whether at least a portion of a chosen lot of a harvested bulk flowable material possesses a given characteristic;
• causing the chosen lot of harvested bulk flowable material to flow;
• storing information related to the chosen lot on a property identification marker, said storing step being performed concurrent with said causing step;
• and
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the flowing bulk flowable material;
• wherein presence of the property identification marker in the harvested bulk flowable material reduces the need for further testing of the chosen lot of harvested bulk flowable material to determine whether the given characteristic is present in the chosen lot.

A method of harvesting and identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material containing a genetically modified organism, comprising the steps of:

• selecting a field containing a quantity of a bulk flowable material, at least a portion of the bulk flowable material being a genetically modified organism;
• harvesting the bulk flowable material from the selected field;
• causing the harvested bulk flowable material to flow;
• storing information related to the bulk flowable material on a property identification marker, said storing step being performed concurrent with said causing step;
• and
• dispensing, without regard to location within the selected field, a plurality of readily-identifiable property identification markers into the flowing bulk flowable material to indicate that the harvested bulk flowable material contains a genetically modified organism.

A method for indicating a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• selecting a bulk flowable material having a determined property;
• causing the bulk flowable material to flow;
• preparing a property identification marker by associating data with the property identification marker, said preparing step being performed concurrent with said causing step;
• and
• periodically dispensing a prepared property identification marker into the bulk flowable material.

A method for indicating a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the bulk flowable material;
• and
• storing information related to the bulk flowable material on a property identification marker, said storing step being performed after said periodically dispensing step.

A property indication apparatus, comprising:

• means for causing indicating a property of a bulk flowable material;
• means for causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• means for preparing said means for identifying a property by associating identification data with said means for identifying a property, and
• means for periodically dispensing said means for indicating a property into a flowing bulk flowable material;
• wherein said means for preparing operates concurrent with said means for causing a bulk flowable material to flow.

A method for identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• sensing a volume of the flowing bulk flowable material;
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the bulk flowable material, wherein said periodically dispensing step dispenses a property identification marker so as to achieve a given property identification marker to volume ratio;
• reading a dispensed property identification marker;
• and
• using data obtained via said reading step to calculate statistical information related to the bulk flowable material.

A method for identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• sensing a volume of the flowing bulk flowable material;
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the bulk flowable material, wherein said periodically dispensing step dispenses a property identification marker so as to achieve a given property identification marker to volume ratio;
• reading a dispensed property identification marker;
• and
• using data obtained via said reading step to calculate the bulk flowable material's volume.

A method for identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• sensing a mass of the flowing bulk flowable material;
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the bulk flowable material, wherein said periodically dispensing step dispenses a property identification marker so as to achieve a given property identification marker to volume ratio;
• reading a dispensed property identification marker;
• and
• using data obtained via said reading step to calculate statistical information related to the bulk flowable material.

A method for identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• sensing a mass of the flowing bulk flowable material;
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the bulk flowable material, wherein said periodically dispensing step dispenses a property identification marker so as to achieve a given property identification marker to volume ratio;
• reading a dispensed property identification marker;
• and
• using data obtained via said reading step to calculate the bulk flowable material's mass.

A method for identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• sensing a weight of the flowing bulk flowable material;
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the bulk flowable material, wherein said periodically dispensing step dispenses a property identification marker so as to achieve a given property identification marker to volume ratio;
• reading a dispensed property identification marker;
• and
• using data obtained via said reading step to calculate statistical information related to the bulk flowable material.

A method for identifying a characteristic of a bulk flowable material, comprising the steps of:

• causing a bulk flowable material to flow;
• sensing a weight of the flowing bulk flowable material;
• periodically dispensing a property identification marker into the bulk flowable material, wherein said periodically dispensing step dispenses a property identification marker so as to achieve a given property identification marker to volume ratio;
• reading a dispensed property identification marker;
• and
• using data obtained via said reading step to calculate the bulk flowable material's weight.